Hiawatha

he'a-wa'tha, a noted warrior, possibly legendary, of the Iroquois. To be more exact, he was reputed to be an Onondaga chief, a man of traditional wisdom. His name means, "He who seeks the wampum belt." He was credited with having formed the confederacy of the Five Nations in northern New York. When Longfellow was gathering together the traditions of the Ojibways for his famous Indian poem, he boldly substituted the rhythmic name of Hiawatha for Manabosho, the unpronouncable, unwieldly name of the Ojibway hero about whom their legends cluster. Longfellow also ventures to say that his tales came from the Vale of Tawasentha in the country of the Mohawks of eastern New York. The i in Hiawatha should have the sound of i in machine. To give the long sound, as is authorized unfortunately by most lexicons, is not only contrary to Indian usage, but contrary to the wish of the poet Longfellow as well. A long i destroys the melody of the word. The same remark holds true of Chicago, Winona, and other Indian names. See Longfellow