The xandra
The xandra or chant is the usual form for Xaîni religious verse
or hymns. It uses the 'Hiawatha' metre. The kamori xandra or creation chant, which tells of the creation of the world by the goddess Nornabethavadi, is supposed to be the earliest xandra ever written in xathmel, although it is clearly a translation of a much earlier chant written in !Qung. An example of a xandra written to the Tsundrat goddess Mya Gmet Khor is given below. This goddess, whose Tsundranese name means Lady of the Nets, personified the Sea as a capricious and potentially destructive power, and was identified by other Xaîni with the goddess Sikillot, the Dancer of Fate. In the Tsundrat culture religion was taken much more literally than in other Xaîni cultures, who described their gods and goddesses as peidhdha nei peidhdha - symbols of symbols.
This Tsundrat xandra would have been inscribed on the three cloth hangings of a jaipor or shipbook, and hung at the prow of a ship to be read by the goddess as the ship sailed. On arriving in sight of land the whole book, often made of rare and precious materials, was cast into the sea as a sacrifice.
Chant to Mya Gmet Khor
| aiyakast nei wiyanzaxa | Oh Lady of the Nets |
| aisiyo te nebri anna | Oh Dweller in the Deep Worlds |
| aigorian elgorian | Oh Ever Hungry |
| jnannen tsunnyo lao neisenna | We are the Tsunnyo lao |
| xeinfra ni mella, firinfra | Hear our voices and rejoice ! |
| ilar xteran ni xaressa | Swift are our scarlet ships |
| unassi shai elwoth zharundi | On the glassy wave |
| shai etam nei nebri anna | Over the roof of the Deep Worlds |
| ilwi eshten sizianna | Numerous as the Shining Ones |
| xeinfra ni mella, firinfra | Hear our voices and rejoice. |
| jnannen bei na Yu neisenna | We are the children of Yu |
| tevva na Khon Rra, lexare, | The offspring of Khon Rra in the beginning |
| siyeth sha fieth nei dakka | Dwellers on the bones of land |
| nasillenngye shula salmari | No strangers to the green salt wave |
| Iwanak na 'akka gawi | Old Mother of the Open Mouth |
| xeinfra ni mella, firinfra | Hear our voices and rejoice |
| iletrossi donund danar ni | If our journey be smooth |
| ams'ammatro anfa tand ek | Incense and silver shall we feed you |
| amxeiltro santole felaidda | You will hear our praises from afar |
| ammalagiltro ni khawith nein. | Taste our liberality |
| iletrossi katak danar ni | If our journey be rough |
| isuxa amrikillen shaldith | Spears shall we give you |
| towarra theixa ek tanundi | Fine axeheads and furs |
| amboku-tanammer ldi gawur. | Shall sate your hunger |
| iletrossi sagawa danar ni | If our journey end in drowning |
| amganajammenklu firishte | We shall fight you, oh so fiercely |
| chai gaato amrikillen shaldith | Great sport shall we give you |
| arendo amsagawammenro | Before we are pulled down. |
| xeinfra xua peitta, xeinfra! | Harken to these words, harken! |
| xu jaipor shaldith marunnen | This fine book we have made for you |
| xeinfra ni peitta, firinfra | Hear our words and rejoice! |
| xeinfra ni weketh, firinfra | Hear our prayers and rejoice! |
| taigawurian, taimalakian | Old Greedy One, Old Hungry One |
| aiyagao nei nebri anna | Maw of the Deep Worlds |
| aiya-errete nei marra. | Fisher of Souls. |