INDIAN WORDS IN THE DUTCH LANGUAGE
AND IN USE AT DUTCH-GUIANA. »
BY
L. C. VAN PANHUYS.
Some years ago we got a reprint of a "dictionarium gallice,
latine et galibi//, edited by Car. Fr. Ph. de Martius, and out of
that work we made a list of Indian words, which are in use in
Dutch-Guiaua and of which a few are even in general use in the
Netherlands.
As Mr. de Martius remarks, the words in his dictionary are of
' In het jaar 1902 had te New-York de dertiende bijeenkomst plaats van
het Americanisten-Congres, waarvan het doel is, zoo mogelijk om de twee
jaren de beoefenaren.der archeologie, der ethnologie en der vroegere geschiedenis van Noord- en Zuid-Amerika bij elkander te brengen on de studio der
onderwerpen to bevorderen door het lezen van verhandelingen en door mondelinge bespreking. De steller dezes, destijds in de plaats van Dr. J. D. E.
Schmeltz, Directeur van het Ethnographiseh Museum te Leiden, aangewezen
om de Nederlandsche Regeering op dat Congres te vertegenwoordigen, gaf
van de door hem gehouden voordrachten een overzicht in een aan Zijne
Excellentie den Minister van Binnenlandsche Zaken uitgebracht rapport,
(Ned. Staats-Ct. 18 Maart 1903 n°. 65) en zond ze daarna, na eerst de stenographische verslagen uit New-York te hebben ontvangen, aan de door het Congres
benoemde „Commissie voor de publicatie."
Zooals reeds werd opgemerkt in het Tijdschr. v. h. Kon. Ned. Aardr.
Genootschap, Maart 1904 bl. 418, is echter van de handelingen van het NewYorksche Congres nog niets gepubliceerd. Het is mij daarom aangenaam,
dank te kunnen betuigen aan de Redactie van dit tijdschrift voor de opneming van een viertal mijner bijdragen en wel in dezelfde taal als voor de
betrekkelijke voordrachten te New-York werd gebezigd. Door deze wijze
van openbaarmaking zal het mogelijk zijn ze nog vóór het aanstaande
Congres, dat van 18 tot 23 Augustus 1904 te Stuttgart moet bijeenkomen,
onder de aandacht te brengen van hen, die er kritiek of nadere bespreking
van zouden willen geven. Mogen deze korte opstellen er tevens toe
bijdragen om in de eerste plaats in Nederland en de Nederlandsche WestIndische Koloniën de lust aan te wakkeren tot studie en eigen waarneming aangaande de Nederlandsche vestigingen van nu en vroeger in het
Amerikaansche werelddeel en tot de ontdekking van de daar verborgen
wetenschappelijke feiten.
's-Gravenhage, 3 Mei 1904.
L. C. VAN PANHUYS.
f) 1 2
INDIAN WORDS IN THE DUTCH LANGUAGE
a different origin; some were noted down in 1643 by Paul Boyer
at the Galibis at Cap du Nord, others by P. Denis Meland and
Pelleprat near the Gulf of Paria in 1653; in Cayenne: from the
works of de Laet and Labat and from Aublet's Histoire des plautes
de la Guiane francaise, aud Noyer's Forest vierges de la Guiane
IVancaise (1827). So the dictionary contains several dialects, and
also words from the Arowacks and the Tupi. It would be interesting to state, which words of those noted down in our list are
in this time in use by the Caribs, one of three tribes of the coastIndians of Dutch-Guiana, who are now for nearly two centuries
and a half in connexion with the Dutch, and who have learned
the "lingoa geral« of the colony, the so called negro-english. To
. speak about this last language or dialect here would carry us too
far, enough to state that this negro-english contains Dutch, English,
Spanish, Portugese, Trench, Carib, Arowack, and African words.
It may be that the intended Caribs have taken some words out
of this negro-english, for their own Carib language.
The following words from the dictionary are adopted in the Dutch
language and are used in the Netherlands.
K a a i m a n , (Latin: Caiman), the reptile; k a r e t , a certain sea
turtle, (the name is given in Dutch to its back-shield, out of which
little boxes, combs, hairpins and paperknives are made); c o l i b r i ,
the well known «gem//-bird ' : t a p i r (Latin: Tapirus) *, the South
American buffalo and a n a n a s (Arowack: nana), pine apple. Not
in general use in the Netherlands are: toekan (Latin: lthamphastos),
ii bird also called in Dutch: «pepper eater", peper-vreter: and
m a n i o c (Latin: Jatropha Manihot), the Indian meal giving plant.
About «manioc-meal" a curious remark can be made. In Carib
the word: «alepa« is used for cassave or manioc-meal, as well as
for the act of eating in general. In English we have a same peculiarity : the word //meal" means the product of corn and also «dinner".
It proves that the civilized, as well as the Indians h a v e k n o w n
a t i m e when m e a l was a g e n e r a l food.
In Dutch Guiana the following Indian words from the dictionary
art' in use: c a s s i r i , a drink made of sweet Batates; corjaal,
Indian boat, made out of a tree; p i a i (man), Indian sorcerer;
j or ok a, devil; K o e r o e K o e r o e , small basket; b i r i b i r i ,
' „An vox galibiV asks de Martius. According to Kappler (Surinam,
page 221) the colibri is called in Carib „tokosi".
- Carib: maipouri.
AND IN USE AT DUTCH-GUIANA.
613
swamp; c a s s e r i po, boiled jnice of the mauioc-root; m a n a r i ,
Indian sieve, in general use by the colonists; m a t a p p i , twisted
cylinder to press out the poisonous juice of the manioc: a g a m i
(Latin: Psophia crepitans), a bird walking tame about the villages
ol' the Iudians and Bush-negroes and which we often saw there
playing "hide and seek'/ with the children and amusing them by its
deep bass souud; a w a r r a (Latin: Astroearyum Awarra. de Vriese),
a palm, also a parrot; c o u é r é m a n (kweriman, Latin : Mugil Brasiliensis. Agass.) a fish; m a c o , makoe, a kind of mosquito; m a i p o u r i ; only heard iu names of places and creeks, Carib name of the
t a p i r ; p i n g o (Latin: Dycotyles labiatus. Cuv.), bush-swiue; sagowyn
(Latin: Midas rufiimanus. Geoff.), a small monkey ; s i b a r i (sipari,
only in names), thorn back: c h i c o (chica, Latin: Pulex penetrans),
sand flea: c a r a p a , (Latin: Carapa guyanensis. Aubl.), a tree;
c o n a m i (Latin: Clibadium Surinameiise. L.), a plant: c o u a k ,
called iu the dictionary a word from: //a lingua Taino", roasted
manioc meal; c o u t s a u w é (coesoewé) Latin: Bixa orellana. L.),
the red pigment from the plant; m a r a k a, magic rattle: m a u i
(Latin: Monorobea coccinea. Aubl.), a tree, giving resin to repair
the Indian boats; m a p i , (napi, Latin: Dioscorea Savita. L.), giving
eatable roottnrnips: n i a r i p a (Latin: Maximiliana regia. Mart.), a
palm: m o u c o u - m o u c o u (niokko-mokko, Latin: ('aladium arboivscens. Vent.), a water plant; S i m a r u b a (Latin: Simaruba amara.
Aubl.), a tree; t a y e r (Latin: Arum esculentum. L.), an edible rootturnip; and b a l a t a (Latin: Mimusops Balata. Gaertn.) giving the
well-known milksap, an elastic gum. The word a r a o n b é or mombt;
for: avaricious, uuknowii in the common negro-english spoken at
Paramaribo, was found to be in use among the Bush-negroes of
the Tapanahoni. I remember very well that the Moravian missionary
Dr. Kersten, relating his travel to the Tapanahouy in negro-euglish
at a Suudayeveniug assembly in Albiua (on the frontier river between
Suriuam and Prench Guiana) said that the Bush-negroes there had
called him the chief of the //momb<v/, because he rightly refused
their repeated demands for a drink.
So far the words of the dictionary. There are, however, several
more Indian words iu use in Surinam or in the Netherlands, as, for
iustance: h a m a k a , original A r o w a c k ' , but taken up in negro' See the list opposite to pag. 294 in „Dutch Central Brasiliën, 1886, by
Professor K. von den Steineu.
614
INDIAN" WORDS IN" THE DUTCH LANGUAGE ETC.
english, being the same as the Dutch //hangmat" aud the Euglisch
//hammock// ' ; b a t a t a s (Latin: Dioscorea Batatas. Decaisne),
which (as has been remarked by Professor Veth) became in
England //potatoes// for the Solanum tuberosum, aud in Swedish
(and we add in Netherlands-) dialects: //potater//; t a p a n a , intoxicatiug drink made from cassave, c r a w e r u , pigment of Biguonia
chica; t a p o e r i p a (Latin: Genipa americana. L.) a pigment giving
tree; pa g a l a, Indian basket; uames of fishes as: K u m a k u m a
(Latin: Arius emphysetus. M.), w a r a p p a (Latin: Erythrimus unitaeniatus. Spix), p i r a i (Serrasalmo piraya. Cuv.) aud a u j o e m a r r a
(Macredou aimara. Spix); farther: t a m a n o a or ant-eater (Latin:
Myrmecophaga jubata); w a r i m b o (Latin: Phrynium Casupo. Box.)
a tibre-giving plant, and still several others.
There has never been much attention paid to this subject neither
iu the Nether] auds uor in the colony ; as far as we could fiud only a few
words were treated by Professor Veth, who spoke about the origin
of: a n a n a s , b a t a t a s , aud k a a i m a n , and especially how these
three words came into use in the Netherlands E a s t I n d i e s , in his
interesting book: //Uit Oost en West// (from East an West) 1889.
He adds l e g u a a n (Latin: Iguana), of which Littré said //Etym.
Yuaua, mot caraibe, cite par Oviedo en 1525,// aud also c a c a o aud
c h o c o l a t l from the Mexican words c a c a h u a t a l and c h o c o l a t l . *
It may be stated from the abov.e-meutioued that the Dutch have
also from a linguistic point of view, a //debt to the red man//.
A glance at the list added to the record of the second voyage of
Sir Walter Raleigh, will prove that they are also indebted to the
Tndian for the uame of the colony (Surinam) aud for nearly all
the names of rivers there. For us the name of Paramaribo, the town,
is Indian without any doubt. Iu 1893 we found the following
Spanish words still in use among coast Indians (Caribs) at the
Saramacca (near Post Groniugeu): s o m b r e r o e (sombrero), hat;
c a v a 11 o e (caballo), horse; a r q u e b u s a, gun; p e e r - o h (perro)
dog; aud c a b r i t a little goat.
' Rev. Skeat rightly observes in his etymological dictionary of the English
language, 1882, that the word was ingeniously corrupted by the Dutch in
hangmat (a hanging mat).
• Prof. Veth supposes that „banaan" (banana) is original African, and says
that the name, according to Rumphius, is at home in Guinea. The word
„bakkove" (pacoba) is, as well as banaan, in use in Surinam. See about these
words: „Die Einführung der Banane", pag. 310—314, in „Durch Central
Brasilien" 1886, by Professor Karl von den Steinen.