KOMQWEJWI'KASIKL 2
- Michelle Sylliboy
KOMQWEJWI'KASIKL 2 is an excerpt from Kiskajeyi – I AM READY, a book of poetry written by artist Michelle Sylliboy in her ancestral Mi’kmaq language. Taking its name from the sucker fish (komqwej) who create ornate tracks in the mud as they move along the bottom of lakes and rivers1, Komqwejwi’kasikl was a hieroglyphic writing system used widely throughout the Mi’kmaq Nation prior to colonization, and is presently being preserved by its people.
In her author’s note to the book, Sylliboy underscores that there is no Mi’kmaq equivalent for the English word “goodbye” and instead, Numultes (“I’ll see you”) is used. Numultes is an important concept that informs how Mi’kmaq knowledge represents ongoing dialogue, eternal exchange of stories, and continuous learning as core values within the Mi’kmaq worldview; she explains:
“For me, Numultes expresses a better understanding of the collective consciousness that has motivated me to keep learning and to decolonize and reclaim my Indigenous voice.
From an existential viewpoint, writing a Komqwejwi’kasikl poem connects me to ancestral space–time through its embedding of my personal reflection in my ancestral language. […] In my ancestral worldview, nothing happens without a dialogue, and Numultes is an active, dialogue-generating force shaping the way I interpret the Mi’kmaq way of life and how it transforms my life today.”
KOMQWEJWI'KASIKL 2
Pa’qualayuti - kisiwskwijinuin -
The mystery after you were born
telkitasik - natawitu’nl -
it is written you were created perfectly
ntininaq - kjijaqamijinaq -
our bodies our souls
sesetatikek -
they had gone in many directions
me’su’tuk - mikwite’tmu -
it’s easy to see I cannot remember
ne’sipuna’nek - ne’wiskekna’qek -
three years forty days
ji’nm - aqq - epit -
man and woman
apujepetal - wskitqamu’k -
will return on earth
kaqi’sk - wjit -
many times because
kewaska’tikl - ta’n -
they are transformed by
kjipa’qalayuti -
the great mystery
etuk - istaqej -
maybe if
wi’temsaiw - welitelta’msetasi -
you say to yourself I firmly believe
ni’n - teliapkua’tasital -
in me they will be released
Excerpted from Kiskajeyi — I Am Ready, first published by Rebel Mountain Press (Nanoose Bay, BC, 2019). Reprinted with permission.
Three-time award-winning author and interdisciplinary artist Michelle Sylliboy (Mi’kmaq/L’nu) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised on her traditional L’nuk territory in We’koqmaq, Cape Breton. Her published collection of photographs and L’nuk hieroglyphic poetry Kiskajeyi—I Am Ready won the 2020 Indigenous Voices Award. In 2021, she received the Indigenous Artist Recognition Award from Arts Nova Scotia. In 2022, she was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award. As a PhD candidate in Simon Fraser University’s Philosophy of Education program, she focused on the artistic promotion of her original written komqwej’wikasikl language.
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