How

[Koontz John E]

On Sun, 11 Apr 1999, SHEA KATHLEEN DORETTE wrote:
> I'm told by the male Ponca elder that I work with that men say "ahau!" as
> a greeting and that the women don't say anything!  (The two female Ponca
> elders that I work with confirm this.)  ...

> ... The Poncas don't seem to be big on
> greetings. I'm told that often a visitor will just be greeted with
> "dhathi'a" 'Did you (sg.) arrive?' or "dhathii'a" 'Did you (pl.) arrive?'

This is mirrored by information on saying goodbye in Omaha.  I was told
that men can just leave, perhaps saying "Agdhe hau!" 'I'm going home'
(using whatever motion verb is appropriate, presumably).  I asked what
women would say and the folks I was consulting looked taken aback and then
ventured that they wouldn't say anything.

On the other hand, some lessons I've seen gave the two greetings I listed
earlier.  These might be on the analogy of English usage, calqued or
otherwise made up to supply English-imposed categories, but I had the
impression that they had at least some currency outside the lessons, so
that the categories seem to exist outside the context of the lessons.

To some extent differing descriptions of practice might be due to
differing contexts, e.g., formal vs. casual, but, unfortunately, I have
insufficient exposure to Omaha culture to be sure whether this is the
case, which is one reason I'm hoping we'll hear more from Kathy, with her
greater experience in such things.  And you other students of Omaha-Ponca
should feel free to jump in, too! :-)