U.S. President and cloud/sky: more.

[RLR]

> Also they noted the word for "to be sky blue"= "maNxio'cho".   jgt

That confirms that the -u in maNxu or maNghu is the remnant of a suffix
that had a -u. Thanks! So I'm still convinced that there's a -pu suffix
wandering about in here somewhere. It is conceivable that it is the
pluralizer/nominalizer, -pi, but then we'd have irregular passage of the
-i to -u.

But of course -pi ~ -u contextually in Dakotan.... So who knows. There's
certainly precedent for plural -pi being bleached of its plural meaning
and becoming a noun formative in Dakotan. Sara Trechter (I think) did a
paper on some of these at one of the more recent Siouan Conferences. A
good example is tipi /thipi/.

For those interested in the cultural aspects of blue skies and clouds,
LaFlesche's Osage Dictionary has a number of references to the
importance of clear blue skies, etc. in Osage prayer rituals. A computer
search for "cloud" in the dict. turned up quite a variety of terms and
references.

Bob