Dead Animal Names
Hadza has received some attention for a dozen 'celebratory' (Woodburn) or 'triumphal' (Blench) names for dead animals. These are used to announce a kill. They are (in the imperative singular):
| Animal | Generic name | Triumphal name |
|---|---|---|
| zebra | dóngoko | hantáhii |
| giraffe | zzókwanako | háwahii |
| buffalo | naggomako | tíslii |
| leopard | nqé, tcánjahi | henqéhee |
| lion | séseme | hubúhee |
| eland | khómatiko | hubúhii |
| impala | p(h)óphoko | dlunkúhii |
| wildebeest hartebeest |
bisóko qqeléko |
zzonóhii |
| other large antelope | hephéhee | |
| small antelope | hichíhee | |
| rhinoceros | tlhákate | hukhúhee |
| elephant hippopotamus |
beggáhuko wezzáhiko |
kapuláhii |
| warthog boar |
dláha kwai |
hatcháhee |
| baboon | neeko | nqokhóhii |
| ostrich | khenángu | hushúhee |
The words are somewhat generic: henqehee may be used for any spotted cat, hushuhee (hushuwee) for any running ground bird. 'Lion' and 'eland' are distinguished only by gender. Blench (2008) thinks this may have something to do with the eland being considered magical in the region.
An IO suffix may be used to reference the person who made the kill. Compare hanta 'zebra' with the more mundane verbs, qhasha 'to carry' and kw- 'to give', in the imperative singular and plural (Miller 2009):
| hanta-hi-i (hanta-ta-te) |
hanta-hi-ko-o (hanta-hi-kwa-te) |
| zebra-DO.3fs-IMP | zebra-DO.3fs-IO.1sg-IMP |
| a zebra! | I got a zebra! |
| qhasha-hi-i (qhasha-ta-te) |
kw-i-ko-o (kw-i-kwa-te) |
| carry-DO.3fs-IMP | give-DO.3fs-IO.1sg-IMP |
| carry it! | give it to me! |
Read more about this topic: Hadza Language
Famous quotes containing the words dead, animal and/or names:
“O may I join the choir invisible
Of those immortal dead who live again
In minds made better by their presence:”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“As a particularly dramatic gesture, he throws wide his arms and whacks the side of the barn with the heavy cane he uses to stab at contesting bidders. With more vehemence than grammatical elegance, he calls upon the great god Caveat Emptor to witness with what niggardly stinginess these flinty sons of Scotland make cautious offers for what is beyond any question the finest animal ever beheld.”
—Administration in the State of Arka, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“If goodness were only a theory, it were a pity it should be lost to the world. There are a number of things, the idea of which is a clear gain to the mind. Let people, for instance, rail at friendship, genius, freedom, as long as they will—the very names of these despised qualities are better than anything else that could be substituted for them, and embalm even the most envenomed satire against them.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)