sunflowers

Jimm GoodTracks goodtracks at peoplepc.com
Tue Nov 6 15:02:57 UTC 2007


Bob:
Have several entries, starting with the one I was able to get from late Elders:

xámoxra awádhe^uxra   (flower + shifting + bloom).   [awádhe as in the wind, tipi flaps]

waxrathi ~ waxradhi   (bloom + yellow)   CURTIS.
waxradhihunshje   (sunflower root)

uxradhi^e    (bloom + yellow + those (that))  MAXIMILLAN
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mark J Awakuni-Swetland 
  To: siouan at lists.colorado.edu 
  Cc: owner-siouan at lists.colorado.edu ; siouan at lists.colorado.edu 
  Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 8:08 AM
  Subject: Re: sunflowers



  BOB, 
  Grandma Elizabeth Stabler's lexicon notes sunflower as "zha'xtha zi" or "yellow blossom weed", I think. 
  I will try to check the JOD slip file microfilm later this morning. 

  Uthighide 

  Mark Awakuni-Swetland

  ONska abthiN! Thi shti? 


        "Rankin, Robert L" <rankin at ku.edu> 
        Sent by: owner-siouan at lists.colorado.edu 
        11/05/2007 08:52 PM Please respond to
              siouan at lists.colorado.edu 


       To <siouan at lists.colorado.edu>  
              cc  
              Subject sunflowers 

              

       



  All,

  I've had an enquriy from an archaeologist at Florida State U. about the words for 'sunflower' (Helianthus).  The comparative dictionary lacks any general term for the plant or its flower although there is a cognate set for its root, which was eaten.  The archaeologists are interested in the seeds and the domestication of same.  They're trying to determine whether the terms are similar in North America and Mexico, as there is some question whether Mexican and northern domestication of the seed plant were independent developments.

  As far as I can tell there is virtually no uniformity across Siouan.  Here is what I have thus far:

  Hidatsa:  ma:pha:      'day+flower' or 'morning flower'
  Mandan:  ma?pe?     'day+flower' or 'morning flower'
  Dakota:  waxcazi thaNka  'flower+yellow big'
  Kansa:   mittogaxle   'sunflower'  mi 'sun+?'
  Osage:   miihtoNeli  'sunflower'  mii 'sun+?', also
                 xlazi            'flower+yellow' in term for August.
  Ofo:         i:la akikcehi 'sun+flower' possibly calqued from English?

  Does any one of you have additional terms?  We ought to be able to find words in Crow, Ioway-Otoe, Omaha-Ponca and Winnebago-Hocank at least.  Since probably every one of the above terms is simply descriptive, it seems likely that they won't find matches with any Mexican words.  Any additional help would be appreciated.   

  Thanks,

  Bob

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/siouan/attachments/20071106/785f3f77/attachment.htm>


More information about the Siouan mailing list