From the Zapotec, of Oaxaca.
- Nana, gana, gona, to know.
- Nona, to know thoroughly, to retain in the memory.
- Nana ticha, or nona lii, a wise man.
- Guela nana, or guela nona, wisdom, knowledge.
- Hue gona, or ro gona, a teacher, a master.
- Na lii, truth; ni na lii, that which is true.
- Naciña, or naciina, skill, dexterity.
- Hui naa, a medicine man, a “nagualist.”
- Nahaa, to speak pleasantly or agreeably.
- Nayaa, or nayapi, to speak easily or fluently.
- Rigoo gona, to sacrifice, to offer sacrifice.
- Ni nana, the understanding, the intelligence, generally.
- Nayanii, the superior reason of man.
- Nayaa,
Naguii, - }
- superiority, a superior man (gentileza, gentil hombre).
| Nayaa, Naguii, | } | superiority, a superior man (gentileza, gentil hombre). |
From the Nahuatl, of Mexico.
- Naua, to dance, holding each other by the hands.
- Naualli, a sorcerer, magician, enchanter.
- Nauallotl, magic, enchantment, witchcraft.
- Nauatl, or nahuatl, skillful, astute, smart; hence, superior; applied to language, clear, well-sounding, whence (perhaps) the name of the tongue.
- Nauati, to speak clearly and distinctly.
- Nauatlato, an interpreter.
38. I believe that no one can carefully examine these lists of words, all taken from authorities well acquainted with the several tongues, and writing when they still retained their original purity, without acknowledging that the same radical or syllable underlies them all; and further, that from the primitive form and rich development of this radical in the Zapotec, it looks as if we must turn to it to recognize the origin of all these expressions, both in the Nahuatl and the Maya linguistic stocks.
The root na, to know, is the primitive monosyllabic stem to which we trace all of them. Nahual means knowledge, especially mystic knowledge, the Gnosis, the knowledge of the hidden and secret things of nature; easily enough confounded in uncultivated minds with sorcery and magic.[57-*]
It is very significant that neither the radical na nor any of its derivatives are found in the Huasteca dialect of the Mayan tongue, which was spoken about Tampico, far removed from other members of the stock. The inference is that in the southern dialects it was a borrowed stem.
Nor in the Nahuatl language—although its very name is derived from it[58-*]—does the radical na appear in its simplicity and true significance. To the Nahuas, also, it must have been a loan.