A Key Into the Language of America, or an Help to the Language of the Natives in That Part of America Called New-England: Together with Briefe Observations of the Customes, Manners, and Worships, &c. of the Aforesaid Natives, etc.Williams, Roger
History
A Key Into the Language of America, or an Help to the Language of the Natives in That Part of America Called New-England: Together with Briefe Observations of the Customes, Manners, and Worships, &c. of the Aforesaid Natives, etc.
Williams, Roger
Narragansett Indians; Narragansett language
Obs: Which some doe not, but they are rare Birds; for generally all
the Men throughout the Countrey have a Tobacco-bag with a pipe in it,
hanging at their back; sometimes they make such great pipes, both
of wood and stone, that they are two foot long, with men or beasts
carved, so big or massie, that a Man may be hurt mortally by one of
them; but these commonly come from the _Mauquáuwogs_, or the men
eaters, three or foure hundred miles from us: They have an excellent
Art to cast our Pewter and Brasse into very neate and artificiall
Pipes: They take their _Wuttamâuog_ (that is, a weake Tobacco) which
the Men plant themselves, very frequently; yet I never see any take
so excessively, as I have seene Men in Europe; and yet excesse were
more tolerable in them, because they want the refreshing of Beare and
Wine, which God hath vouchafed Europe.
Wuttámmagon, A Pipe.
Hopuónck, A Pipe.
Chicks, a cocke, or hen: A name taken from the English chicke,
because they have no hens before the English came.
Chícks ánawat, The Cocke crowes.
Neesquttónckqussu, A babler, or prater.
Cunneesquttonck quessimmin, You prate.
Obs: Which they figuratively transferre from the frequent troublesome
clamour of a Cocke.
Nanótateem, I keepe house alone.
Aquìe kuttúnnan, Doe not tell.
Aquìe mooshkisháttous, Doe not disclose.
Teàg yo augwháttick? What hangs there?
Yo augwháttous? Hang it there.
Pemisquâi, Crooked, or winding.
Penâyi, Crooked.
Nqussútam--I remove house: Which they doe upon these occasions: From
thick warme vallies, where they winter, they remove a little neerer
to their Summer fields; when ’tis warme Spring, then they remove to
their fields, where they plant Corne. In middle of Summer, because
of the abundance of Fleas, which the dust of the house breeds, they
will flie and remove on a sudden from one part of their field to a
fresh place: And sometimes having fields a mile or two, or many miles
asunder, when the worke of one field is over, they remove house to
the other: If death fall in amongst them, they presently remove to
a fresh place: If an enemie approach they remove into a Thicket, or
Swampe, unlesse they have some fort to remove unto.
Sometimes they remove to a hunting house in the end of the yeare, and
forsake it not until Snow lie thick and then will travell home, Men,
women and children, thorow the snow, thirtie, yea, fiftie or sixtie
miles; but their great remove is from their Summer fields to warme
and thicke woodie bottomes where they winter: They are quicke; in
halfe a day, yea, sometimes at few houres warning to be gone and the
house up elsewhere, especially, if they have stakes readie pitcht for
their Mats.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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