Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/pawe·wa

This Proto-Algonquian entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Algonquian

Noun

*pawe·wa

1. 'shaman' : he dreams, he has dream-powers (magical powers)

Descendants

direct descendants:

• Central Algonquian:
  • Shawnee: paweewa (“he is rich”)
• Eastern Algonquian:
  • Massachusett: pauwau (“he uses divination; he practices magic or sorcery”)
  • Narragansett: powwáw (“sorcerer, shaman, priest”)

related terms:

• Central Algonquian:
  • Cree: the first part of pawâkan/ᐸᐋᐧᑲᐣ (paaaykan, “dream spirit; figure encountered in a dream which comes to represent spiritual power”)
  • Menominee: the first part of pawa·-cekan (“dream”)
  • Ojibwe: the first part of bawaa-jige (“she or he has a dream”) and bawaa-jigan (“dream, vision”)
  • Fox: âhpawêwa (“dream”)
• Eastern Algonquian:
  • Abenaki: baw- (“exercise power by wishing”)
  • Malecite-Passamaquoddy: the first part of puwyakon (“dream”)

• → English: powwow (probably from Massachusett or Narragansett)

References

• Costa, David J. (2003) The Miami-Illinois Language (Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN