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Onomatopoeic Verbs
A very ancient and
indigenous feature of Tibetan verse, that is found even in the documents from Tun Huang, but has continued in Buddhist verse
down to the present day is what might be called the “onomatopoeic verb”. R.A. Stein says: No systematic study
has been devoted to this very engaging form of poetic expression, and we know nothing of the associations of ideas that determined
the use of a given expression for various situations. […] Thus kyi-li-li is used for a woman’s glance,
the rainbow and lightning, kyu-ru-ru for laughing or songs, khyi-li-li for a squall and for heaving waves,
khra-la-la for the sound of hooves, tha-ra-ra for ‘clouds’ of assembled warriors and the black
poison, me-re-re for a thick crowd, the ocean, stars (the crowd of stars, no doubt) and so forth. You might find
it necessary to keep your own lists, but here are some I have collected: kyi
li li to shine brightly (like the sun) (of rainbows or lightning) kyu
ru ru to hum and chant; to echo eerily (of birds); the sound of laughter khor
ma khor to rotate, wheel (of clouds) khor
ro ro to buzz ?? (of bees) khyi
li li rolling of waves khyugs
se khyug to strike khra
la la to dangle and sway; sound of hooves khrabs
se khrab to stomp about in a dance khro
lo lo to chime and tinkle, rattle (of bones) gya
ma gyu to flow? (of a river) rga
ra ra to glow vividly (like the moon) chi
li li ? (of fragrant flowers) nyi
li li to glow ti
ri ri ? tha
ra ra to gather noisily (of an assembly of warriors), the rolling
of clouds or waters thibs
se thib to gather in throngs, or gather thickly (of clouds or mist), to
swarm thu
lu lu to waft (of incense) di
ri ri to resound, rattle (of thunder), to peal out (whistle), to reverberate ‘du
ru ru to gather and flow (like a river) ldems
se ldem to gather and swing, shift and move pu
ru ru to tumble and wave (of hair); sound of trotting horses; to fly
and flutter (flags) pyo
la la to splash (of water) ban
ma bun to bend and sway (of grass) brengs
se breng to strike again and again (bow strings) me
re re to gather and swirl (like the ocean); murmur of a crowd, roar
of waves ‘u
ru ru to roar, crash, rumble (music and cymbals) ya
la la to sparkle (of smiles) yengs
se yeng to float and flap (of flags) rol
lo lo to charge forward lang
ma ling to soar (of an eagle) lam
se lam to sparkle brilliantly (like stars) sha
ra ra to appear in an endless stream, to advance in procession shigs
se shig to whirl about in dance; to rustle (of long hair), to
swirl sangs
se sang to utter fiercely (of wrathful mantras) si
li li to shower down (like rain), to jingle (of ornaments), clatter hu
ru ru to gasp (in wonder, horror, or confusion) lhabs
se lhabs to flutter to and fro (of flags) Further
Reading The Classical
Tibetan Language, Stephan V. Beyer, pp.148-152 |
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