The Lenapé and their Legends

And Language

he Lenape Tongue-Cam

eider, Roth, Ettwe

y; Vocabularies,

l Remarks o

ects of t

re of the Lenape.-Th

s; Derivatives, G

ure of the L

lation of the Lutheran catechism into the tongue. The last mentioned was published in Stockholm, in 1696, through the efforts of his grandson, under the title, Lutheri Catechismus, Ofwersatt p? American-Virginiske Spr?ket, 1 vol., sm. 8vo, pp. 160. On pages 1

perficial. Dr. Trumbull says of his work: "The translator had not learned even so much of the grammar as to distinguish the plural of a noun or

stic material, including an imaginary conversation in Lenape, and the orat

ry of it. He writes: "I have made it my business to understand it, that I might not want an interpreter on any occasion."[152] But it is evident, from the specimens he gives

; and of West-New-Jersey in America," London, 1698, dedicated to Penn. Thomas tells us that he lived in the country fifteen years, and supplies, for the c

n? Friend, from

a nee week

wa kee weekin?

ouse. At

weekin? What has

huska chetena? I have very fat

it chekenip. ??with

sa ag yousa When wilt thou

kenip? ??w

kishquicka. To-morr

p), my friend; takoman, Zeis. takom

Heck.; nee, pron. possess. 1st person; weeki

i, where? kee, pron.

ame of an Indian villag

u, what? hatah, Zei

ous, deer meat; og, Camp. ock, Zeis. woak and; chetena, Zeis. tschitani, strong; ch

h, when; beto, Z. peten, to

w; nisha, two; kishquicka, Z.

d Zeisberger, the eminent Moravian missionary, whose long and dev

lifelong study, as for more than sixty years it engaged his attention. To his devotion to the cause in which he was engaged, he added considerable natur

roofs, he complained that both in its arrangement and typographical accuracy it was disappointing. Shortly before his death, in 1806, the second edition appeared, amended in these respects. A "Hymn Book,

red on and in the language. The most important of these were his Delaware Gramma

ethlehem, Pa. A translation of it was prepared by Mr. Peter Stephen Duponceau, an

o the library of Harvard College, where it now is. The volume is an oblong octavo of 362 pages, containin

rman-Delaware Glossary, containing 51 pages and about 600 words; a Delaware-German Phrase Book of about 200 pages;

s interpretations of the Indian names of the State, and his correspondence with Mr. Duponceau. He certainly had a fluent, practical knowledge of the Delaware, but

lled Schechschiquanuk, on the west bank of the Susquehanna, opposite and a little below Shesequin, in Bradford county, Pennsylvania. There he remained until 1772, when, with his flock, fifty-three in number, he proceeded to the

ial study of the Unami dialect of the Lenape, and composed in it an extensive religious work, of which only t

Vers

e unsers Herr

Chr

arische übers

Marter

s

hrt unse

72 zu Tsche

usque

wi tipatta lammowew

oehowaolan Nihillal

a quarto volume, of title, 9 pages of contents in German and English, and 268 pages

and its value is proportionately great as providing the means of studying

and analyze its grammatical forms. But I believe that Algonkin st

of the marriage feast of the king's

tabptonalawoll? wo

-spoke-with-them?

annall? nelih*?

-to ? and? he

llgi

oagan? Patamauwo

ngdom???? God

a Quisall mall'mtauwan?

? his-son? be-made

lan? wtallocacannall

ut?? his-servants?

achpungewiwuladtpoàgann

???? marriage??????

ecamawa? sc

y??? they-we

lallocàlan? pih? wt

-sent-out??other

? ? ? ? ? ?

? Mauwnoh? nen? E

hem?????? thos

schachtuppui,? ? nihill

de-the-feast,? they-are-k

nhillapannick? woak? weemi

I-killed-them??and??

Witachpungkewi

to???? m

a? mattelemawoawol

they-esteemed-it

? enda? ? wtakihàc

thither? to-his-pla

? {M'hallamawa

chsowoaga

chandi

? wtahunnawoawoll?

hey-seized-them?

hkikima

oll}? woak? wumhill

? ? ? ?and? ?they-

Sakima? pentanke

?? heard? ? theref

an? Ndopaluwinuwak,

hem? ? warriors ?

hik,? woak? wulusume

? ? ? and??he-dest

ol

{panni}? nelih? wt

to-them?? to?? h

dtpoagan khella nki

? ? ? ?truly? I-ha

uchtàp

nick? {wtopielg

den? are-not-to-

ssin??ikali?? mengic

way? thither? to-som

Witachpungkewiwula

to? ????marri

luwa? mech

? ye??

ocacannak? iwak???

ts?? they-went? thi

mawehawoawoll pe

they-brought-th

,? Memannungsitschik?

em??? the-bad-ones??

chpuingkill? weemi?

the-tables???? a

?ùh? na? Sakima,? ne

d-in? the? king??

wunewoawoll uchtend

? he-saw-him? ther

achquiwon? witachpun

wearing? ? ? a m

? neli,*? Elanggomêll

im? to-him?? Friend

tá? elinàquo? wentschi

ot??like? ?therefore

? mattacu? witachpun

??}? ?not? ? ?m

?? Necama tschu

? He? ? but? ?

ll? ? na? Sakima? nel

them? the? king? to-

na

n}? Wunachkall? wo

m? ? ? his-hands?

emung? enda? ? achwi

? ??where ? in pitc

? woak? Tsch?tsc

? ??and? ? ?t

heli? moetschi? went

y ? ? ? ? ? ? the

ak? ?achnae

e-few? ?

n I have supplied from the materials in the mission-Delaware dialect, but my resources have not been sufficient to analyze e

New World in 1754, and died at the great age of ninety years in 1802. He prepared a small dictionary and phrase book, especially rich in verbal forms. It is

anguage of the natives, including a vocabulary. This was found among the Washington papers by Mr

awares in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was familiar with their language, but the only evidence of his study of it that has come to my knowledge is a MS. in the Harvard College Library, entitled, "Einige Delawarische Redensarten und Worte." It h

eways, gathered together the scattered converts among the Delawares at New Fairfield, Canada West. In 1818 he completed and forwar

ected to send to the Board in that year. A donation of one hundred dollars was made to him to encourage him in his work, but for some reason the

y clear hand, and comprises about 3700 words. The handwriting is that of the late Rev. Mr. Kampman, from 1840 to 1842 missionary to the Delawares on the Canada Reservation. On inquiring t

d edition of Zeisberger's "Spelling Book" (with which I have carefully compared it), it also

m, N. C., where he died in 1839, and at the Missionary Archives at Bethlehem, Pa., and Moraviantown, Canada, have failed to furnish me a clue to its whereabouts. I fear that this precious docu

he 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 Sele

, the second edition of Zeisberger's "Collection of H

e, is in the possession of his family, in Bet

"Delaware Indian Dictionary," the MS. of which, in the library of the American Philosophical Society, forms a thick quarto volume of 843 pages,

"Virginia" and various Nanticoke, Mohegan, Minsi and other vocabularies. The derivations of the proper names are chiefly from Heckewelder, and in other cases are ve

d by various travelers offer points for

y from Shawnee Indians. A comparison shows many of them to be in a corrupt form, owing either to

words from a Delaware chief, named Black Beaver, in the Indian Territory, which was edited, in 1856, by Prof. Turner.

ds, obtained by Mr. Cummings, U. S. Indian Agent. The precise source, date and localit

mong the Delawares in Kansas were prepared by the Rev. J.

So far as I have ascertained, though many learned to write their native ton

ucated native on the Moravian Reservation in Canada, to give me in writing his opinion of the Delaware text of the Walum Olum, w

own, Sept

tlieb

nostamowin. Lamoe nemochomsinga achpami eet newinachke woak chash tichi kachtin nbibindameneb nin lichsoagan. Mauchso lenno woak mauchso chauchshissis woak juque mauchso chauchshissis achpo pomauchsu igabts

slat

t understand it. Long ago my grandfather about 48 years ago I heard it that language. One man and one old woman and now another old woman here lives yet who uses this Wonalatoko language just l

t will be noted that he recognizes the text of the Walum Olum to be a native production composed in one of the ancient southern dialects of the t

l Remarks o

vealing markedly the linguistic traits of this group, and standing philologically, as well

on to the whole stock, I may

simple, monosyllabic roots, by

ouns, adjectives, verbs and other "parts of speech," but are "indifferent themes," whi

ject. This forms the "animate and inanimate," or the "noble and ignoble" declensions and conjugations. The distinction is not strictly logical, but largely grammatical, ma

on as to whether the action is real or conjectural. If the latter, it is indicated by a change in the vo

nts of a proposition are secondary to the nominal or pronominal elements, and the sub

n to inanimate objects, which often have no grammatical plurals.

ed: 1, in nominal themes, by polysynthesis, by which several such themes are welded into one, according to fixed laws of elision and euphony; and 2, by incorpor

of minor to major clauses is left to be indicated ei

of speech between the males and females, so frequently observe

nd, as might be anticipated, no means of predic

ects of t

former is stated by the Moravian missionaries to have had an uncommonly soft and pleasant sound to the ear[158], and William Penn made the same re

it is stated to be a key to the other, and to preserve many words in their integrity and original form, w

f words. They are selected, as showing the greatest variation, from a list of over one hundred, prep

ces are far from extensive, and chiefly

THE UNAMI AND

i. M

mawos? P

hack

asaeck p

ttoney w

wipit

mocum

ipocu

schiki

geto tsch

assinn

ithanne g

acheu wo

ksit nee

aki′ma

asgask

? matta

rom the names of consanguinity obtained by Mr. Lewis H. Morgan on the Kansas Reservation in 1860. These a

. ?Minsi

o mohómus na māh

noo home′ na

noh′h na

gā′hase nai

ese′ nain gw

dānuss nain dā

oh whese′ nain

r nah hāns nain

r na mese′ nai

nah eese umiss? na

e latter possessed the three phonetic elements n, l and r, while the former coul

presented the r sound where the Upper Unami and Minsi had the l. Thus Campa

a widespread characteristic of Algonkin phonology. Roger Williams

tional with the speaker to employ any one of several sounds of the same class. This is the case with these letters in Cree, which, for various reasons,

these letters, so that the foreign

ore recent vocabularies where the r is not infrequent. The following

seeg

o??? s

r tho

hoqrun

riting the sounds of the Indian languages, inserts the r in

tself in the sibilants. They

he sound written s is intermediate between s and th (the Greek Θ). This element is pronounced

h, was softened by the English likewise to the s sound, as

more than two centuries. To test it, I have arranged the subjoined table of words culled from three writers at about equidistant points in this period. Each wrote in the orthography of his ow

ELAWARE AT INTERVAL

Zeisberge

177

German

Orthography

a

he

en

en

aeo ?ochqu

ωk ?nooch

haess ?gah

wijl ?w

rack ?mil

?w'hittawak

?w'ushgink

wan ?w'iki

ωn ?w'do

jrano ?w'il

pit ?w'epi

an ?w'anach

zijt ?

o, kitte ?kt

ωmen ?wiquo

kan ?hopeni

gh ?gischu

nck ?alan

nda ?tind

?bij ?

uun ?gu

F THE DELAWA

homas. Zeisb

695 17

?Kooty ?Ng

Nisha ?Nis

Natcha ?N

?Neo ?New

elenach ?Palena

ootash ?Gutta

shash ?Nischa

hoesh ?Cha

Peshonk ?Pesc

?Telen ?Tel

cept, perhaps, the ancient and now disused r sound. The comparison goes to show that there has probably been but a very slight change in the Delaware, in spite of the many migrations and disturbances they have undergone. They speak the language of th

elves, as well as from Heckewelder's Minsi vocabularies, which show many points of divergence from the printed books. Moreover, among the first converts from the Delaware nation were members of the Unami or Turtle tribe, and Zeisberger was brought into immediate contact with

Structure o

monosyllables, which undergo more or less modifications in composition. They cannot be used alone, the tongue havin

the Cree roots by Mr. Joseph Howse,[165] and most of the radicals of that tongue are identical with those of the Lenape. Some of his con

be compounded to form a combination, which, in turn, perf

ly adjectival in signification, while the suffixes are usually classificatory. A nu

an of word building, I have drawn off a list of a few of the m

e Pre

ond, the ot

t, a superl

see pa

great,

n, indicates

, male

rewd; as lippoewe

evil, b

tive and de

nen, to spe

ee pag

, she,

, separation; p

t, to

tive, as d

lli oth

airs or

indicates

th or in

wel-, see

as min in msim, hickory nut; pakihm, cranberry; and so acki to k, hanne to an, as kitanink (Kittan

e Suf

tachan; kuwenc

place,

tance, adopti

ood, I believe i

From a root ap, t

plied only to

on, to have, to

is ?t. Also

bow; lit., wh

machtschibi

a qua

rmination, signifying

t is en

is to

e; from achgo

hannek, a river

Cree as anask, to

echhannek, a

inal k is, however, part of the root, and not the locati

ttahikan, the ocean; sh

it is true; imperso

iver, water

mental; also

ination used with

like; predicative form of

unk, pla

diminutive

is so, it

h; maschilam

, a

f still water;

of a stream into an

; lit., stret

th, or i

e termination;

ract verbal

agan, the be

leu, a

antive termination,

tehekwi, he o

rmination in cer

he passive recipi

, the one wh

inguistic processes adapted, but it discloses the psychology of the native mind, and teaches us the associations of its ideas, and the range of its imagina

sent a few examples of the derivati

OF LENAPE

e Root NI

a goo

it is I,

chi, self

ee (ape, man =

ewit, a

gan, freedo

, to make fre

id, the Redeem

a bad

is mine to bea

eat him to dea

ut him to death

wet, a

wewi, m

demonstra

or nell, th

ne, nanni, thi

, th

one, with refere

possess

ving, I can, I am

y-family, si

ne, a friend

ld! exclamatio

notions for freedom and servitude, murderer and Saviour, should be expressed by modifications of the same radical is

root GISCH or KICH

ion-succes

lied to

l success

o begin life

form, to make

o make ready

create with th

to meditate

ous succes

to increase, to

grow bette

an, life

g-living,

successfu

nished, ready,

o make ready

to have e

it has pr

, to have resolve

baked, cooked

lied to

l success

oon, day, month.

ing of a period

on of prosperou

derivation is sho

-break, beginn

, the east

ll, the rays

or Gisckq

ous succes

clear, lig

n, to shine,

en, war

t. Howse considers it identical with the root kitch, great, large[167]. This would greatly increase its derivatives. They certa

L

ot 8{N} I.? Abnaki,

R

-; Del., two fo

idea of pleasur

rst fo

, good, han

eu, it is

, it gr

he trut

ewagan

believe, to a

be fine in appe

be fine to ones

d form, w

pe, good

ipe for it, he

sweet,

ne, boiled,

ras. From its

ladly, w

en, to d

ts the "whistled w," like the wh i

Walam, red paint, from the sense "to be fine in appearance, to dr

Structure of

o the intricacies of Lenape grammar, particular

ompletion, the unprejudiced student must acknowledge, with Albert Gallatin[169], that it is "most honestly done," and sho

bservations wil

inal, verbal or adjectival; that is, it performs the functions of

). Inanimate plurals are in al, wall or a. As usual, the distinction between animate and inanimate nouns i

the possessor preceding the thing possessed, as lenno quisall, the

termination wi, which indicates objective existence (like the Chip. -win). Thus, scatte

f these are from the same radical ala which may perhaps come from the admirationis partic

ndent clauses are either included in the verbal o

rb-object; but emphasis allows departures from this, as

amemensall?

? ?children?

pronouns are the most prominent. They a

I, my,

ou, thy,

he, she, it,

h a connective vowel, and future time by tsch

in, I a

neep, I

sintsc

? }? I sha

h n'de

suppositive propositions, was recognized as a fact of

ay be seen from the followin

Vowel Chan

there Achpiya

wher

am so. Lissiy

leep. Gewi,

walk or live. Pe

o. Eyaya,

, go

bscurity as appears in the following English sentence: "John's brother called at Robert's, to see his wife." Whose wife is referred to is left ambiguous; but in Algonkin these third persons would ha

y true passive voice. Cardinal Mezzofanti was accustomed to deny the presence of an

e ancient forms most closely, this is k-ussu, and is a particle expressing likeness or similarity in animate objects[171]. Henc