A sachem or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquins.[1][2][3][4] The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages. Some sources contend the sagamore was a lesser chief than the sachem.[1][2] [3][4]
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Etymology
One source explains:
According to Captain John Smith, who explored New England in 1614, the Massachusett tribes called their kings "sachems" while the Penobscots (of Maine) used the term "sagamos" (anglicized as "sagamore"). Conversely, Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley of Roxbury wrote in 1631 that the kings in the bay area were called sagamores but were called sachems southward (in Plymouth). The two terms apparently came from the same root. Although "sagamore" has sometimes been defined by colonists and historians as a subordinate lord, modern opinion is that "sachem" and "sagamore" are dialectical variations of the same word.[5]
Cognate words
| Family | Language | Word | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Algonquian | Proto-Eastern Algonquian | *sākimāw | Reconstructed original |
| Narragansett | sâchim | anglicized as sachem[6] | |
| Eastern Abnaki | sakəma | anglicized as sagamore[6] | |
| Malecite-Passamaquoddy | sakom | [7] | |
| Western Abnaki | sôgmô | [8] | |
| Central Algonquian | Proto-Central Algonquian | *hākimāw | Reconstructed original |
| Anishinaabe | ogimaa | [9] | |
| Algonquin | ogimà | [10] | |
| Ottawa | gimaa | [11] | |
| Potawatomi | wgema | anglicised as Ogema | |
| Northern East Cree | uchimaa | [12] | |
| Southern East Cree | uchimaa | [13] | |
| Naskapi | iiyuuchimaaw | [14] |
Chiefs
The "great chief" (Southern New England Algonquian: massasoit sachem) whose aid was such a boon to the Plymouth Colony is remembered today simply as Massasoit.[15] Another sachem, Mahomet Weyonomon of the Mohegan tribe travelled to London in 1735, to petition king George II for fairer treatment of his people, due to their lands becoming overrun by English settlers. Others include Uncas, Wonalancet, Madockawando, and Samoset.
Derived terms
"The Sagamore" is a character in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. Sagamore Hill, a house on Long Island, was the home Theodore Roosevelt. Sagamore of the Wabash is an honorary title introduced in the 1940s in Indiana, analogous to Kentucky Colonel. In 1996, "Sachem of the Wabash" was introduced as a higher honor.[16] "Sachem" was a title of the leaders of the Tammany societies, notably in Tammany Hall it New York City. The eponymous Tammany was himself a sachem of the Lenape.
References
- ^ a b "sachem". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000. http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/sachem.
- ^ a b "sagamore". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000. http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/sagamore.
- ^ a b "sachem". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sachem. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ a b "sagamore". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sagamore. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition, December 1999
- ^ a b Goddard, Ives (1978). "Eastern Algonquian languages", in "Northeast", ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 75
- ^ Francis, David A., Sr. et al. Maliseet - Passamaquoddy Dictionary. Mi'kmaq - Maliseet Institute
- ^ Laurent, Joseph (1884) New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues the first ever published on the grammatical system
- ^ Nichols, John, and Earl Nyholm. (1995). A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
- ^ Mcgregor, Ernest. (1994). Algonquin Lexicon. Maniwaki, QC: Kitigan Zibi Education Council.
- ^ Rhodes, Richard A. (1985). Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
- ^ Bobbish-Salt, Luci et al. (2004–06). Northern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
- ^ Neeposh, Ella et al. (2004–07). Southern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
- ^ MacKenzie, Marguerite and Bill Jancewicz. (1994). Naskapi lexicon. Kawawachikamach, Quebec: Naskapi Development Corp.
- ^ Note that this massa- element meaning "great" in the Massachusett language also appears in the name of the Massachusett (i.e. "Great Hills people") and subsequently in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- ^ Governor's press release announcing creation of the Sachem
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