<no subject>

Frances Karttunen karttu at nantucket.net
Wed Jan 3 12:33:10 UTC 2001


Cane in the sense of sugar cane was introduced into the Americas by the
Spaniards and Portuguese, who had spread its cultivation from the
Mediterranean to the Atlantic islands (Canaries, Madeira, the islands of the
Caribbean) before they finally reached the mainland.

The word acatl pre-existed the introduction of sugar cane.  It is a
calendrical name in most or all of the Mesoamerican calendars.  Few
languages have just one single "correct" word for each thing.  Both to:lli
and acatl referred to stuff we would think of as reeds.  Have a look at some
calendrical symbols and compare them to what appears in To:lla:n (Tula,
Tulancingo) glyphs.

No giant kelp as far as I know (but I sure saw some great giant kelp while
kayaking in Alaska recently).

----------
>From: mario <micc at home.com>
>To: nahuat-l at server2.umt.edu
>Subject: Re:
>Date: Tue, Jan 2, 2001, 1:52 PM
>

> I always thought that the word "acatl" meant cane, not reed.  Isn't the word
> "to:lli" the correct one for reed?
>
>
> mario e. aguilar
> www.mexicayotl.org
>
> Anthony Appleyard wrote:
>
>> "Davius Sanctex" <davius_sanctex at hotmail.com> wrote:-
>>  > La primera muestra, "Ceh huelta onia Acapulco", la de Lidia Cedillo,...
>>
>> Which reminds me: Karttunen's book says that the name Acapulco / Acapo:lco
>> means "at the big useless reeds". Before the original native settlement was
>> obliterated by holiday resort buildings, what did the name refer to? Was the
>> natives' fishing boat harbor choked with Californian Giant Kelp, or what?
>>
>> Anthony Appleyard
>



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