A common verb in the Timucua corpus is mani. This verb is hard to translate literally, but it refers to mental actions, such as thinking, consenting, wanting, and believing. Sometimes it is used on its own and sometimes it appears in conjunction with other verbs. Other times a noun form of the verb mani is used: manino, which we translate as thinking or thoughts.
| Mantamala | |||
| Man | -ta | -ma | -la |
| want | -part | 3:pl | dec |
| They want |
Quiena hachibonoco chimanite hachibueno laputecho?
Quie-na hachibonoco chi-mani-te hachibueno lapu-te-ch-o?
Child-1sg:poss what 2-want-tns what request-tns-2-question?
My child, what do you want? What do you request?
In the next sentence, the verb mani is nominalized, or made into a noun by adding the suffix -no.
Hitimano Obispo michu cumepalino manino isticocoba nacumososela
hiti-mano Obispo michu cumepali-no mani-no isticocoba na-cumo-so-se-la
devil-top bishop previous desire-nmlz think-nml very bad ins-abound:with-caus-ben-dec
The devil filled the bishop with very bad thoughts.
Note sometimes mani is connected or adds emphasis to the main verb in the sentence. Look at the following example:
Oqe niama
Oqe nia-ma
That woman-def
inihimima
inihi-mi-ma
spouse-3:poss-def
napuramanitela
napura-mani-te-la
despise-think-tns-dec
That woman despises her spouse.
Napura meaning “despise” and mani meaning “think” are linked together as a compound verb. Mani is not translated independently; mani reflects the woman’s mental state… she is in the state of “despising” her husband.
-siro and -hero
The verb mani is often preceded by the suffixes -siro and -hero attached to another verb. These suffixes are used to express desire/want in the mental actions that the verb mani describes but change according to who is doing the desired verbal action. -siro is used to indicate that the subject of the desired action is the same as the one expressing desire/want. -hero is used to indicate that another person should perform the desired action.
Invented examples:
Ocoto-siro ni-man-te-la
‘I want to hear (him/her/it)’
Ocoto-hero ni-man-te-la
I want him/her/it to hear
The sentences are basically the same except for the suffixes -siro and -hero. In the first sentence, -siro indicates that the person hearing wants/desires to hear. In the second sentence, -hero indicates that the speaker wants/desires for other people to hear.
Attested Examples:
Niye uqua-siro manda naquosobicho?
Niye uqua-siro mani-ta na-quoso-bi-ch-o?
Herb take-desire think-part inst-do-past-2nd-question
Did you desire to take the herb?
Note: In the original sentence the verb appears as manda. Mani, like many other verbs, loses the final vowel when the -ta suffix is used. The combination man-ta then frequently changes to manda.
Honihe bueta hibuasisiro manibicho
Honihe bueta hibua-si-siro mani-bi-ch-o?
1:sg with live-ben-desid:SS want-pst-2-question?
Did you desire that he/she live with me?
In both of these examples, the subject of the desired action (uqua/hibua) is the same as the subject of mani. That changes in the following examples:
Hachibueno ininocareco hica ocotomohero manibicho?
Hachibueno inino-care-co hica ocoto-mo-hero mani-bi-ch-o?
Thing deed-pl-alter town hear-3pl-desire:ds want-pst-2nd-question?
Have you wanted for the village (them) to hear about your deeds?
The suffix -hero refers to the multiple people in the village and how they want/desire to hear about it. Here is a final example of -hero:
Ecanimohero nimantetila
ecani-mo-hero ni-man-te-ti-la
Enter-3:pl:subj-desid:ds 1:abs-want-tns-neg-dec
I do not want them to enter.
Mani also appears as part of other Verbs
When Timucua people wanted to talk in more detail about specific emotions, they sometimes used a particle before the verb mani to make the meaning more precise. For example, the particle hò used before mani gives the sense of ‘love’.
Homani
Ho-mani
Love-think
Love
Hò chimanistala
Ho chi-mani-s-te-la
Love 2:abs-think-ben-tns-dec
‘I love you’
Sometimes they are connected to participles that have no independent meaning without mani. For example, natemani, or nate + mani, means to pardon. But nate without mani does not mean anything on its own.
- natemani (nate+mani): pardon
- chamani (cha+mani): repent
- yomani (yo+mani): feel horror, be disgusted
- isalamani (isala + mani): to please (literally: to think it is good)
- yatimani (yati+mani): offend
- hobamani (hoba+mani): revere
- ituquamani (ituqua+mani): thank
Conclusion
- Mani is a very common verb.
- It appears by itself or connected to other verbs to express mental actions, such as thinking, wanting, and believing.
- It can be made into a noun.
- It is also tied to words for emotions.