Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/54

 4.2 On the defcent of the American Indians from the Jews,

and that of the other preceding it, either the firft or fecond perfon fingular of the indicative mood -, which is formed fo by a fixed rule, on account of the variegating power of the ferviles, by affixing, inferring, or fuffixing them, to any root. According to the ufage of the Hebrews, they always place the accufative cafe alfo before the verb ; as in the former Indian words.

��With the Hebrews, nbsn fignified " a prayer," or a religious invocation, derived from n^3, Phelac, " to pray to, or invoke the Deity." In a ftrong refemblance thereof, when the Indians are performing their facred dance, with the eagles tails, and with great earneftnefs invoking To He Wah to blefs them with fuccefs and profperity, Phale fignifies, " waving," or in voking by waving, Ifhphale, you wave, Phalecha, wave you, Aphalale, I waved, Aphatilas, I will wave, &c. Pfalmodifts feem to have borrowed the notes fa, la, from the aforefaid Hebrew words of praying, finging to, or invoking Elohim. by3, (Phoole) " to work," is evidently drawn from the former Hebrew word, which fignifies to invoke (and probably to wave the feathers of the cherubic eagle before) To He Wah. The greateft part of the Levitical method of worfhipping, confifted in laborious mechanical exercifes, much after the Indian manner; which the popilh priefts copy after, in a great many inftances, as pulling off their clothes, and putting on others ; imagining that the Deity is better pleafed with perfons who variegate their external appearances, like Proteus, than with thofe who worfhip with a fteady, fmcere difpofition of mind ; befides a prodigious group of other fuperftitious ceremonies, which are often mamefully blended with thofe of the old pagans.

As the Hebrew word *O, Na, fignifies the prefent time fo when the Indians defire a perfon to receive fomething from them fpeedily, they fay, Na (mort and gutturally) eefcba, " take it, now." He replies Unfa, or Omeb, which are good-natured affirmatives. The pronoun relative, " you," which they term IJhna, is a compounded Hebrew word, fignifying (by ap plication) the perfon prefent, or " you."

With the Hebrews, in -\n, Hara Hara, fignifies, " moft, or very, hot ;"

the repetition of the word makes it a fuperlative. In a ftrict refemblance of

that word, and mode of fpeech, when an Indian is baffled by any of their

7 humorous

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