- Main meanings of Chihuahua
- Metal factories
- Barking dogs
- Next to two waters
- Holed stone
- Sack or sack
- Sandy or dry thing
- Gang of Thieves
- Barn
- References
The meaning of Chihuahua has been the object of study by various historians and linguists who have made an approximation according to the etymology of languages such as Nahuatl, Tarahumara and other ancient dialects such as Concho.
In addition to languages, some of these meanings are associated with the economic activity of the Chihuahua region, now a state of Mexico, the geography of the place, and the etymology of words that coincide in some syllables.
Chihuahua Cathedral
The great variety of indigenous languages of the region has allowed the approach to different meanings.
Main meanings of Chihuahua
Metal factories
Among the main meanings of Chihuahua is the one that refers to one of the main activities in the region since the 18th century, such as metal smelting, due to the discovery of the Santa Eulalia mines.
Numerous estates settled there, on the banks of the Chuvíscar River, during the 18th century to develop this industry and this group of new metal factories is known as Chihuahua.
Barking dogs
In the Nahuatl language, the word Chihuahua can be decomposed to find its meaning; "Chichi" means dog and "hauhua" means barking.
The word was associated with the wild dogs of the region, which remained in packs during the Aztec period.
Next to two waters
To arrive at this meaning, a group of linguists concentrated on a specific geographic area where the Sacramento and Chuvíscar rivers meet.
The word "chi" means place and "hua", water; twice "hua" refers to the two rivers.
This definition has not been fully accepted, since the definition of “two waters” in the Rrámuri language has no relation to rivers.
Holed stone
Historians established a relationship between the initial syllables of the word Guaguachiqui (town of the municipality of Urique) with the ending "huahua" and made an association with the entry of light through the Cerro del Coronel.
Although many have accepted this meaning, other linguists oppose it because they claim that in the Tarahumara language a stone is named as "reheque"; although they accept the coincidence with Guaguachiqui, which means "hole".
Sack or sack
Anthropologists have established the relationship with the words "" chihuahuira "," chihuahuara "or" maruca ", which are used in the indigenous language to name a leather bag or a satchel where small things are kept.
Sandy or dry thing
In the Journal of Historical Curiosities, written in 1899, the word Chihuahua is associated with "xicuauhua", a word of Aztec origin.
When decomposing it we note that "Xi" means "like this" and "Cuauhua" means "dry thing" or "sandy thing".
Gang of Thieves
Another study refers to the meaning of the word “Chihuá” with the meaning of the verb “steal”. This is how he relates to a gang of thieves.
Barn
By establishing the association with the word “Chihuaca”, which means “milk”, linguists dare to affirm that “Chihuahua” can refer to a “stable”, where the cows rest before being milked.
References
- Cacoullos, RT (2001). From lexical to grammatical to social meaning. Language in society, 30 (3), 443-478.
- Hill, JH (2005). Intertextuality as source and evidence for indirect indexical meanings. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 15 (1), 113-124.
- Aiken, CLV, Garvey, DL, Keller, GR, Goodell, PC, & de la Fuente Duch, M. (1981). A regional geophysical study of the Chihuahua City area, Mexico.
- Espino, MS, Navarro, CJ, & Pérez, JM (2004). Chihuahua: a water reuse case in the desert. Water Science and Technology, 50 (2), 323-328.
- Painted Curtain, AP (2004). Tarahumara (No. 04; BROCHURE, 3970)