Name
The Seneca nation's own name (autonym) is Onöndowága, meaning "People of the Great Hill." It is identical to the endonym used by the Onondaga people. With the formation of the Haudenosaunee, they settled and lived as the farthest west of all the nations within the league. Other nations called them Seneca after their principal village of Osininka. Since "Osininka" sounds like the Anishinaabe word Asinikaa(n), meaning "Those at the Place Full of Stones", this gave rise to further confusion. Non-Haudenosaunee nations confused the Seneca nation's name with that of the Oneida nation's endonym Onyota'a:ka, meaning "People of the Standing Stone."
The similarity to the name of the Roman statesman Seneca is entirely coincidental.
Read more about this topic: Seneca People
Famous quotes containing the word name:
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