Old Otoe-Missouria term for "bear"

Jimm GoodTracks jgoodtracks at gmail.com
Fri Apr 18 12:49:33 UTC 2014


Of all the possibilities considered thus far with this Dhegiha name being
also an Otoe term, Jill´statement of a possible borrowing as a bestowal-
name as a gift, would be my leaning in this instance.  I am aware of one
Iowa Elder whose clan name was actually Omaha - as he was part Omaha.


On Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 2:52 PM, Greer, Jill <Greer-J at mssu.edu> wrote:

>  Sky and Rory,
>
> Great posts -  one thing to consider also is that it’s actually not an
> Otoe word per se.  It’s possible for entire names to have been borrowed
> across tribes (or bestowed,  think of the intertribal peace-making child
> adoption tradition of the Pipe Dance (Calumet in some soures),  with the
> Beloved Child (it could be a girl or a boy) undergoing an elaborate
> ceremony.   People might have multiple names (family kin name, clan name,
> later a name from an accomplishment,  plus nicknames [‘uncle names’].   Is
> there a similar name in Dhegiha groups?
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Jill
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Siouan Linguistics [mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu] *On Behalf Of
> *Rory Larson
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 16, 2014 3:43 PM
> *To:* SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu
> *Subject:* Re: Old Otoe-Missouria term for "bear"
>
>
>
> Sky,
>
>
>
> The *wasabe* term is not just Ponca; it’s Omaha, Kaw and (as *wasape*)
> Osage as well.  I assume it’s common Dhegiha.  It refers to the black bear,
> as opposed to the *mąnto*-equivalent term for ‘grizzly bear’.  I’m sure
> you’re entirely right that the ‘Wathapay’ part of that name is an Otoe
> equivalent of Dhegiha **wasape*.  It looks like the ‘ignet’ must have
> been written by a Frenchman; it kind of threw me a little at first.  :)
>
>
>
> Anyway, if the **wasape* term was not known from Otoe before, that’s a
> great catch!  So it looks like you have three terms for ‘bear’??
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Rory
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Siouan Linguistics [mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu<SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu>]
> *On Behalf Of *Sky Campbell
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 16, 2014 1:50 PM
> *To:* SIOUAN at LISTSERV.UNL.EDU
> *Subject:* Old Otoe-Missouria term for "bear"
>
>
>
> I've had a name from an old Otoe treaty (1817) that has always puzzled
> me.  The name is:
>
>
>
> Wathapayignet - the Small Bear
>
>
>
> There is no *mųnje* (bear/black bear) or *mąnto* (grizzly bear) terms to
> be found in there.  The "small" part is easy enough to pull out of there
> (yignet = -inye).  Then the thought struck me about the Ponca term for bear
> (wasabe) and how the Ponca "s" can sometimes be the Otoe "th" in cognate
> terms.  This gives me "wathabe" as the term for bear.  Now before I run
> with this, does anyone have anything to back this up?  It certainly makes
> sense and the pieces fit.  But I have never seen "wathabe" anywhere as an
> Otoe word for bear.  But if I am right, this would give me:
>
>
>
> Wathabeinye - Small Bear
>
>
>
> If I am correct, then I'm thinking that this is an *extremely* old term.
>
>
>
> Anyone else come across this before?
>
>
>
> Sky
>
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