Animals

There many animals names listed in Timucua texts… here are some of the most common:

suluquita	ant
cuyu	fish
satala	spider
caya	turkey
yaraba	panther
abay****	manatee
ara	bear
uchu	whale
quelo	rabbit
gato**	cat
itori	alligator
efa	dog
cavallo**	horse
honoso	deer
atofo, hororo, hitiqiri***	owl (likely 3 different species)
iyola*	snake

Notes on the Animal Terms

* There are a least five separate snake names provided, suggesting that Timucuas had different names for different snake species.

** gato and cavallo are clearly Spanish words. These are words the Timucuas borrowed into their language to name animals that were not native to their lands. While other Muskogean languages developed their own words for horse or cat, Timucua employed the Spanish term, hinting at how closely Timucuas associated these animals with Europeans.

*** Hitiqiri literally means “small spirits.” It seems that in Timucua, like in many Native cultures, owls were associated with death or an impending omnimous event. Though we have limited information about Timucua beliefs… here, in one of the names for an owl, we get a glimpse into Timucua beliefs .

**** The word abay likely means manatee, but we are not completely certain.1 It appears in a long list of aquatic creatures most likely ranked by size. Some of these animal names appear in other Timucua texts, making it possible to cross reference the words and ascertain their meaning. Other terms prove harder to find and properly define.

Let’s take a look at one of the original documents containing animals names, including the word abay.

Here is a transcription and translation of the last part of the text:

heca, ninapichibota sontela caqi, ibine oyoma, cuyu, inereqeine homama, arecota, vchuco, siacatoco, ytorico, chayoco, aquatiro l cunachuaco, chayoco abayco, caracasico, tanitoco, echacaco tococo/He provides them for us and made each fish in the water, the whale, the siacato, the alligator, the chayo, the aquatiro or cunachua, the chayo, the abay, the corvina, the tanito, the mullet, and the toco.

As you can see, we have identified some animals, such as uchu (whale) and ytori (alligator). Others, like chayo, toco, and siacato are less certain. There are many unknowns in the Timucua language. We still have much to learn!

Now let’s make some sentences!

This lesson begins with an existing Timucua sentence that reads:

hachipile tooma niocotamale

This sentence means: all the animals run. It contains the words animal (hachipile) and all (tooma). The verb nioco means “to run.” But as you can see, the verb has some additional suffixes. Perhaps the most noteworthy one for this lesson is the -ma suffix (niocotamale). It signals that verb is plural. This -ma suffix tells you that there are many animals running. Keep in mind there are other uses of the -ma suffix, but here it works to make the verb plural.

Using the vocabulary and explanations provided above… can you translate the following sentences? Note: some of the verbs have additional suffixes. The -bi suffix marks the past tense; indicating that the animal/s ran. And the -ti suffix negates the action. It means that the animals are not running.

1. Suluquita yanqua niocotela.
2. Satala yuchama niocotamabile.
3. Caya hapuma niocotamale.
4. Yaraba chequetama niocotamale. 
5. Ara yayi maruama niocotamabile.
6. Quelo marecama niocotamale.
7. Itori piquichama niocotamatile.
8. Honoso piquinapuma niocotamale. 
9. Efa peqecheqetama niocotamale.
10. Iyolaribe tumama niocomobitile.*

Answers: (1) One ant runs. (2) Two spiders ran. (3) Three turkeys runs. (4) Four panthers run. (5) Five strong bears ran. (6) Six rabbits run. (7) Seven alligators do not run. (8) Eight deers run. (9) Nine dogs run. (10) Ten snakes did not run.

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1. George Aaron Broadwell, “THE FIFTH AND SIXTH DAYS OF CREATION: A TIMUCUA TAXONOMY OF LIVING THINGS,” A talk presented at the St Augustine Archaeological Association.