Quappa

[Michael McCafferty]

Alan,

Here are a couple more (usual) English transcriptions of "Ouiatanon""

Quaxtana 1749-1755 (Lewis Evans)

Quaaghtena (date unknown) (appears in Hiram Beckwith's work--1st president of 
the Illinois Historical Society)

Incidentally, there are three forms of this toponym/ethnonym on record for 
Miami-Illinois: /waayaahtanonki/, /waawiaahtanonki/ and /wiyaahtanonki/. Note 
also that the term is generic in meaning ('at the whirlpool person') that it 
appears elsewhere, historically, in reference to other people.

Also, Dave's comment about the f is right on target. Preaspiration was heard 
by Europeans who occasionally attempted to transcribe it--with a variety of 
symbols.

I've never really followed the transmississipian movements of the Wea after 
they left the Indiana area. The tribe, as a whole, established two villages on 
the lower Wabash, at Terre Haute, between 1786-1791. Another group, led by 
Noel Dagenais, a native speaker of Miami-Illinois and a metis, lived on Big 
Raccoon Creek, a Wabash tributary somewhat near Terre Haute, until 1846, then 
went to Kansas.

Michael

Quoting "Alan H. Hartley" <ahartley at d.umn.edu>:

> > Indeed it is. The -ch- is seen in both French and English documents for the
> 
> > spelling of French "Ouiatanon"? A non-nasalized vowel in the last syllable
> is 
> > also seen. I can dig up (practically literally) examples of these if you
> need 
> > them, Alan.
> 
> Many thanks, Michael. I've got lots of variants on the long form (as 
> well as David Costa's etym.) but none in oyaya-:
> 
> Oiatinon 1698
> Weachtheno 1711
> Wawioughtanes 1757
> Warraghtinook 1759
> Waggueoughtennees 1759
> Waweaugtenno 1760
> Wawiachta 1761
> Wawayoughtinne 1762
> Yaughtanou 1764
> Wyahtinaw 1784
> Weautenaus 1814
> 
> I also wondered whether the Weas ever got "low down upon the Missisipi".
> 
> Best,
> 
> Alan
>