A Word on Christmas in Okáxpa
Posted December 16th, 2024
Christmas is a difficult concept to translate into the Quapaw language (Okáxpa íe). This is because our people did not observe or hold a concept of Christmas until after colonization and the subsequent purveyance of Catholic traditions. The word itself originates from the joining of the Old English equivalents of “Christ,” and “mass,” neither of which translate directly into the Okáxpa íe.
In post-colonial times, the word owíbną was used to indicate a gift-giving tradition roughly dated to the early 20th century. Quapaw elder Maude Supernaw describes this practice during a taped audio interview from the 1960s. In the interview, she says that the gifts were given at a special time when Quapaw would visit each other’s homes to sing, similar to the concept of caroling. Thus, owíbną was said when imparting gifts to these visitors. However, it is unclear what time of year this tradition occurred; it may have been near the time of the Winter Solstice but sources are not conclusive.
By the 1980s, some Quapaw families began to use owíbną to mean, “Merry Christmas.” In an interview with elder Odestine McWatters dated from the mid-1990s, she uses the word to mean, “Christmas.” This is the way some families interpreted the phrase over time, although it should not be taken as a literal translation.
Another way to say “Merry Christmas” in Okáxpa is, wakǫ́ta ižįke íttade. This phrase translates literally as, “God’s Son is Born.” This is how other Dhegiha tribes say the phrase, as well. It is more accurate and faithful to the structure of our language to use this term; we encourage its usage in publication. Even so, our department recognizes the significance of the "owíbną" phrase to many Quapaw families in our modern times.
No matter how you choose to celebrate the holiday season, we invite you to integrate the Okáxpa íe into your well-wishing traditions.
Wakǫ́ta ižįke íttade ąną́we. Owíbną ąną́we.
“We say Merry Christmas. We say Merry Christmas.”
Written by Tehya Deardorff during a brainstorming session with Billy Proctor, Mary Jacobs, and Everett Bandy.