Okiatsāsiujut (Women Preparing for Winter). For women's choir. Commissioned by the Lady Cove Women's Choir. 2011. Texts by Josephina Kallio. Duration: 4 minutes. Score available through PROMETHEAN EDITIONS.

The Texts:

Okiatsāsiujut

Okiatsāsiujut Septemberame nunivajut okiatsākasāme paunganek kimminanillo kigutanginnanillo.
Taimāk piKattalauttut anānakkuka, pāllinek paungautiKatlutik tatatlugit.
Ilangane itlivikulunnek kimminaKautiKatlutik.

Umiagākkut iputlutik nunivagiasōngulauttut, nunagijaminelo ninivaKattatlutik.

Ilangit annait KisiligiKattalauttut kamittasanek atungatsanillo okiutsiutiksaminek,
rapaKalaungimat sugusiutillunga itigāluKaganilo. Kisijait kisimek.


Women Preparing for Winter

This is September. Fall is in the air.
Our mothers are picking blackberries, red berries and blueberries.
They'd fill up barrels or sometimes store the red berries in boxes.

Sometimes, they would row the flats to another place to pick berries
when they weren't picking around close to the camp.

Some women would be cleaning the skins to make skin-boots because
there were no rubbers or shoes when I was a child. We had only our
resources to work with to provide us with food and clothing.
 

Premiere performance: July 12, 2011, 8:00 PM, Arts And Culture Centre, St John's Newfoundland. In partnership with Festival 500 Sharing the Voices, International Choral Festival.

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