Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/65

 ^ be parity of their language. 53

diftinction ; as Najjbob-oojhe^ a wolf-cub, Neetf-oojhe a bear- cub : but though the word Oophe fignifies a dog, as an exception to their general method of fpeech, they call a puppy Oopb-ijhik, becaufe he is fo domeftic, or fo- ciable, as p^% to kiTs, or fondle. In like manner, Pi/hi fignifies milk ; and Pijhik a woman's bread, or the udder of any animal ; as the young ones, by killing, or fucking, made the bread, "5, with their mouth, and thereby receive their nourimment. With the Hebrews, -py (Oopbecb'a) fignifies active, or reftlefs : which, according to the Indian idiom, exprefies the quality of a dog; Qopbe is therefore the name of this animal, and their period denotes a fimilarity, according to the ufage of the Hebrews...

Shale and Skatera^ fignify to carry, Sbapore^ a load. The former word confifts of Sbetb and Ale. llkh imports dead, and Kaneba loft. They fay Sbaf Kaneba, to carry a thing quite away, or to Canaan. Likewife, Ulebt Kaneha, literally, dead, and loft, or probably, gone to Canaan. Several old Indian American towns are called Kanaai ; and it hath been a prevailing notion with many Jews, that when any of their people died in a ftrange land, they pa{Ted through the caverns of the earth, till they arrived at Canaan, their attractive centre. And the word Oobea y likewife imports dead, or cut off by O E A, or Tohewab ; for they firmly believe, as before hinted, they cannot outlive the time the Deity has prescribed them. They likewife fay, Haffe Ookklille Cbeele^ " the fun is, or has been, caufed to die in the water," /. e. fun-fer. When they would fay, " Do not obfcure, or darken me," they cry IJh~ookk~ille Chinna.^ verbatim, " Do not occafion Ijb, me, to become like the fun, dead in the water." They call the new moon, Haffe Awdbta, " the moon is called upon to appear by Yohewah :" which plainly mews, that they believe the periodical revolutions of the moon to be caufed, and the fun every day to die, or be extinguifhed in the ocean, by the conftant laws of God. When we afk them, if to-day's fun is drowned in the weftern ocean, how another can rife out of the eadern ocean to-morrow ? they only reply, Pitta Yammi, or Ta:;:mi mimg y or fuch is the way of God with his people. It feems to be a plain contraction of IT and *BDN Ammi\ which was the name of lirael during the theocracy. Befides, Asemmi fignifies, * I believe;" as the peculiar people believed in Yohewah. And it likewife imports, " I am the owner of, &c." according to the Hebrew idiom,, the words and meaning nearly agree,

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