The Lenâpé and Their Legends: With the complete text and symbols of the Walam olum, a new translation, and an inquiry into its authenticityBrinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)
History
The Lenâpé and Their Legends: With the complete text and symbols of the Walam olum, a new translation, and an inquiry into its authenticity
Brinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)
Delaware Indians; Delaware language -- Texts; Picture-writing, Indian
The Rev. Abraham Luckenbach may be called the last of the Moravian
Lenapists. With him, in 1854, died out the traditions of native
philology. Born in 1777, in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, he became
a missionary among the Indians in 1800, and until his retirement,
forty-three years later, was a zealous pastor to his flock on the White
river, Indiana, and later, on the Canada Reservation. His published
work is entitled "Forty-six Select Scripture Narratives from the Old
Testament, embellished with Engravings, for the Use of Indian Youth.
Translated into Delaware Indian, by A. Luckenbach. New York. Printed
by Daniel Fanshaw, 1838." 8vo, pp. xvi, 304.
After his retirement in Bethlehem, he edited, in 1847, the second
edition of Zeisberger's "Collection of Hymns," the first of which has
already been mentioned.
A short MS. vocabulary, in German and Delaware, is in the possession of
his family, in Bethlehem, and some loose papers in the language.
One of the most recent students of the Delaware was Mr. Matthew G.
Henry, of Philadelphia. In 1859 and 1860 he compiled, with no little
labor, a "Delaware Indian Dictionary," the MS. of which, in the library
of the American Philosophical Society, forms a thick quarto volume of
843 pages, with a number of maps. It is in three parts; 1, English and
Delaware; 2, Delaware and English; 3, Delaware Proper Names and their
Translations.
It includes, without analysis or correction, the words in Zeisberger's
"Spelling Book," Roger William's "Key," Companius' Vocabulary, those in
Smith's and Strachey's "Virginia" and various Nanticoke, Mohegan, Minsi
and other vocabularies. The derivations of the proper names are chiefly
from Heckewelder, and in other cases are venturesome. The compilation,
therefore, while often useful, lacks the salutary check of a critical,
grammatical erudition, and in its present form is of limited value.
Some of the later vocabularies collected by various travelers offer
points for comparison, and may be mentioned here.
In 1786 Major Denny[154] at Fort McIntosh, Ohio, collected a number of
Delaware words, principally from Shawnee Indians. A comparison shows
many of them to be in a corrupt form, owing either to the ignorance of
the Shawnee authority, or to the inaccuracy of Major Denny in catching
the sounds.
While engaged on the Pacific Railroad survey, in 1853, Lieut.
Whipple[155] collected a vocabulary of a little over 200 words from
a Delaware chief, named Black Beaver, in the Indian Territory, which
was edited, in 1856, by Prof. Turner. It is evidently a pure specimen,
and, as the editor observes, "agrees remarkably" with earlier authentic
vocabularies.
In the second volume of Schoolcraft's large work[156] is a vocabulary
of about 350 words, obtained by Mr. Cummings, U. S. Indian Agent. The
precise source, date and locality are not given, but it is evidently
from some trustworthy native, and is quite correct.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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