Dhegihanists: Ethnonyms for SE tribes?

R. Rankin rankin at ku.edu
Thu Aug 15 15:36:31 UTC 2002


Awhile back I was asked to provide Dhegiha names for
the various tribes of the aboriginal Southeast.  I
found several in my Kansa and Quapaw notes, but I
wonder if any of you have more from Osage, Omaha or
Ponca?  These would include names for the Cherokee,
Creek (Muskogee), Choctaw, Chickasaw, Shawnee and
presumably Caddo, plus a variety of others if they can
be discovered.

UPPER CASE vowels are accented.  What I found so far:

Quapaw /$adAkke/ is 'Cherokee'.
Quapaw /$awaNnaN/ is 'Shawnee'.

Kansa /$ayAkki/ is 'Cherokee' in Dorsey's notes, but by
the 1970's Mrs. Rowe gave a more modern /ccelEkki/.
Note that Quapaw /d/ and Kansa /y/ normally correspond
in cognate vocabulary.
Kansa /moN$kOge/ is 'Creek, Muskogee'.  It's
interesting since the Kansa speakers borrowed the name
(from Creeks or perhaps others) with /$/ rather than
/s/.  This probably reflects the fact that, in Creek,
the sibilant is most often retroflexed next to back
vowels, and this was apparently perceived as the
alveopalatal rather than the dental or alveolar.
Kansa /ccIkkasa/ and /ccattA/ are 'Chickasaw' and
'Choctaw' respectively -- both from Dorsey.
Kansa /hi$A/ is 'Caddo'.  I don't have any etymology
for this.  It's from Dorsey.
Kansa /$Awane/ is 'Shawnee' for Dorsey, but again Mrs.
Rowe gave the modern /$oNnI/.



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