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(Be patient, may take a few moments to open) Why Weehaukaja?
This article from
The Encyclopedia of Hotck (Winnebago) Mythology
will help explain things...Blue Mound
<*dv_1*> retold by Richard L. Dieterle
Blue Mound was once considered to be a sacred mountain by the Hotcgara. It has two peaks, the west peak being called Wihgadja (< Wihga-edja), "the Place of the Second Born Daughter." [1] It is said by some that partway down the mountain, where a spring flows out from a chert outcropping, Earthmaker himself used to sit and view the countryside. When he lit his pipe a great haze would grip the top of the peak. If the clouds spread out evenly over the crest, the Earthmaker was in a good mood; but it the smoke went straight up, then he was perturbed. Now that the land is no longer controlled by the Hotck Nation, it is said that Earthmaker no longer visits this eminence, but he leaves behind the smoky clouds as a memorial of that day. [2]
Commentary. "Blue Mound" -- this is actually a twin peak, the pair sometimes being called "West Blue Mound" and "East Blue Mound." D. M. Brown says that "West Blue Mound is a landmark which can be seen from a distance of fifty or more miles." The town of Blue Mounds, which is at the base of the eastern mound, is the oldest white settlement in Dane County (1826). [3] There is a cavern called "Cave of the Mounds" at the base of the mountain. See Blue Mound Cave.
"Wihgadja"<*dv_2*> -- this name is inferred from the phonetic Weehaukaja, which the source said meant "Beautiful View." Since one peak was named "Second Born Daughter," it seems reasonable to suppose that the other would have been called Hingadja, "Place of the First Born Daughter," although the name is not attested to my knowledge. Since xede means both "large, great" and "older," it would seem that the taller West Blue Mound would be named after the elder sister; so the names may be switched. |
