Need quick Dhegiha answer.

Koontz John E John.Koontz at colorado.edu
Fri Apr 9 23:44:07 UTC 2004


How about wibdhahaN 'thank you' (or 'I will pray for you')?  I think this
is dative wi-gi-b-dhahaN < wi + gigdhahaN.  I always forget the precise
forms of dh-stems vs. ga-stems in datives and suus, so maybe this is
gidhahaN.  In any event, this is to go into Kaw, the dative will be
something else again.  Saying this with the hands outstretched is
particularly major and wouldn't be done casually in any sense.  This might
not be a major enough situation.  I believe the idiom for stretching out
the hands is in Dorsey, but I forget it.

A saluting form in the Dorsey texts used in a case of special gratitude is
Hau, name! Hau!

There are definitely far fewer occasional formulae in Siouan languages
than seem needed to a wa(a)'xe.  I guess prayers qualify, and there are
patterns to those, but as they don't occur in Dorsey, I don't know them.
I don't think there's any formal situation for an Omaha where a prayer
wouldn't be deemed appropriate.



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