Swampy Cree, East Cree and Ojibwe terms for spider, spiderweb and net charm

[Kevin Brousseau]

Hello George,

What follows is based on my own extensive lexicographic fieldwork in various dialects of Cree and Anishinabe, except for the Swampy Cree data, which can be found in books published by Douglas Ellis.

In southern East Cree, the term for net charm is literally “small net,” which is spelled variously depending on the exact dialect. The word can be spelled either ahapiish or ahiipiish, following the Cree School Board’s spelling rules as outlined in their spelling manuals and dictionaries. This spelling is based largely on pronunciation. Following the rules for a standard Cree orthography, as outlined by Pentland and Ellis, these words can both be spelled ahyapîšiš, a form that more accurately represents the underlying form, including the diminutive final that coalesces into a geminate in the locally spoken dialects. I have heard this term within my own family (in Waswanipi) and have also corroborated the use of this word by elderly speakers in Ouje-Bougoumou. 

By the way, I would like to point out that people have been making dreamcatchers in our communities for some time now, specifically for sale to tourists. However, when questioning a local elder about the Cree name for the dreamcatcher, the elderly lady admitted that she did not know its name and even went as far as saying that these were not made in the past. I then inquired about the “small nets,” and she responded that those were not dreamcatchers. In her mind, dreamcatchers have no use besides selling to tourists and are usually extravagantly designed and beaded. Small nets, on the other hand, were smaller and more rudimentary. They also had power to prevent sicknesses or curses from afflicting infants. This of course is the opinion of only one elderly woman - I don’t know how widespread this opinion is. The net charms in my community were either tied to a baby’s swaddling bag or cradleboard.

The term for spider in Southern East Cree is ehepikw. Some speakers, more specifically along the coast, use the term “net maker,” which is ahapihchesuu or ahiipihchesuu according to the Cree School Board spelling rules, or ahyapihcesiw according to the standard Cree orthography. A spiderweb is simply “a net,” which is ahapii or ahiipii (CSB spelling rules) or ahyapiy (Cree standard). Some people are more specific and will say ehepikw-ahyapiy.

In Moose Cree, the word for spider is ehepikw or ahlapihkesiw. A net is ahlapiy. My fieldwork on the dialect suggests that the liquids are presently unaspirated, but I follow Ellis here whose fieldwork predates mine by quite a few decades. The pre-aspirates in his work are probably representative of a more conservative pronunciation. Final -w’s are similarly not pronounced by most speakers and are written to retain the underlying form of the word, for morphological reasons.

In Swampy Cree a spider is ehepikw or otanapihkesiw. A net here is anapiy. I have yet to hear the term for net charm in both of these dialects. 

In the Anishinabe dialect spoken at Lac Simon in Abitibi, a spider is ehepik (The spelling system here is identical to the one used for Ojibwe dialects spoken in northern Ontario (cf. Sugarhead). In this particular dialect (Lac Simon) there is a distinction between pre-aspirated consonants and non-aspirated consonants). A web or net in this dialect is ahsapi. I have not yet encountered the word for net charm in this dialect.

I hope this helps.

Kevin Brousseau
Cree Nation Government



On Apr 15, 2014, at 4:58 PM, g.fulford at ICLOUD.COM wrote:

> Hello All -
> 
> I am presently revising a paper on spiders and net charms that builds on Cath Oberholtzer’s 2012 book Dream Catchers: Legend, Lore and Artifacts (Richmond Hill ON, Firefly Books).  I seek your help in determining the correct terms for the Swampy Cree, East Cree and Ojibwe terms for spider, spiderweb and what Cath called “net charms” and what have come to be known as “dream catchers”.  Can you help?  Any dictionary or other published sources for these terms, together with the system you are using for transcription would be particularly helpful.
> 
> Kihchi miikwech!
> 
> George Fulford
> University of Winnipeg
> 



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