ᏩᎴᎳ
walela
The Cherokee word for hummingbird is ᏩᎴᎳ (walela).
ᏩᎴᎳ refers to any of the various small American birds belonging to the Trochilidae family.
Meaning: any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is walela.
Did you know?
- The syllabary used to write ᏩᎴᎳ was invented by a man named Sequoyah, who was not literate in English when he created it.
- In Cherokee culture, the hummingbird is often viewed as a messenger between the spirit world and the physical world. This adds a spiritual dimension to the bird that goes beyond simple biological classification.
- Because Cherokee is a verb-heavy language, the way one speaks about a hummingbird often involves describing its actions, such as 'it is hovering', rather than just naming the bird as a stationary object. The bird is defined by its movement.
Example conversation
Two people are looking at a bird in a garden.
- AᏩᎴᎳ ᎦᏓᎢᏣᏓᏅᎩ!Walela gadasitsadanvgi!A hummingbird is flying!
- BᎠᏓᏓᏅᎩ ᎢᏓᏓᏅᎩ.adadanvgi idadanvgi.It is very small.
- AᏩᎴᎳ ᎦᏓᏓᏅᎩ ᎤᏓᏓᏅᎩ.Walela gadadanvgi udadanvgi.The hummingbird has a beautiful voice.
- BᎥᎥ, ᎢᏓᏓᏅᎩ.Vv, idadanvgi.Yes, it is.
