-------------------- noonii -- bear ----------------------

noonii -- bear (general term); Grizzly Bear

Pronunciation:

  Like "NO - knee" (Listen)

Etymology:

  The word noonii appears to be derived from an Athabaskan word meaning "wild animal, large animal."

Meaning:

  In Bill Ray's dialect noonii definitely refers specifically to the Grizzly Bear. In the other Cahto dialects noonii is the general term for any kind of bear. In most related languages, noonii refers to the Black Bear, as opposed to the Grizzly Bear.

Culture:

  Grizzly Bear appears as a main character in at least one story:

    Grizzly Woman Kills Doe (http://thunder.prohosting.com/~bintcbil/cgi-bin/text2htmlonline.cgi?storynum=17.html)

  Bears were the principal natural competitor for many of the same food resources as the Naahneesh. In particular salmon-fishing and berry-picking had the potential to bring humans and bears into direct competition and contact. In addition, bears, Grizzly Bears in particular, would sometimes attack and kill people.

  The Naahneesh sometimes hunted bears for food or safety reasons (see information on how they were hunted in Essene, fide Gil Ray and Martinez Bell). Black Bears were eaten (Curtis fide Bill Ray), but not Grizzlies. The grease was used for various purposes. The hides were made into robes or blankets, or sometimes into outfits for a Bear Doctor.

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Addendum/Corrigendum from a recipient of the Word for the Day:

  "From everything I have ever been told, Bears were NOT killed, except in cases of emergency, and even then not eaten, as that would be like eating a member of your family. No Cahto tribal member that I know would ever shoot a bear, and hold tribes that do use them for food as cannibals. It is possible that the old time bear doctors may have ceremonily shot a bear and maybe eaten its heart as part of a way to recieve its powers into themselves, taken the fur and claws, but I believe the rest would have been disposed of in the most sacred of manners. I may be wrong, but I don't think so."

This is slightly different from the picture presented in the ethnographic sources (black bears and grizzly bears treated differently) working with informants who grew up in the 19th century, but clearly reflects deeply held beliefs in present-day Cahto culture.

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  Sometimes orphaned bear cubs were raised as pets.

Other noonii words:

  noonii-lhtciik -- Grizzly Bear (literally "red bear")
  noonii-lhtsow -- blue bear, gray phase of Black Bear (literally "blue bear")
  noonii-lhtcing -- black phase of Black Bear (literally "black bear")
  noonii-yaashtc -- bear cub (literally "small little bear")
  noonii-kw'aah -- bear grease (literally "bear - its fat")
  noonii-uusits' -- bearskin robe or blanket (literally "bear - its skin")
  Noonii-bilh Nidaash -- Bear Dance (literally "bear-with dance")
  too-noonii -- shark (literally "water bear")

Related Languages:

  Lassik, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Wailaki: noonii (Black Bear)
  Bear River, Mattole: noonii (Black Bear)
  Hupa: sa:ts' (Black Bear), mikyow' (Grizzly Bear)

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Sally Anderson
sally@turtlenodes.com
Cahto Language Home Page: http://www.turtlenodes.com/calath/caindex.html