Washk=?utf-8?Q?=C4=85_?=in Otoe-Missouria

[Ardis Eschenberg]

In addition to ʻDo one’s best,ʻ washkoN is also often translated as ʻbe strong’ (for example, said to one who is grieving) and is used to connote strength, such as in ʻWashkoN tonga,’ meaning strong or muscular.  

So, could also mean ʻWalks Strong’ or ʻAlways Strong’ for the name given.


Ardis Eschenberg, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Windward Community College
(808) 235-7443
ardise at hawaii.edu





On Aug 11, 2014, at 7:51 AM, Catherine Rudin <carudin1 at WSC.EDU> wrote:

> Common in Omaha too.  At one time it was the UmoNhoN Nation School's sports teams cheer; maybe still is. 
> 
> >>> "Mcbride, Justin" 08/11/14 11:01 AM >>>
> Just means 'do one's best' in Dhegiha, a far as I've ever seen. It's very common in Osage in particular; it used to be written on the back of all the Language Dept. t-shirts. 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 9:34 AM, Campbell, Sky <sky at omtribe.org> wrote:
> A few weeks ago there was a discussion about the Ioway name "Washką Manyi" and the given translations such as Fast Dancer and Great Walker from historical documents.  I also mentioned a Ponca friend of mine with the name Washką Mathi which he translated as Stands Strong.  So I've been really interested in the term "washką" and if there was any Otoe equivalent.  The closest lead I found was Dorsey giving the Jiwere equivalent of washką as brixe in his Omaha/Ponca slips.
> 
>  
> 
> But poking through Dorsey's material a while ago I found this term:
> 
>  
> 
> nan-wañ-́e i-ra-́krin-wa-́shkan - to do his best to dodge or evade the blow, weapon, or pursuer
> 
>  
> 
> Then I was talking with my assistant today who is pretty knowledgeable in Osage and he mentioned in passing that Osages use "washką" to refer to doing their best.  So I looked in Dorsey's material again and found this by itself:
> 
>  
> 
> nan-wañ-́e - to dodge a blow or weapon; to evade the enemy, or pursuer
> 
>  
> 
> So that leaves us with  i-ra-́krin-wa-́shkan which Dorsey also has a separate slip for.  Unfortunately he doesn't translate it here but he does give this phrase:
> 
>  
> 
> irákrinwashkanˊwi hó
> 
>  
> 
> Based on what I've seen so far, it looks to be a command to "do your best".  But what is really interesting is Dorsey gives this afterward:
> 
>  
> 
> (eq. to Dh. washkan i-gă)
> 
>  
> 
> So now we have a direct comparison of the Otoe "iragrį washką" and Dhegiha "washką".  Has anyone else seen something like this floating around their respective languages?  I'm curious what the "iragrį" is doing here and why it is omitted for its Dhegiha equivalent.  And now because of the idea of "best" it has me wondering if this term is related to "wexa" (best).
> 
>  
> 
> Anyone have any thoughts?  If this term does in fact refer to doing your best, then the name "Washką Manyi" could perhaps roughly translate to "He Always Does His Best."
> 
>  
> 
> Sky Campbell
> 
> Language Director
> 
> Otoe-Missouria Tribe
> 
> (580) 723-4466, ext. 111
> 
> sky at omtribe.org
> 
>  
> 
> 
>   ­­  
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> 
> -- Manage your subscription at http://listserv.unl.edu. listserv.unl.edu lists do not accept incoming email from Yahoo.com, AOL.com or Dropbox.com due to thier DMARC policies.
> -- Manage your subscription at http://listserv.unl.edu. listserv.unl.edu lists do not accept incoming email from Yahoo.com, AOL.com or Dropbox.com due to thier DMARC policies.


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