KIWA

[hzenk at PDX.EDU]

I wanted to jump into this awhile back, but was out of town and didn't have the
right notes.  The issue of whether an English spelling points to Chinuk Wawa or
another indigenous language also arises for two placenames in the central
Oregon Cascades, traditional Molala country (Molalas were hunters who lived in
small groups scattered along the slopes of the Oregon Cascades; most were
removed to Grand Ronde Res. in the mid-19th c., except for a group that went to
Klamath Res. and others that stayed or drifted back to their original home
territories).  The names are:

1. Toketee Falls (North Fork of Umpqua R.), for which MacArthur's Oregon
Geographic Names cites CW "Toke-tie, pretty" (Gibbs's spelling), a word I've
never heard anyone use and which even Gibbs says was unusual.

2. Tuckta Trail (Near Oakridge, OR).

Both of these names could also be taken as suggesting Molala tae:qti-, ta:qti-
'above, high up'.  This fits geographically, as both names are in traditional
Molala territory.  Of course, it's easy to imagine "Toketee Falls" being
named when someone fished out their English-orthography "Chinook"
dictionary--of which there were many, but almost all based more-or-less on
Gibbs.  On the other hand, the spelling doesn't quite match Gibbs's, and the
identification could have resulted from later reinterpretation.  If the name
goes way back to the pioneer period, I would think that would probably
strengthen the case for a Molala etymology.  On the other hand, if it is just
from some Forest Service map-maker, it's probably out of a dictionary.

Anyway, does anyone know anything about the history of either of these names?
Henry

Quoting Maria Pascua <mcrcmaria at CENTURYTEL.NET>:

> I think 'deer' is originally Nuuchahnulth as well.  I just wanted to make a
> correction on the Makah pronunciation, it is bukwach.  [buk-wach] with
> accent on the second syllable.
> Maria Pascua
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Chinook List [mailto:CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG]On Behalf
> Of Henry Kammler
> Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2004 10:17 AM
> To: CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> Subject: Re: KIWA
>
> Leanne wrote:
> >For some reason I have the impression that the word "mowitch," or deer,
> >is not from the Pacific but further east. ???
>
> What would be the reason? Phonetically, "mowitch" looks simple for a NWC
> language but that's true for most CJ  words. "mowitch" probably goes back
> to Nuuchahnulth /muwac^/ (Nitinat and Makah /buwac^/) and in those
> languages can be analyzed as "burnt at the crotch".
> Generally spoken, it would not be surprising to find the one or the other
> Algonquian term in CJ but probably never as direct loans.
> I'm wondering whether we find instances of "pseudo-native" loans in English
> (like papoose, squaw, wigwam, calumet etc. which almost exclusively derive
> from Eastern Algonquian and refer to concepts in the indigenous cultures)
> mixed with CJ in any of the sources or in popular writing in order to
> represent an "Indian" way of talking.
>
> Greetings,
> Henry K.
>
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