Indian Linguistic Families of America, North of Mexico: Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 1-142Powell, John Wesley
History
Indian Linguistic Families of America, North of Mexico: Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 1-142
Powell, John Wesley
Indians of North America -- Languages; Indians of North America -- Languages -- Bibliography
= Tunicas, Gallatin in Trans. and Coll. Am. Antiq. Soc., II, 115, 116,
1836 (quotes Dr. Sibley, who states they speak a distinct language).
Latham, Nat. Hist. Man, 341, 1850 (opposite mouth of Red River; quotes
Dr. Sibley as to distinctness of language).
= Tonica, Gatschet, Creek Mig. Legend, I, 39, 1884 (brief account of
tribe).
= Tonika, Gatschet in Science, 412, April 29, 1887 (distinctness as a
family asserted; the tribe calls itself Túniχka).
Derivation: From the Tonika word óni, “man,” “people;” t- is a prefix or
article; -ka, -χka a nominal suffix.
The distinctness of the Tonika language, has long been suspected, and
was indeed distinctly stated by Dr. Sibley in 1806.[98] The statement to
this effect by Dr. Sibley was quoted by Gallatin in 1836, but as the
latter possessed no vocabulary of the language he made no attempt to
classify it. Latham also dismisses the language with the same quotation
from Sibley. Positive linguistic proof of the position of the language
was lacking until obtained by Mr. Gatschet in 1886, who declared it to
form a family by itself.
[Footnote 98: President’s message, February 19, 1806.]
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.
The Tonika are known to have occupied three localities: First, on the
Lower Yazoo River (1700); second, east shore of Mississippi River (about
1704); third, in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana (1817). Near Marksville,
the county seat of that parish, about twenty-five are now living.
TONKAWAN FAMILY.
= Tonkawa, Gatschet, Zwölf Sprachen aus dem Südwesten Nordamerikas,
76, 1876 (vocabulary of about 300 words and some sentences). Gatschet,
Die Sprache der Tonkawas, in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 64, 1877.
Gatschet (1876), in Proc. Am. Philosoph. Soc., XVI, 318, 1877.
Derivation: the full form is the Caddo or Wako term tonkawéya, “they all
stay together” (wéya, “all”).
After a careful examination of all the linguistic material available for
comparison, Mr. Gatschet has concluded that the language spoken by the
Tonkawa forms a distinct family.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.
The Tónkawa were a migratory people and a _colluvies gentium_, whose
earliest habitat is unknown. Their first mention occurs in 1719; at that
time and ever since they roamed in the western and southern parts of
what is now Texas. About 1847 they were engaged as scouts in the United
States Army, and from 1860-’62 (?) were in the Indian Territory; after
the secession war till 1884 they lived in temporary camps near Fort
Griffin, Shackelford County, Texas, and in October, 1884, they removed
to the Indian Territory (now on Oakland Reserve). In 1884 there were
seventy-eight individuals living; associated with them were nineteen
Lipan Apache, who had lived in their company for many years, though in a
separate camp. They have thirteen divisions (partly totem-clans) and
observe mother-right.
UCHEAN FAMILY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account