(O)maha

[Michael Mccafferty]

Speculation upon speculation, the gateway to all delusion!

But here goes:

My sense is that the Michigamea, although as John has pointed out the
evidence is muy thin, were Dhegiha speakers and, as the Old Illinois
name for the Ohio River /akaansasiipi/ indicates, the Dhegiha were
associated with the Ohio River at least by the second half of the 17th
century, and they might have been the folks who build Angel Mounds and/or
the Caborn-Welborn folks (although there is certainly no agreement on
that among archaeologists, many of whom like to see all of Middle
Mississippian as Muskogean. But anyway...). Right down the river from
these sites (which are in extreme southwestern Indiana) one finds on the
right side of the Ohio (going downstream) cave country (Cave-in-Rock of
Walt Disney's Davy Crockett fame is one of these well known caves). But
the hill country of southern Illinois near the Ohio has many a cave and
rock shelter.

Michael


On Mon, 22 Mar 2004, Wallace Chafe wrote:
> Interesting that the Seneca name for the Cherokee is oyata'ke:a', which
> means 'cave people'. The second half of it looks a little like waarahkia,
> but that must be a coincidence. Was there any particular area in which
> people lived in caves?
> --Wally
>
> > True, but it's also clear that the Marquette generation knew next to
> > nothing  about the Michigamea, who, rather than flee to Wisconsin or
> > southeast  Missouri, went down the Mississippi, as you know, when the
> > Seneca and their  buddies pushed their catastrophe to the west. The
> > Illinois-French dictionary  says that the Kaw knew the Michigamea by the
> > name <8arakia>, which, as Bob  pointed out a few years ago, is not
> > analyzable in Siouan. However, this  spelling is a dead-ringer for Old
> > Illinois /waarahkia/ 'cave country person'. I've suggested in a piece of
> > writing yet to be published that the term may  apply to the lower Ohio.
> >
> > Michael
>
>
>
>