2. I´-e-çka-wa-the, Giver-of-speech. The Sun also gave to the “Little
Ones” the power of expressing their thoughts by speech, and the skill
in arranging their words so that they can be clearly understood. When
a person speaks intelligently he is spoken of as i´-e-wa-çka, a
clear speaker. The children are given the name I´-e-çka-wa-the as a
recognition of this great gift from the Sun. The name is mentioned in
the Naming Ritual of the Puma gens. (See p. 41, line 34.)
The story of the introduction of this name, as told by the Black Bear
gens in their Ni´-ḳi Ritual, differs from the Puma version of the
story. (See p. 228, 36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., lines 238 to 304.)
3. Moⁿ´-ga-xe, Arrow-maker. At the same time that the Sun gave to the
“Little Ones” the gift of speech he gave to them a finished arrow so
that when they came to dwell upon the earth they could make arrows
like it and use them for defending themselves against enemies and for
killing animals to use for food. The name is mentioned in the Puma
Naming Ritual. (See p. 42, line 44.)
THE FIRST THREE DAUGHTERS
1. Moⁿ´-ca-ṭse-xi, Sacred Arrowshaft. The name Moⁿ´-ca-ṭse-xi refers
to the ray of light which was given by the Sun to the “Little Ones”
for use as an arrowshaft. This shaft had the quality of unerring
precision which excited the wonder of the “Little Ones.” It was to them
a mysterious arrowshaft. The name is mentioned in the Naming Ritual of
the Puma gens. (See p. 41, line 29.)
2. Moⁿ-zhoⁿ´-op-she-wiⁿ, Woman-who-travels-over-the-earth. This name
refers to the ever recurring westward movement of the moon over the
earth. The name is mentioned in the Naming Ritual of the Puma gens.
(See p. 41, line 39.)
3. Noⁿ´-mi-ṭse-xi, Beloved-child-of-the-sun. This name is mentioned in
the Naming Ritual of the Puma gens. (See p. 42, line 49.)
Another name follows that of the third son in the ritual,
Iⁿ-shta´-sha-be, Dark-eyes, and is a Ḳa´-zhiⁿ-ga name. The name is
mentioned in the Naming Ritual of the Puma gens. (See p. 42, line 54.)
The name E-noⁿ´-gi-tha-bi, The Favorite, follows that of the third
daughter, and is a Çi´-ge name. This name is not mentioned in the
ritual. Wa-xthi´-zhi said the fourth daughter is the favored one
because if the first three should fail to bring forth children the
parents would cherish the hope that their fourth daughter will give
them grandchildren.
SKY NAMES
The distinctive birth names of the Puma gens, mentioned above, are
spoken of as sky names, to distinguish them from the common gentile
names. These birth names are said to have originated in the sky when
the “Little Ones” were about to descend to the earth to take upon
themselves bodily form. Some of these names refer to important events
that came to pass before the descent from the sky to the earth. Earth
names were also used by both the Puma and the Black Bear gentes. These
names will be referred to later.
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