Nisenan

Nisenan

The Nisenan, also known as the Southern Maidu and Valley Maidu, are one of many native groups of the Central Valley. The name Nisenan, derives from the ablative plural pronoun nisena·n, "from among us".[1] Only a few members survive, and only a few who speak any of the Nisenan dialects.

Nisenan, as with many of the tribes of central California, was never a true political distinction, but in fact is based on a 'common' language (in reality, a wide spectrum on similar dialects). There was no Nisenan Tribe, but instead a number of tribelets, which were small independent self-sufficient sovereign tribes. Each 'tribelet', or tribe, spoke a different variant of what is called the Nisenan language, which has led to some inconsistency among the linguistic data on the language.

Contents

Territory

The Nisenan lived in the Central Valley of California between the Sacramento River to the west and the Sierra Mountains to the east. The southern reach went to about Cosumnes River but north of Elk Grove and the Meadoview and Pocket regions of Sacramento, and the northern reach somewhere between the northern fork of the Yuba River and the southern fork of the Feather River.

Neighboring tribes included the Valley and North Sierra Miwok to the south, the Washo to the east, the Konkow and Maidu to the north, and the Patwin to the west.

References

  1. ^ Mithun, Marianne (2001). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 455. ISBN 9780521298759. 

External links

See also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nisenan — Parlée aux  États Unis Région   …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nisenan language — Nisenan Spoken in United States Region California Native speakers 1  (1994) Language family Maiduan …   Wikipedia

  • Nisenan — ISO 639 3 Code : nsz ISO 639 2/B Code : ISO 639 2/T Code : ISO 639 1 Code : Scope : Individual Language Type : Living …   Names of Languages ISO 639-3

  • Maidu — Pre contact extent of Maidu settlement in California Maidu Total population 2,500[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Indigenous Tribes to the Elk Grove Region — were natives peoples to Elk Grove, California, a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. Today, Elk Grove is known for its large population as well as its fast paced residential expansion and… …   Wikipedia

  • Lenguas maidu — Distribución geográfica: Costa de California Países:  Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Maiduan languages — Maidun Pujunan Geographic distribution: California Linguistic classification: Penutian ? Maidun Subdivisions …   Wikipedia

  • Maidu traditional narratives — include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the Maidu, Konkow, and Nisenan people of eastern Sacramento Valley and foothills in northeastern California. Maidu oral literature aligned the Maidu closely with their central… …   Wikipedia

  • Langues maiduanes — Les langues maiduanes sont une famille de langues amérindiennes parlées en Californie, au Nord Est de San Francisco. Cette famille de langues est incluse dans l hypothétique groupe pénutien. Classification Localisation des langues maiduanes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Languages of the United States — Official language(s) none Main language(s) English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo European 3.8%, Asian …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”