Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples Part 25

----, Coming or going out of a.

Same as the sign for _entering a lodge_, only the fingers of the right hand point obliquely upward after pa.s.sing under the left hand.

(_Dakota_ I.) "Coming out from under cover."

Hold the open left hand a foot or eighteen inches in front of the breast, palm downward or backward, fingers pointing toward the right and pa.s.s the right, back upward, with index extended, or all of the fingers extended, and pointing forward, about eighteen inches forward underneath the left through an arc from near the mouth. Some at the same time move the left hand toward the breast. (_Dakota_ IV.)

----, Entering a.

The left hand is held with the back upward, and the right hand also with the back up is pa.s.sed in a curvilinear direction down under the other, so as to rub against its palm, then up on the other side of it.

The left hand here represents the low door of the skin lodge and the right the man stooping down to pa.s.s in, (_Long_.)

Pa.s.s the flat right hand in short curves under the left, which is held a short distance forward. (_Wied_.) I have described the same sign. It is not necessary to pa.s.s the hand more than once. By saying curves, he seems to imply many pa.s.ses. If the hand is pa.s.sed more than once it means repet.i.tion of the act. (_Matthews; McChesney_.) The conception is of the stooping to pa.s.s through the low entrance, which is often covered by a flap of skin, sometimes stretched on a frame, and which must be shoved aside, and the subsequent rising when the entrance has been accomplished. A distinction is reported by a correspondent as follows: "If the intention is to speak of a person entering the gesturer's own lodge, the right hand is pa.s.sed under the left and toward the body, near which the left hand is held; if of a person entering the lodge of another, the left hand is held further from the body and the right is pa.s.sed under it and outward. In both cases both hands are slightly curved and compressed." As no such distinction is reported by others it may be an individual invention or peculiarity.

A gliding movement of the extended hand, fingers joined, backs up, downward, then ascending, indicative of the stooping and resumption of the upright position in entering the same. (_Arapaho_ I.)

(1) Sign for LODGE, the left hand being still in position used in making sign for LODGE; (2) forefinger and thumb of right hand brought to a point and thrust through the outline of an imaginary lodge represented by the left hand. (_Cheyenne_ II.)

First make the sign for LODGE, then place the left hand, horizontal and slightly arched, before the body, and pa.s.s the right hand with extended index underneath the left--forward and slightly upward beyond it. (_Absaroka_ I; _Dakota_ V; _Shoshoni and Banak_ I; _Wyandot_ I.)

Left hand (W), ends of fingers toward the right, stationary in front of the left breast; pa.s.s the right hand directly and quickly out from the breast under the stationary left hand, ending with the extended fingers of the right hand pointing outward and slightly downward, joined, palm downward flat, horizontal (W). (_Dakota_ I.) "Gone under; covered."

Hold the open left hand a foot or eighteen inches in front of the breast, palm downward or backward, fingers pointing toward the right, and pa.s.s the right hand, palm upward, fingers bent sidewise and pointing backward, from before backward underneath it, through a curve until near the mouth. Some at the same time move the left hand a little forward. (_Dakota_ IV.)

The left hand, palm downward, finger-tips forward, either quite extended or with the fingers slightly bent, is held before the body. Then the right hand nearly or quite extended, palm downward, finger-tips near the left thumb, and pointing toward it, is pa.s.sed transversely under the left hand and one to four inches below it. The fingers of the right hand point slightly upward when the motion is completed. This sign usually, but not invariably, refers to entering a house. (_Mandan and Hidatsa_ I.)

Place the slightly curved left hand, palm down, before the breast, pointing to the right, then pa.s.s the flat right hand, palm down, in a short curve forward, under and upward beyond the left. (_Ute_ I.) "Evidently from the manner in which a person is obliged to stoop in entering an ordinary Indian lodge."

HORSE.

The right hand with the edge downward, the fingers joined, the thumb rec.u.mbent, extended forward. (_Dunbar_.)

Place the index and middle finger of the right hand astraddle the index finger of the left. [In the original the expression "third"

finger is used, but it is ascertained in another connection that the author counts the thumb as the first finger and always means what is generally styled middle finger when he says third. The alteration is made to prevent confusion.] (_Wied_.) I have described this sign in words to the same effect. (_Matthews_.) The right arm is raised, and the hand, opened edgewise, with fingers parallel and approximated, is drawn from left to right before the body at the supposed height of the animal. There is no conceivable ident.i.ty in the execution of this sign and _Wied's_, but his sign for _horse_ is nearly identical with the sign for _ride a horse_ among the Otos. (_Boteler_.) This sign is still used by the Cheyennes. (_Dodge_.)

A hand pa.s.sed across the forehead. (_Macgowan_.)

Left-hand thumb and forefinger straightened out, held to the level of and in front of the breast; right-hand forefinger separated from the middle finger and thrown across the left hand to imitate the act of bestriding. They appear to have no other conception of a horse, and have thus indicated that they have known it only as an animal to be ridden. (_Creel_; _Cheyenne_ II.)

Draw the right hand from left to right across the body about the heart, the fingers all closed except the index. This is abbreviated by making a circular sweep of the right open hand from about the left elbow to the front of the body, probably indicating the mane. A Pani sign. (_Cheyenne_ IV.)

Place the first two fingers of the right hand, thumb extended (N 1), downward, astraddle the first two joined and straight fingers of the left hand (T 1), sidewise to the right. Many Sioux Indians use only the forefinger straightened. (_Dakota_ I.) "Horse mounted."

The first and second fingers extended and separated, remaining fingers and thumb closed; left forefinger extended, horizontal, remaining fingers and thumb closed; place the right-hand fingers astride of the forefinger of the left, and both hands jerked together, up and down, to represent the motion of a horse. (_Dakota_ III.)

The two hands being clinched and near together, palms downward, thumbs against the forefingers, throw them, each alternately, forward and backward about a foot, through an ellipsis two or three times, from about six inches in front of the chest, to imitate the galloping of a horse, or the hands may be held forward and not moved. (_Dakota_ IV.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 260.]

Place the extended and separated index and second fingers of the right hand astraddle of the extended forefinger of the left. Fig. 260.

Sometimes all the fingers of the left hand are extended in making this sign, as in Fig. 261, though this may be the result of carelessness.

(_Dakota_ VI, VII, VIII; _Hidatsa_ I; _Ponka_ II; _Arikara_ I; _Pani_ I.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 261.]

The left hand is before the chest, back upward in the position of an index-hand pointing forward; then the first and second fingers of the right hand only being extended, separated and pointing downward, are set one on each side of the left forefinger, the interdigital s.p.a.ce resting on the forefinger. The palm faces downward and backward. This represents a rider astride of a horse. (_Mandan and Hidatsa_ I.)

Close hands, except forefingers, which are curved downward; move them forward in rotation, imitating the fore feet of the horse, and make puffing sound of "Uh, uh"! (_Omaha_ I.) "This sign represents the horse racing off to a safe distance, and puffing as he tosses his head."

The arm is flexed and the hand extended is brought on a level with the mouth. The hand then a.s.sumes the position (W 1), modified by being held edges up and down, palm toward the chest, instead of flat. The arm and hand being held thus about the usual height of a horse are made to pa.s.s in an undulating manner across the face or body about one foot distant from contact. The latter movements are to resemble the animal's gait. (_Oto_ I.) "Height of animal and movement of same."

The index and second fingers of the right hand are placed astraddle the extended forefinger of the left. (_Wyandot_ I.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 262.]

Place the flat right hand, thumb down, edgewise before the right side of the shoulder, pointing toward the right. (_Kaiowa_ I; _Comanche_ III; _Apache_ II; _Wichita_ II.) Pig. 262.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 263.]

Another: Hold the right hand flat, extended, with fingers joined, the thumb extended upward, then pa.s.s the hand at arm's length before the face from left to right. This is said by the authorities cited below to be also the Caddo sign, and that the other tribes mentioned originally obtained it from that tribe. (_Kaiowa_ I; _Comanche_ I, III; _Apache_ II; _Wichita_ II.) Fig. 263.

Another: Place the extended and separated index and second fingers astraddle the extended and horizontal forefinger of the left hand.

This sign is only used when communicating with uninstructed white men, or with other Indians whose sign for horse is specifically distinct.

(_Kaiowa_ I; _Comanche_ III; _Apache_ II; _Wichita_ II.).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 264.]

Place the extended index and second fingers of the right hand across the extended first two fingers of the left. Fig. 264. Size of the animal is indicated by pa.s.sing the right hand, palm down, with fingers loosely separated, forward from the right side, at any height as the case may necessitate, after which the sign for HORSE may be made.

(_Pima and Papago_ I.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 265.]

Place the right hand, palm down, before the right side of the chest; place the tips of the second and third fingers against the ball of the thumb, allowing the index and little fingers to project to represent the ears. Fig. 265. Frequently the middle fingers extend equally with and against the thumb, forming the head of the animal, the ears always being represented by the two outer fingers, viz, the index and little finger. Fig. 266. (_Ute_ I.) A similar sign is reported by Colonel Dodge as used by the Utes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 266.]

Elevate the right hand, extended, with fingers joined, outer edge toward the ground, in front of the body or right shoulder, and pointing forward, resting the curved thumb against the palmar side of the index. This sign appears also to signify _animal_ generically, being frequently employed as a preliminary sign when denoting other species. (_Apache_ I.)

_Deaf-mute natural signs_:

Imitate the motion of the elbows of a man on horseback. (_Ballard_.)

Act in the manner of a driver, holding the lines in his hands and shouting to the horse. (_Cross_.)

Move the hands several times as if to hold the reins. (_Larson_.)

_Deaf-mute signs_:

The French deaf-mutes add to the straddling of the index the motion of a trot. American deaf-mutes indicate the ears by placing two fingers of each hand on each side of the head and moving them backward and forward. This is sometimes followed by straddling the left hand by the fore and middle fingers of the right.