A Key into the Language of America: The Tomaquag Museum Edition

by Roger Williams, Lorén Spears (Editor)

Overview

A New Edition of One of the Most Important Cultural Artifacts of European and Indigenous American Contact
Roger Williams’s Key into the Language of America, first published in 1643, is one of the most important artifacts of early Indigenous American culture. In it, Williams recorded the day-to-day experience of the Narragansett people of Rhode Island in their own words, the first documentation of an American Indian language in English. Williams’s Key can be read at many levels because of its historical, literary, political, and religious significance. Its greatest value, though, is its intimate portrait of the Narragansett and their linguistic neighbors in the early years of European colonial settlement, before disease, dislocation, warfare—in particular, King Philip’s War—and colonial interference had diminished their population and power in the region. An extraordinary achievement, Williams’s Key gives us a contemporary account of Narragansett family life, of their sociability and skill in business, their dress, foodways, and the farming, fishing, and hunting that formed the basis of their sustenance practices. 
This new Tomaquag Museum edition includes for the first time cultural commentary provided by the Narragansett Tribe as well as modern linguistic information provided by a leading authority in the study of American Indian languages. 
The Tomaquag Museum, located in Exeter, Rhode Island, is an Indigenous nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the culture, arts, and history of the Narragansett and other tribal communities of southern New England.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594166525
Publisher:	Westholme Publishing
Publication date:	03/23/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

KATHLEEN BRAGDON, PhD, is professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary. DAWN DOVE, BSEd, is a Narragansett Elder, language teacher, author, artist, and culture bearer. DOROTHY HERMAN PAPP, MEd, is a copy editor with a keen interest in Indigenous cultures. SANDRA ROBINSON, MS, is a research scientist and a Narragansett language student. LORÉN SPEARS, MSEd, Narragansett, is the executive director of the Tomaquag Museum, and an artist, author, and cultural educator.
 

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgments ix

Preface xi

Introduction to the Tomaquag Museum Edition xv

A Key into the Language of America

Roger Williams's Introduction xxix

Directions for the Use of the Language xxxvi

1 Greetings 1

2 Eating and Entertainment 9

3 Sleep and Lodging 16

4 Numbers 21

5 Family Relations 25

6 The Household 29

7 Their Persons and Parts of the Body 47

8 Communication and News 51

9 Time of the Day 57

10 Seasons of the Year 59

11 Travel 62

12 The Heavens and Heavenly Lights 73

13 Weather 75

14 The Winds 77

15 Fowl 79

16 The Earth and its Fruits 83

17 Beasts and Cattle 91

18 The Sea 94

19 Fish and Fishing 99

20 Nakedness and Clothing 104

21 Religion and the Soul 108

22 Government and Justice 119

23 Marriage 124

24 Coin 129

25 Buying and Selling 136

26 Debts and Trusting 143

27 Hunting 146

28 Gaming 150

29 War 154

30 Paintings 161

31 Sickness 164

32 Death and Burial 169

References and Suggested Reading 173

About the Editors 178