Translation from Galician to English of CANTARES GALLEGOS by Rosalia de Castro

30. Come, Girl (Vente, rapasa)

Observation

"Vente, rapasa" is a collection of (I) affectionate words spoken by a mother to her small children, (II) manners of speech between Galician peasants and (III) verbal reproaches to pets or farm animals. It is a sample of what De Castro called "those tender words and those idioms never forgotten which sounded so sweet to my ears since the cradle and which were gathered up by my heart as its own heritage." The translation to the English language is particularly difficult—the playful rhymes are lost in the translation—but an approximation is worth the while.

Typographical Error in the Original

Original line 1.2.2 reads, "douche si non polo demo do dente" which makes stanza 1.2 say, "Come, Minguiño; Minguiño, come / Or I will give you in your troublesome tooth." The statement is incongruous and baffling. Changing one crucial vowel in line 1.2.2. clears up the confusion. What Rosalía de Castro wrote in fact was: "douche si non palo demo do dente," and the typesetter mistook the highlighted "a" for an "o" and the error is understandable because De Castro's caligraphy sometimes produced a's that look like o's when joined to a consonant.

Affectionate Diminutives

auguiña. Dim. of "auga" (water) translated "dear water." Another option: precious.
biquiño. Dim. of "bico" (kiss) translated "fond kiss." Other options: little kiss, peck, wee kiss.
camiño (path, route, trail, way). Not a diminutive.
cariña. Dim. of "cara" (face) translated "pretty...face." Another option: lovely.
churriñas. Dim. and pl. of "churra" (hen) translated "good hens." Other options: helpful, valuable.
duciñas. Dim. and pl. of "ducia" (dozen) simply translated "dozens"; the affectionate diminutive is ignored.
fartiña Dim. of "farta" (full, satiated) translated "glut." Other options: satisfaction, stuffed.
fontiña. Dim. of "fonte" (fountain) translated "dear fountain." A typical "fountain" of the Galician countryside consisted of a pipe incrusted in rock to serve as a spout for human consumption and a sink underneath to serve as a watering hole for the cattle.
galiña (hen). Not a diminutive.
lixeiriños. Dim. and pl. of "lixeiro" (brisk, fast, nimble) translated "quick quick" to make the affectionate diminutive conspicuous through a repetition of the adverb.
Mariquiña. As a generic noun it means "lassie." As a personal name it is the pet form of "Mary" (e.g. Molly).
miniña (girl, lass). Not an affectionate diminutive. "Miniña" is a variant of "meniña."
miniño (boy, lad). Not an affectionate diminutive. "Miniño" is a variant of "meniño."
Minguiño. Abbrev. and dim. of "Domingo" (lit. Sunday, here a personal name). The name is left as given.
niño (nest). Not a diminutive.
olliños. Dim. and pl. of "ollo" (eye) translated "lovely eyes." Another option: beautiful.
peíños. Dim. and pl. of "pé" (foot) translated "little feet." Other options: cute, small.
peixiño. Dim. of "peixe" (fish) translated "small fish." Other options: littoral, near-shore, seaboard.
santiño. Dim. of "santo" (saint) translated "dear saint."
sardiña (sardine). Not a diminutive.

Explanation of some words, terms or expressions

Cas-qui-tó (3.4.2). According to the "Glossary of Terms in Cantares Gallegos" (Wikisource, Galician Wikipedia) this cry, "Cas-qui-tó," was a farmer's way of telling a hog to get out of the way.

¡Gachi!, ¡gachi! (3.8.1). Unknown. Nevertheless the following guess, "Stop! Stop!" suits the script.

YouTube Videos

De Castro's caligraphy.

—Vente, rapasa, vente, miniña,
vente a lavar no pilón da fontiña.

—Vente, Minguiño, Minguiño, vente;
douche si non palo demo do dente.

—¡Que augua tan limpa! ¡Que rica frescura!
Vente a lavar que é un primor, criatura.

—Válganos Dios, que si auguiña n'houbera,
lama este corpo mortal se volvera.

—Vinde a lavarvos, andá lixeiriños,
a cara pirmeiro, dimpois os peíños.

—¡Ai!, ¡que miniña! ¡Que nena preciosa!
dempois de lavada parese unha rosa.

—I este miniño que teño no colo,
dempois de lavado parece un repolo.

—¡Ai!, ¡que tan cuco! ¡Ai!, ¡que santiño!
Ven ós meus brazos, dareiche un biquiño.

—¡Olliños de groria! ¡Cariña de meiga!
Apértame ben, corazón de manteiga!

—Corre, corre a que Antona te peite,
corre, daráche unha cunca de leite.

—Corre, corre a teu pai, Mariquiña,
que come cebola con pan e sardiña.

—¡Válgate Dios que inda os figos son duros!
¡Mais, que fartiña en estando maduros!

—El e mais eu i a comadre de abaixo
hemos de ter que alargar o refaixo.

—Rica figueira, que Dios te bendiga,
que hasme, abofé, de fartar a barriga.

—¡Jei!, o dos ovos que vas de camiño,
¿cantas duciñas topache no niño?

—¡Unha no máis! —¡No me teño ca risa!
Ese éche un conto que vai para a misa.

—Dáme acá seis, que un fricol che faría,
que ó mesmo rei que envidiar lle daría.

—Xa que non qués, no camiño che colla
vento de vira cun saco de molla.

III

—¡Turra, turra, Xan, pola burra!
Mira que Pedro a cadela che apurra.

—¡Ai, desdichada de min, que a vexo
fincarche o colmillo no triste pelexo!

—¡Diancre de Xan que non corre nin toa!
Ben haia, amén, quen os ósos che roa.

—¡Churras!, ¡churras! ¡Churriñas!, ¡churras!
Cas-qui-tó, que escorrenta-las burras.

—Pica, pica, suriña, pica,
lévalle un gran ó teu fillo na bica.

—Marcha, can, a ladrar ó palleiro,
¡sei que che agrada o demoro do cheiro!

—¡Vaiche co can, que o peixiño lle gusta!
Mais a teu dono o diñeiro lle custa.

—¡Gachi!, ¡gachi! ¡Que dencho de gato!
¡Como se farta no prebe do prato!

—¡Inda reventes, larpeiro rabudo!
¡Que inda na gorxa che aperten un nudo!

—Truca, perico, no gato rabelo
hastra deixalo quedar sin un pelo.

—Que eu, si outra vez o camiño me atranca,
hei de romperlle no lombo unha tranca.

—¡Malo daquel que non sabe de misa,
nin entra na igrexia nin gasta camisa!

—¡Ai!, que galiña saltou no valado!
¡Sei que quer vir a comer de prestado!

—Isca de ahí, galiña maldita,
isca de ahí, non me mate-la Pita.

—Isca de ahí, galiña ladrona,
isca de ahí pra cás tua dona.

"Come, girl; come, lass; come wash
At the sink of the dear fountain."

"Come, Minguiño; Minguiño, come;
Otherwise I'll treat your troublesome tooth."

"Such clean water! Wonderfully cool!
Come wash, child, it's very delightful."

"God help us if we had no dear water,
This mortal body would turn to mud."

"Come get washed, pace quick quick,
First your face then the little feet."

"Aye what a lass! What a precious baby!
Washed she resembles a rose."

"And this lad I hold snug in my lap,
Washed he resembles a white cabbage."

"Aye how cunning! Aye what a dear saint!
Come to my arms, I'll give you a fond kiss."

"Lovely glory eyes! Pretty enchantress face!
Give me a big hug, heart of cream!"

"Run, run to Antoinette to get combed,
Run, she will give you a bowl of milk."

"Run, Molly, run to your father who eats
Onion with bread and sardines."

"God help you, the figs are still hard!
But what glut when they ripen!"

"He and I and godmother down the road
We'll have to loosen the sash."

"God bless you, bountiful fig tree,
For you, my word, shall fill my belly."

"Hey! Fellow on the road with the eggs,
How many dozens did you find in the nest?"

"No more than one!" "I can't stop laughing!
That's a story that goes to mass."

"Bring me six here, I'd fry you a dish
Which the king himself would envy."

"Since you decline, may a whirwind with
A bagful of rain get you on the way."

III

"Stick with it, John, stick with the jennet!
See, Peter incites the bitch against you."

"Aye, hapless me, for I see her plunge
Her fangs in the sad hide!"

"That rascal John neither runs nor hollers!
Blessed be whoever chews your bones, amen."

"Hens! Hens! Good hens! Hens!
Get lost, hog that makes the jennets flee."

"Pick, pick, squab, pick,
Carry a grain in your beak to your chick."

"Go to the haystack and bark there, dog,
I see you relish the lingering odour!"

"Go with the dog that likes to eat small fish!
But it costs your owner money."

"Stop! stop! What a wicked cat! How it
Stuffs itself with the sauce on the plate!"

"May you burst yet, astute glutton! May
they tighten a noose around your neck yet!"

"Butt, kid, butt the cat with no tail
Until you leave it without a single hair."

"For if he ever bars my way again
I'll break a staff on its back."

"A bad sort is one who doesn't attend mass
Nor enters a church nor wears a shirt!"

"Aye! A hen jumped up on the fence!
I see you want to eat a borrowed meal!"

"Scram from there, damned hen,
Scram from there, don't kill my pullet."

"Scram from there, thieving hen,
Scram from there to your mistress' house."

Translation from Spanish to English of the poem "¡Volved!" by Rosalía de Castro

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