Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/57

 Their names of the Deity* 45

when it is compounded without the A ; as Chookoma hummajhtabe, " One who killed a beautiful, great, red, or war-chieftain ;" which is compounded of Chookoma, comely, Humma, red, ttftf, Aft), fire, and yffo, a contraction of*?!i# 9 jf&ek, fignifying grief, or forrow. Hence it appears, that becaufe the Hebrews affixed a virtuous idea to fobe, goodly ; the Indians call white by the fame name, and make it the conftant emblem of every thing that is good, according to a fimilar Hebrew cuftom. Of this the facred oracles make frequent mention.

The Jews called that, which was the moft excellent of every thing, the fat ; and the Indians, in like manner, fay, Oofto Neehe, " The fat of the pompion," Tranche Neehe, " The fat of the corn. Neeha is the adjective, fignifying fat, from which the word Necta, " a bear," is derived. They apply the word heart, only to animate beings.

As the Deity is the foul of every fyftem and as every nation, from the remoteft ages of antiquity, believed that they could not live well, without fome god or other -, when, therefore, we clearly underftand the name, or names, by which any fociety of people exprefs their notions of a deity, we can with more precifion form ideas of the nature of their religious worfhip, and of the object, or objects, of their adoration. I fhall therefore here give a plain defcription of the names by which the Indian Americans fpeak of God.

IJhtohootto is an appellative for God. Ifhtohoollo points at the grear- nefs, purity, and goodnefs, of rhe Creator in forming w$ and iWN : it is derived from IJhto, GREAT, which was the ufual name of God through all the prophetic writings \ likewife, from the prefent tenfe of the infinitive mood of the active verb, Ahoollo, " I love," and from the prefer tenfe of the palfive verb, lioollo, which fignifies " fanctifying, fanctified, divine, or holy." Women fet apart, they term, Haotto, /. e.. fanctifying themfelves to Ifhtohoollo : likewife, Netakhoollo fignifies " a fanc tified, divine, or holy day ," and, in like manner, Ookka Hoollo, " water fanctified," &c. So that, Jfotohoollo, when applied to God, in its true radical meaning, imports, " The great, beloved, holy Caufe j" which is exceedingly comprehenfive, and more expreflive of the true nature of God, than the He brew name Adonai, which is applicable to a human being. Whenever the

Indians;

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