LL-L 'Names' 2007.02.06 (12) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L - 06 February 2007 - Volume 12

=========================================================================

What's the story behind "Head-Smashed-In"? Is that a direct English
translation of "Ottowa" or something? Whose head was smashed in, and
why??

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Names

Sandy, you wrote under "Language varieties":

> What's the story behind "Head-Smashed-In"? Is that a direct English
translation of "Ottowa" or something? Whose head was smashed in, and
why??

Head-Smashed-In is in full "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump," a place in
southern Alberta, Canada, very close to the US border (Montana).

It is a sheer cliff face whose name is roughly based on the Blackfoot (
Siksiká, perhaps Blood, i.e. Kainai) name Estipah-skikikini-kots (something
like "Where he got his head smashed in").  This is where indigenous hunters
drove buffalo over the edge -- a mass killing device.  According to
indigenous legend, a young man tried to get an extra good good look at the
spectacle from below and got buried under the falling bodies.

Many indigenous American names are based on local stories of this type. It
is not uncommon for such names to have been translated into English.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lowlands-l/attachments/20070206/90e27042/attachment.htm>