The Death of Nenabosho’s Nephew, the Wolf Footnotes

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(i) Appears as goziwa’ but restored as above for learners.

(ii) Appears as i’iniw but elected to use iniw and niwi (a.c.).

(iii) An asterisk indicates that Ojibwe speaker Ted Corbiere did not recognize this word.

(iv) Word not recognized and alternative suggested: zegaamdam bwaanig.

(v) De-nibaanid recognized by Ted but suggested e-demgwaamnid.

(vi) On Manitoulin Island e-naabandaman is pronounced as e-naamdaman.

(vii) Recognized but Ted suggested wii-bmi-naashkawad.


(viii) Appears as oshikawaanigobanen.

(ix) Recognized but Ted suggested e-dimaagobane.


(x) Not recognized and suggested gaa-zhi-mdwenig.

(xi) In Manitoulin dialect nisaabaawe means ‘wet’, Ted suggested gzwaabii, which literally means ‘sink (into water)’ but suggested for drown ayaapdakiised.

(xii) Suggested giimooch’aan for ‘sneak up on s.o.’.

(xiii) Suggested zhooskibinaan ‘slipped through his hands’.

(xiv) Suggested mesnisiiwan.

(xv) Appears as kiizhiganishid which was not recognized.

(xvi) Appears as babiinidawisiwan but replaced as above.

(xvii) The word appears doodawidiban means ‘he did to you’ but if the word is doodawadiban it means ‘you do to him’ – so it matters if it is an ‘a’ or an ‘i’, however the translation is ‘that you may do to him’, so it should be ‘a’.

(xviii) Ted Corbiere recognized this word but a variation, naab’gan, is used it for ‘spear’. 

(xix) Kajgishing suggested by Ted.

(xx) The word for raft in Manitoulin dialect is biindsaagan.

(xxi) Word not recognized as is but suggested ji-naabibinad.

(xxii) Suggested synonyms: aanwenmishken, aagonwetawshke.

(xxiii) Pronounced as waamdizon on Manitoulin.

(xxiv) Understood as the sentence is but suggested “ji-shkwaa-akiiwang”.

(xxv) Did not recognize waawiinge and suggested weweni in its place.

(xxvi) The meaning of this word was understood differently and therefore suggested biimskojiwaninig.

(xxvii) Suggested synonym: gaawaasabiisenig.

(xxviii) Recognized but preferred izhinaagozi.

(xxix) Written as Gaiat and is entered in early Ojibwe dictionaries and correspondence but may no longer be used on Manitoulin, at least was not by Ted. Suggested possible alternatives: mewzha, ginwezh, but both were not totally satisfactory when read back to Ted.

(xxx) Suggested dakshkibinigoon or alternatively dakshkibinaanid.

(xxxi) Debwendazii on Manitoulin.

(xxxii) Suggested booniikaagoon.

(xxxiii) Morpheme baawiting was recognized but not recognized as meaning ‘mighty rushing of water’. No suggestion.

(xxxiv) Suggested nitkiibiinig.

(xxxv) Suggested baagweshkaa ‘water rising’.

(1) In a disdainful way.

(2) It takes a great deal of manoeuvring to come upon the moose and not be discovered.

(3) A stream that of a sudden and miraculously came into existence the moment the Wolf disobeyed the warning.

(4) The water-monsters of lakes, rivers, and seas.

(5) From the fibre (flag reed). Jones vol. 1, p. 254.

(6) Shadow and soul are associated as the same thing (Jones, p.255).

(7) Could not locate the word aanwedaw but found aawetaw vta recognize s.o. by sound, identify s.o. by sound (Nichols and Nyholm 1995, p.19).

(8) Willed by Nenabosho.

(9) Niminaawe’o vai paddle out from the shore (Nichols and Nyholm 1995, p. 96). The morpheme -kii- refers to the act of using a pole to push a boat. The morpheme -oodoo- is also about poling a boat (a.c.). Ted Corbiere suggested gaanjwebaan.