Chiwere Popular Orthography

[Koontz John E]

On Wed, 18 Apr 2001, Rankin, Robert L wrote:
> > it gives one pause to learn that the Quapaw (in the larger
> > sense) included a village called ImaNhaN 'downstream'.
>
> 'Upstream' actually, as John no doubt noticed as he was pressing the "send"
> button.  It was "up" the tributary from the main 4 villages that were near
> the junction with the Mississippi.

No, I was still blissfully unaware.  Yes, it's 'upstream'.  Incidentally,
the Imaha group are interesting in that they were absorbed by the Caddo.

> I was talking about some of these ethnonyms with an archaeologist at Wichita
> State U. last week and he felt that the Pa- in Pani, Paxoje and Padouca
> ought to be a morpheme. I don't know that I agree, but it's true that all
> may be borrowings.

I've wondered about this myself, but Siouan-based enlightenment has
consistently failed to dawn.  The most likely possibility is *hpa 'head'
and its various reflexes, but there is no evidence outside these sets of
'head' being used to refer to ethnic groups, though in leger books and
similar artistic contexts the head does stand for unfocussed and
abbreviated persons.  Also, though the folk etymologically modified
versions of padouca (ppadaNkka, etc.) do provide somewhat obscure support
for 'head' (now that they've been "fixed"), ppadhiN, etc., don't seem to
be helped by this approach.  I doubt -dhiN has anything to do with
movement, for example.  So, perhaps there is a non-Siouan explanation for
these forms.

I think that the pa in Baxoje differs from the other two in not being
aspirated.  So, it's not really part of the set.