"phute'okicu" and other new animals

[Clive Bloomfield]

It is fascinating to delve into these Lakota words for animals which  
seem somewhat exotic to the Lakhota Makhoche!

One notes that, according to B-Md. [p.341] the word wamnitu, which  
(unless, as Bruce muses, it is a folk-etymology) seems to mean  
originally not much more than  "thing/ creature (which lives?) in the  
water" [wa-mni-tu]-->"sea-monster"??, may also be applied to the  
HIPPOPOTAMUS, which again, to the best of my knowledge, would not be  
found in huge numbers on the Great Plains of North America! ;)

As a matter of interest, in the OT story of Jonas & the Whale,  
Buechel's Bible History Stories (1924) merely uses (p.127) : "HOGAN  
TANKA" [= big fish] for the famous 'whale'.


I wonder could anybody be so kind as to look up the word or  
expression which Riggs/Williamson/J.Renville use in the Dakota Old  
Testament to translate "LEVIATHAN" in that splendid & familiar old  
verse from book of Job, where God bullies & overawes poor suffering  
Job :

"Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?" [JOB; Chaper 41, 1]

John Poage Williamson supplies : "hogan iyotan tanka" for 'whale' in  
his Engl-Dakota Dict., [Iapi Oaye Press, Yankton Agency, 1886; p.140]



Dakota Genesis, which I do have, reads, at 1:21 : "Hecen Wakantanka  
hogan tankinyanyan oicah^ye..." : "And God created great whales,..."


There are also :

1) "CHUWINUNGE" /chuwínuNg^e/ (meaning, presumably "swollen-backed"  
or "hunch-backed") now also meaning "CAMEL". [A Buech. BH 1924 word,  
I think]

Interestingly, J.P.Williamson gives 'cankahu pajo' /chaNkáhu paz^ó/  
for the ship of the desert.
That would appear to mean something like : "(creature with) prominent  
back-bone"
Cf. pajóla: "hillock"; pajóya : (advb) "hill-like; swelled up (as  
pimples get (!))" [B-Md. pp.262-263]

2) "SHUNKA WICASHA" /s^uNká wichàs^a/ [I guess, given that  
accentuation by B-M.(p.291) signifying "man(like)-dog"?---> "MONKEY".]

Evidently monkeys must have tickled the Lakota sense of humour  
somewhat, because I've come across a couple of other funny &  
strikingly descriptive words for these humanoid little beasts :

3) "HEYOLELA" /heyólela/ [=little seeker for lice (héya) (See B&D;  
Sect.8; p.10];

4) "WAUNCHALA" /waúNchala/ [=little mocker, or imitator (See B&D;  
Sect.55; p.54)].

J. Poage Williamson has : "waunca" for monkey [E-Ddict. p.107]


Finally, there is this totally intriguing & mysterious word :

5) UNHCEGILA /uNh^cég^ila/  : Buechel-Manhart [p.318], quoting S.R.  
Riggs, (who glosses it with 'T' Teton), supplies : "MASTODON,  
perhaps, or other large animals whose petrified remains are found in  
the Dakota Territory" An ancient word? "Lakotafied" from another  
language??
Love to know the etymology of that one!

Clive.


On 24/01/2008, at 10:57 AM, shokooh Ingham wrote:

> The other one I like is wamnitu 'whale', which I presume is  
> analysable as wa- something, mni- water -tu 'to be' ie 'something  
> which is in water', though probably other Siouanists willl tell me  
> mine is a folk etymology and it is really a borrowing from some  
> other Siouan language.  Any info?
> Bruce
>
>
> Sent from Yahoo! - a smarter inbox.

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