Nishnabotna (Re: Fw: Iowa-Ho-Chunk Languages)

[Koontz John E]

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005, Jimm GoodTracks forwarded:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: George W. Garvin
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 10:51 AM
> Subject: Iowa-Ho-Chunk Languages
>
> What I was looking for is a number of translations, for example Nodaway,
> what does it mean? and also Nishnabota, these two word are listed as
> Rivers. And the word Nodaway, we use that in a song in one of our
> ceremonies, and it doesn't make sense, so I can't translate that
> particular song.  George Garvin Repatriations Researcher

I think Nodaway has been dealt with reasonably so far in response to
Jimm's query.  It's presumably a transfer of an eastern name like
Nottoway, or perhaps a reference to the Dakotas under the Nadoues(sioux).
Historically Sioux is from the diminutivized form of Nadoue (~ Nottoway,
Nodaway, etc.), and this base form is used for the Iroquois, but I've
noticed that Rich Rhodes' Odawa Dictionary has the historical pattern
reversed, and perhaps it was never as absolute as we've understood it to
have been.  For a perhaps comparable transfer consider Oneota (< Iroquoian
Oneonta), the original name of the Iowa River (if I recall correctly).

As far as the Nishnabotna, Bob and I worried over this for a long time in
connection with, I think, an edition of the Lewis & Clark journals.  The
best we could do at the time was the "version of Anishinabe" explanation
that Louis Garcia mentioned.  Subsequently I noticed that the LaFlesche
Osage dictionary has an entry (1930:107) for ni-hni'-bo-shta 'two springs
not far from each other, one clear and sweet, the other black and bitter.
A strange feature in connection with these springs was that there was a
oeculiar movement that caused the Indians to call them shooting springs.
This was the first camp on the second buffalo trail.' I have no idea if
this Osage placename is connected with Nishnabotna, but it seems clearly
to me to illustrate a Dhegiha stream name of a pattern that would explain
a form like Nishnabotna.

Ni-hni-bo-shta would represent something like Osage niN-s^niN' po'=s^ta.
The spelling hni reflects Omaha-Ponca treatment of s^niN in LaFlesche's
generation.  The first part niNs^niN is literally niN 'water' plus s^niN
'cold', but means '(a) spring'.  The second part, po'=s^ta, is not
included in the LaFlesche dictionary, but consits of po= 'by shooting'
(which LaFlesche alludes to in his definition), cf. OP mu= 'by shooting',
plus -s^ta, an instrumental root of uncertain meaning, perhaps 'remain',
cf. -s^tE in OP.  Maybe it's really shtaN, again, meaning uncertain, but
perhaps 'to release', cf. -s^taN in OP.  Anyway, po'=s^ta clearly refers
to the 'shooting' or 'errupting' character of the spring.

I think that the similarity of niNs^niNpos^ta to Nishnabotna is obvious.
The only significant change is from s^ta to tna, which we can put down to
"corruption," i.e., confused transmission in borrowing, or perhaps to the
source not actually being this precise Osage form, but something similar
in another language.  For example, per Jimm GoodTracks's
Ioway-Otoe-Missouria dictionary, IO has <ny>iN<th>riN=xj^i 'spring' (i.e.,
water-cold + very).  It seems to me that a spelling like -tna could
reflect a root like -s^na(N) (-hna(N)) or -<th>na(N) or <th>ta(N) with
essentially the same meaning as -s^ta(N), opening up possibilities in IO
and other Dhegiha languages.

So, for Nishnabotna I would tentatively offer 'shooting (or spouting,
spurting) spring' (< Osage?) as a gloss, with details uncertain.

It doesn't seem like Omaha-Ponca is involved, since it has mu= for the 'by
shooting' instrumental.  Also, the only form for 'spring' in OP that I
know of is niNhaNga < niN 'water' + haNga 'leader'.  Probably here the
sense of haNga is closer to Proto-Siouan *huNka 'parent, ancestor,
original' as in some other Siouan languages.