-------------------- -sii -- head ----------------------

-sii -- head

Grammar:
  This word, and most other names of body parts, basically always occur with possessive prefixes like sh-, "my." The only times they don't have the possessive prefixes are sometimes when they form part of a compound word.

  The possessed paradigm for -sii' is as follows:

    shsii', sii' -- my head
    nsii' -- your (singular) head
    uusii' -- his/her/its/their head(s)
    kwsii' -- his/her/their head(s)
    nohsii' -- our heads
    nheesii' -- your (plural) heads
    kashsii', kasii' -- their heads
    ch'sii' -- something's head(s)

  Note that the glottal stop (') at the end of the possessed forms is actually a suffix indicating that the noun is possessed.

Pronunciation:
  Like "-SEE'" (Listen: uusii', his/her/its/their head)

Etymology:
  -Sii is derived from *tsi:, the basic word for head present with only slight modification in almost all Athabaskan languages.

Culture:

  -Sii refers to the head of any human or animal. It also refers to the "headwaters" of a body of water, in other words the source of a creek or stream.

  Nee'uusii'ding, literally "Earth - its headwaters - place," is the southern end of the earth in the Naahneesh cosmology. It's opposite is Nee'uuchii'ding, "Earth - its tail - place," at the northern end.
  
Related Languages:

  Lassik, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Wailaki: -sii'
  Mattole: -tsi
  Hupa: -e:da'ay (literally "what extends against someone")

-------------------------
Sally Anderson
sally@turtlenodes.com
Cahto Language Home Page: http://www.turtlenodes.com/calath/caindex.html