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Na-Wa-Gi-Jig's Story
The following is contributed by
Mr. Francis Jacker:
This narrative was related to me by
John Na-wa-gi-jig (literally
"noon-day sky"), an aged Ojibwa,
with whom I have been intimately
connected for a long period of
years. He delivered his story,
referring to one of the many
incidents in his perilous life,
orally, but with pantomimes so
graphic and vivid that it may be
presented truly as a specimen of
gesture language. Indeed, to any one
familiar with Indian mimicry, the
story might have been intelligible
without the expedient of verbal
language, while the oral exposition,
incoherent as it was, could hardly
be styled anything better than the
subordinate part of the delivery. I
have endeavored to reproduce these
gestures in their original
connections from memory, omitting
the verbal accompaniment as far as
practicable. In order to facilitate
a clear understanding it is stated
that the gesturer was in a sitting
posture before a camp fire by the
lake shore, and facing the locality
where the event referred to had
actually occurred, viz, a portion of
Keweenaw Bay, Lake Superior, in the
neighborhood of Portage Entry, as
seen by the annexed diagram, Fig.
319. The time of the relation
(latter part of April) also
coincided with the actual
time. In speaking of "arm," "hand,"
"finger," &c., the "right" is
understood if not otherwise
specified. "Finger" stands for
"forefinger."
(1) With the exclamation "me-wi-ja"
(a long time ago), uttered in a slow
and peculiarly emphatic manner, he
elevated the arm above and toward
the right at the head, accompanying
the motion with an upward wave of
the hand and held it thus suspended
a moment—a long time ago.
(This gesture resembles sign for
time, a long, of which it seems
to be an abbreviation, and it is not
sufficiently clear without the
accompanying exclamation.)
Withdrawing it slowly, he placed the
hand back upon his knee.
(2) He then brought up the left hand
toward the temple and tapped his
hair, which was gray, with the
finger—hair gray.
(3) From thence he carried it down
upon the thigh, placing the extended
finger perpendicularly upon a fold
of his trousers, which the thumb and
finger of the right held grasped in
such a manner as to advantageously
present the smooth black surface of
the cloth—of that color, i.e.,
black.
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Scene of Na-wa-gi-jig's story.
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(4) Next, with a powerful strain
of the muscles, he slowly stretched
out the right arm and fist and
grasping the arm about the elbow
with the left, he raised the forearm
perpendicularly upward, then brought
it down with force, tightening the
grasp in doing so (fingers pressing
upon knuckle, thumb against pit of
elbow)—strength.
(5) Pointing first at me—you.
(6) He next held out the hand
horizontally and flat, palm
downward, about four feet above the
ground, correcting the measure a
moment afterward by elevating hand a
few inches higher, and estimated the
height thus indicated with a telling
look, leaning the head toward the
side—about that height, i.e., a
youth of about that size.
(7) He then rapidly extended the arm
about two-thirds of its length
forward and toward the right,
terminating the motion with a jerk
of the hand upward, palm turned
outward, and accompanied the motion
with a nod of the head, the hand in
its downfall closing and dropping
upon knee—very well.
(8) Musing a few moments, he next
slowly extended the arm and pointed
with the fingers toward and along
the surface of the frozen bay—out
there.
(9) In an easterly direction—eastward.
(10) Thence turning the arm to the
right he nodded the finger toward a
projection of land southward at a
distance of about two
miles—following in each case the
direction of the finger with the
eyes—and immediately after placed
the hand again eastward, indicating
the spot with the same emphatic nod
of the finger as though carrying the
visible distance to a spot upon the
expanse of the bay, which, bearing
no object, could not be marked
otherwise—two miles out there.
(11) Carrying the finger toward the
body, he touched his breast—I
myself.
(12) Thence erected the hand,
turning its palm forward, forefinger
perpendicularly extended, others
slightly closed, and nodded it
downward in an explanatory manner,
all in an uninterrupted movement—one,
meaning in connection with the
preceding gesture—I for one.
(13) Again, with an emphatic
movement, he turned the hand upward,
slightly erecting the index, thumb
pointing forward, remaining fingers
partially and naturally opened and
more or less separated—furthermore.
(14) Then quickly and after a
moment's stop brought down the hand
to a horizontal position, first and
second fingers joining and fully
extending during the movement, and
pointing forward—another, i.e.,
joined by another. Repeating
this motion, he at the same time
called out the name
Ga-bi-wa-bi-ko-ke.
(15) Following the exclamation with
a repetition of No. 2—gray hair—repeatedly
touching the hair, meaning in this
case—an old man.
(16) Pointed with the finger toward
the right, directing it obliquely
toward the ground—at a short
distance toward my right.
(17) Repeated No. 13—furthermore.
(18) Repeated No. 14, adding the
third finger to joined fore and
middle fingers, thumb resting upon
tip of fourth—another, i.e.,
joined by a third, and
pronounced the words "o-gwis-san
Sa-ba-dis" (this is a corruption
of the French "Jean Baptiste," a
favorite name among Christianized
Indians)—John Baptist, his son,
while repeating the movement.
(19) Held up the three separated
fingers perpendicularly in front of
the face, pushing the hand forward a
little—three in all.
(20) Presently lowered the hand,
fingers relaxing, and carried it a
short distance toward the left,
thence back to the right, fingers
pointing obliquely toward the ground
in each case—placed to the right
and left of me at a short distance.
(21) He then brought the hand—back
toward the right, index horizontally
extended, remaining fingers closed,
thumb placed against second
finger—in front of abdomen, and
moved it slowly up and down two or
three times, giving it a slight jerk
at the upward motion, and raising
the arm partially in doing so. At
the same time he inclined the body
forward a little, eyes looking down—fishing.
This refers to fishing on the ice,
and, as may be inferred from it, to
the use of hook and line. A short
stick to which the line is attached
serves as a rod and is moved up and
down in the manner described.
(22) After a short pause he elevated
the hand, directing the index toward
that point of the meridian which the
sun passes at about the tenth hour
of the day, and following the
direction with, the eye—about ten
o'clock.
(23) Turning his face toward the
southwest and holding up the flat
and extended hand some distance in
front of it, back outward, he waved
it briskly and several times toward
the face—fresh breeze from the
southwest.
(24) Repeated No. 21 (fishing),
playing the imaginary fish-line up
and down regularly for a while, till
all at once he changed the movement
by raising the hand in an oblique
course, which movement he repeated
several times, each time increasing
the divergence and the length of the
motion—the fish-hook don't sink
perpendicularly any longer, i.e., it
is moving.
(25) Quickly erecting his body he
looked around him with surprise—looking
with surprise.
(26) Shading his eyes with the hand,
gazed intensively toward the south—fixedly
gazing toward the south.
(27) Threw up his arm almost
perpendicularly the next moment—greatly
astonished.
(28) Extended and slowly moved the
arm from southeast to northwest as
far as he could reach, at the same
time exclaiming "mig-wam"
"ice"—the ice from shore to shore.
(29) Approximated the flat and
horizontally extended hands, backs
upward, with their inner edges
touching, whereupon, suddenly
turning the edges downward, he
withdrew them laterally, backs
nearly opposed to each other—parting.
(30) Pushed the left hand, palm
outward, fingers joined, edges up
and down, forward and toward its
side with a full sweep of the arm,
head following the movement—pushed
in that direction, i.e.,
northeastward.
(31) Repeated No. 23, but waved the
hand only once and with a quick and
more powerful movement toward the
face—by the force of the wind.
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Sign Language
Among North American Indians Compared with
that Among Other Peoples and Deaf-Mutes,
1881
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