Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 430 pages of information about Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes.

Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 430 pages of information about Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes.

STUMBLING BEAR, A KAIOWA CHIEF.

Place the right fist in front of the right side of the breast, palm down; extend and curve the thumb and little finger so that their tips point toward one another before the knuckles of the remaining closed fingers; then place the left flat hand edgewise before the breast, pointing to the right; hold the right hand flat pointing down nearer the body; move it forward toward the left, so that the right-hand fingers strike the left palm and fall downward beyond the left. (Kaiowa I.) “Bear, and stumble or stumbling.”

SWIFT RUNNER, A DAKOTA WARRIOR.

Place the right hand in front of the right side, palm down; close all the fingers excepting the index, which is slightly curved, pointing forward; then push the hand forward to arm’s length twice, very quickly. (Dakota VI; Arikara I.) “Man running rapidly or swiftly.”

WILD HORSE, A COMANCHE CHIEF.

Place the extended and separated index and second fingers of the right hand astraddle the extended forefinger of the left hand.  With the right hand loosely extended, held as high as and nearly at arm’s length before the shoulder, make several cuts downward and toward the left. (Comanche III.) “Horse, and prairie or wild.”

PHRASES.

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

Close the right hand, leaving the thumb and index fully extended and separated; place the index over the forehead so that the thumb points to the right, palm toward the face; then draw the index across the forehead toward the right; then elevate the extended index, pointing upward before the shoulder or neck; pass it upward as high as the top of the head; make a short turn toward the front and pass it pointing downward toward the ground, to a point farther to the front and a little lower than at the beginning. (Absaroka I; Dakota VI, VII; Shoshoni and Banak I; Ute I; Apache I.) “White man and chief.”

Make the sign for white man (American), by passing the palmar surface of the extended index and thumb of the right hand across the forehead from left to right, then that for chief, and conclude by making that for parent by collecting the fingers and thumb of the right hand nearly to a point and drawing them forward from the left breast. (Kaiowa I; Comanche III; Apache II; Wichita II.) “White man; chief; father.”

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

Draw the palmar side of the index across the forehead from left to right, resting the thumb upon the right temple, then make the sign for chief—­the white chief, “Secretary;” then make the sign for great lodge, council house, by making the sign for lodge, then placing both hands somewhat bent, palms facing, about ten inches apart, and passing them upward from the waist as high as the face. (Arikara I.)

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Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.