Hethuska

[Tom Leonard]

Thought I'd share parts of a conversation I've been having with John Koontz.
I'd appreciate any thoughts on the subject.

I've been studying the "war dance complex" amongst the Dhegiha tribes.

In Ponca, the word for this is "hethu's^ka". I also have the word being
pronounced "heo's^ka" (hey-o-shka) , hetho's^ka (hey-low-shka) and
hethoo's^ka (hey-thoo-shka).

Most Poncas today say the word is an ancient term who's meaning is lost but
add "it means 'the war dance' or 'man dance'". However, my dad Joe Rush in
1977 said the word came from "xthe-xthe" (tattoo or
tattooed people) and "s^ka'de" (play or to enjoy). From a tape of him in
1977: "it meant for the enjoyment of those old folks...those old
folks...they had tattoos on them.....they kind of showed their rank".

Does this make linguistic sense?

Let's look at "s^ka" in the word first.

John suggested "It is interesting to see another connection to s^kade, but I
think that it's not likely that a final s^ka in OP would derived from
s^kade.  I suspect that the Osage revised form with this association in it
has maybe influenced your father, though, of course, I don't know if that's
really a plausible assumption." Joe Rush was the head singer for all three
Osage Districts for many years and he certainly had plenty of contact over
there. So, that might have been the case (although he would have never
admitted it). So, I'll give that a "maybe".

The question regarding s^ka from s^kade (to play) came from a discussion of
the widely held translation of ilon's^ka (the Osage word for the 'war
dance'), that is "playground of the eldest son". LaFlesche (1939) translated
ilon's^ka as "those who partake of thunder" ("iloN" or igthoN - thunder). It
is my contention the "playground of the eldest son" translation is a folk
etymology that has become quite engrained. In the 1970's I had several
elderly Osage people tell me, quite adamantly, that ilon's^ka had nothing to
do with "playing" or "playgrounds" or the "eldest son". Each told me it had
to do with "the old religion"...then they usually started to change the
subject (the old religion being a very taboo topic of conversation).

Oddly enough, the "old religion" had lots to do with bundle rites that
featured "xthe-xthe" - tattooing. The old priests were given tattooes when
they acheived a certain status (see LaFlesche). I think the last Osage who
had these died in the mid 1970's, but I remember seeing him.

I've also wondered if "s^ka came from "s^ka'xe" (you make). I have heard
"s^ka'xe" abbreviated to "s^ka". For instance, you often hear "u' doN s^ka"
(you did good). John mentioned: "In OP gaghe can be used as a sort of
causative, but it means something like "act like, perform as."  There's not
much tendency to lose final syllables in compounding except in initial
elements, e.g., s^aNttaNga, iNkhesabe, waz^iNttu and so on." Culturally,
s^ka from s^kaxe makes some sense. It also makes some sense in the context
of the anthro. literature in this regard.

Now here's the rough part.

Is it conceivable the word ( "hethu's^ka" or "heo's^ka" (hey-o-shka) or
hetho's^ka (hey-low-shka) or  hethoo's^ka (hey-thoo-shka)) could have
changed from "xthe-xthe-s^ka" [s^kaxe or s^kade] to "xe-xthe-s^ka" to
"xe-tho-s^ka" to "he-tho-s^ka"...... (I do have some elders saying
"he-tho-s^ka")......or perhaps.......

"xthe-xthe-s^ka" to "xthe-xthu-s^ka" to "xe-thu-s^ka" to
"he-thu-s^ka"........

Are any of these a plausible morph or liguistic change pattern?

One other question. In Otoe, the war dance is called "ithu's^ka" or
"idu's^ka" (not certain). In Pawnee, I believe it's "iru's^ka". Can anyone
shed any light on etymologies or meanings from those languages?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Wi'btha hai ho!