3. Palliton, from palli, elsewhere (from what was intended), hence "to spoil something, to do it wrong," and later "to fall out, to fight."
Lungundowin, from langan, easy, light to do, Chipeway, nin nangan, I find it light, of no trouble; hence, "peace" as being a time free from trouble; and by a third application of the idea, elangomellan, friends, those who are at peace with us.
4. Raf. translates this line: "Less men with dead-keeper fighting," which is a total misunderstanding of the words. On the derivation of nihanlowit see ante, [page 102].
6. On nakowa, see I, line 14. Here I consider it a derivative from nacha, three, and both the sense of the line and the symbol, with three marks to the right of the figure, indicate this meaning. The three antagonists are the monster, the waters, and the Great Snake himself.
7. The repetition of the words is to add force to the phrase.
8. This is an important line, as indicating the origin of the Walam Olum. Nanaboush is not the Delaware form of the name of the Algonkin hero-god, so far as known, but the Chipeway Nanabooshoo, Tanner, Nanibajou, McKinney, properly Nānâboj, the Trickster, the Cheater, allied to Chip. nin nanabanis, I am cheated. This term, like the Cree Wisakketjâk, which has the same meaning (fourbe, trompeur, Lacombe), was applied to the hero-god of these nations on account of his exhaustless ingenuity in devising tricks, ruses, disguises and transformations, to overcome the various other divine powers with whom he came in conflict. This seemingly depreciatory term arose from the same admiration of versatility of powers which has imparted such universal popularity to the story of the wily (πολυτροπος) Ulysses, and the trickery of Master Reynard.
The appearance of this form of the name indicates that the version of the legend here given has been influenced by Chipeway associations, as, indeed, we might expect, since it was obtained in Indiana, where the Delawares were in constant intercourse with their Chipeway neighbors.
Tulapit menapit = tulpe epit, menatey epit, "it was then at the turtle, it was then at the island." The form Tula has given rise to the strangest theorizing about this line, as, of course, the antiquaries could not resist the temptation to see in it a reference to the Tula or Tollan of Aztec mythology, the capital city of the Toltecs and the home of Quetzalcoatl.
The similarity of the words is purely fortuitous. The Lenape word tulpe means turtle or tortoise, especially, says Zeisberger, a water or sea turtle. In their mythology, as I have already shown ([ante, p. 134]) the earth was supposed to be floating on a boundless ocean, as a turtle floats on the surface of a pond. Hence, symbolically, the turtle represents the dry land.
Maskaboush = Chip. mashka, strong, wabos, usually translated hare or rabbit, but really "White One." I have fully explained this mistaken sense of the word in American Hero Myths, pp. 41, 42, and elsewhere.