English

rattlesnake (Western rattlesnake)

Arapaho

1. híínohcéíneeyóonít ; 2. nohcéíneeyéíhii

Translation of Arapaho

1. ‘it has a rattle’ ; 2. ‘the rattling one’

Technical Information

The species in the Arapaho area is the Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis).

 

Rattlesnakes and theArapaho

Rattlesnake rattles played a symbolic role in the Dog Lodge (Kroeber, The Arapaho, pp. 203-5) and the Women’s Lodge (The Arapaho, pp. 219-20).

One treatment for snakebite reported by Alfred Kroeber was to chop off a snake’s head, dry and powder it, mix it with the dried blood of the snake, and add pepper and a medicinal root. This was sprinkled on a cloth, which was used to abraid the bite area until it bled. Then the cloth was tied around the area, a piece of lard was put on top, and a hot stone was used to keep the area warm (The Arapaho, p. 437).