Ojibwe terms for spider, spiderweb and net charm

[Mary Ann Corbiere]

Aanii.

I have heard two variations for 'spider' from Ojibwek from communities
in the Manitoulin area and from those around the north and eastern
shores of Lake Huron.

These are esbikenh and sabkeshiinh. These seem to be built on the word
for net, sap (or sab), and mean 'the netmaker' (the noun being formed
much the same way that eknoomaagenh is formed; sab-ke means 'he/she
makes nets'.

Some say 'esbikenh-sabiins' for spiderweb, but another term I heard is
'esbikenh-nabiig'igaans'. The second part of that is related to
'naabii'ige', a verb used to describe the activities of knitting or
crocheting -- not that we actually imagine that spiders are wielding
knitting needles or crochet hooks :)

The topic of dreamcatchers and their components has not come up in any
of the workshops I've had with the speakers from the various
communities. But like others have commented, dreamcatchers are primarily
crafts produced for tourists although some of the younger Native people
revitalizing their Native identity may attach cultural/spiritual
significance to them. So, nothing has come up that could be regarded as
meaning 'net charms'.

M. Naokwegijig-Corbiere

>>> <g.fulford at ICLOUD.COM> 04/15/14 6:12 PM >>>
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
 



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/algonquiana/attachments/20140416/2b883564/attachment.htm>