Hoobiyee
By Peter McKay | 12 Jan 2021
"Yayt n̓ihl lip wilaa loohl Nisg̱̱a'a tgun hlo'otdiit hlaa wil ksi-gwantkwhl hloḵs ahl sim gik'uuhl g̱ooḵhl dim t'amtkwhl agu. Sg̱a-lihlkdiit tgun ahl hloḵsim Buxwlaḵs. Laaḵ'aldiit wilaa jabihl hloḵs tgun hlaa ksi-gwantkwt. N̓it an mahlihl dim wilaa jabihl k'uuhl ligii dim w̓iihoont oo'ligii dim luu-niit.
Hoobiyee was traditionally based on observations of the new crescent moon. Since times before written history, the Nisg̱a'a ancestors would look for the new crescent moon during the month of Februrary, watching for a sign of prosperity for the coming year. They imagined the crescent moon to be a giant symbolic spoon." Chester Moore, Sim'oogit Haym̓aas.
The postion of the the stars around the moon predicted what the harvest year would look like. If the stars were above the spoon, it would be a plentiful harvest. If the stars were situated below the spoon, it was said that the spoon tipped over and the harvest year would be scarce.
Check out Sim'algax̱ 101 for a short story about Hoobiyee.
