Old Otoe-Missouria term for "bear"

[Rory Larson]

That’s a very good point, Jill, and well taken.  Yes, there is an equivalent name, at least in the Thatada clan, which is Wasabe-zhiⁿga.  If the term Sky found is a borrowing, it shows that understanding between the two groups at the time was good enough to cause Dhegiha ‘s’ to shift forward to Otoe ‘th’, and for the Dhegiha ‘small’ term (zhiⁿga) to be replaced by Otoe iñe, as Sky has just noted.  But I think either of those are quite possible and likely, so we might want more evidence from Otoe before we conclude that this ‘bear’ term was generally used in Otoe.

Best,
Rory


From: Siouan Linguistics [mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu] On Behalf Of Greer, Jill
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 3:52 PM
To: SIOUAN at LISTSERV.UNL.EDU
Subject: Re: Old Otoe-Missouria term for "bear"

Sky and Rory,
Great posts -  one thing to consider also is that it’s actually not an Otoe word per se.  It’s possible for entire names to have been borrowed across tribes (or bestowed,  think of the intertribal peace-making child adoption tradition of the Pipe Dance (Calumet in some soures),  with the Beloved Child (it could be a girl or a boy) undergoing an elaborate ceremony.   People might have multiple names (family kin name, clan name, later a name from an accomplishment,  plus nicknames [‘uncle names’].   Is there a similar name in Dhegiha groups?

Best,
Jill



From: Siouan Linguistics [mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu] On Behalf Of Rory Larson
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 3:43 PM
To: SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu<mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu>
Subject: Re: Old Otoe-Missouria term for "bear"

Sky,

The wasabe term is not just Ponca; it’s Omaha, Kaw and (as wasape) Osage as well.  I assume it’s common Dhegiha.  It refers to the black bear, as opposed to the mąnto-equivalent term for ‘grizzly bear’.  I’m sure you’re entirely right that the ‘Wathapay’ part of that name is an Otoe equivalent of Dhegiha *wasape.  It looks like the ‘ignet’ must have been written by a Frenchman; it kind of threw me a little at first.  :)

Anyway, if the *wasape term was not known from Otoe before, that’s a great catch!  So it looks like you have three terms for ‘bear’??

Best,
Rory


From: Siouan Linguistics [mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu] On Behalf Of Sky Campbell
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 1:50 PM
To: SIOUAN at LISTSERV.UNL.EDU<mailto:SIOUAN at LISTSERV.UNL.EDU>
Subject: Old Otoe-Missouria term for "bear"

I've had a name from an old Otoe treaty (1817) that has always puzzled me.  The name is:

Wathapayignet - the Small Bear

There is no mųnje (bear/black bear) or mąnto (grizzly bear) terms to be found in there.  The "small" part is easy enough to pull out of there (yignet = -inye).  Then the thought struck me about the Ponca term for bear (wasabe) and how the Ponca "s" can sometimes be the Otoe "th" in cognate terms.  This gives me "wathabe" as the term for bear.  Now before I run with this, does anyone have anything to back this up?  It certainly makes sense and the pieces fit.  But I have never seen "wathabe" anywhere as an Otoe word for bear.  But if I am right, this would give me:

Wathabeinye - Small Bear

If I am correct, then I'm thinking that this is an extremely old term.

Anyone else come across this before?

Sky
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