Moingona
Encyclopedia
The historic Miami-Illinois people who are today referred to as the Moingona or Moingwena were close allies of or perhaps part of the Peoria
. They were assimilated by that tribe and lost their separate identity about 1700. The name "Moingona" was probably the basis for the name of the City of Des Moines
, the Des Moines River
, and Des Moines County, Iowa
.
Jacques Marquette
documented in 1672 that the Peolualen (the modern Peoria
). and the mengakonkia (Moingona) were among the Ilinoue (Illinois) tribes who all "speak the same language."
Other names for them mentioned in 1672-73 records were "Mengakoukia," and "Mangekekis."
In 1673 Marquette and Louis Jolliet
left their canoes and followed a beaten path away from the river out onto the prairie to three Illinois villages within about a mile and a half of each other. Marquette identified only one of the villages at the time, the peouarea, but a later map apparently by him identified another as the Moingwena. He said of the 1673 meeting that there was "some difference in their language," but that "we easily understood each other."
Father Jacques Gravier
reports helping the close allies "Peouaroua and Mouingoueña" deal with a common adversary in 1700.
Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix
, a missionary who explored the region in 1721, recorded that "le Moingona" was "an immense and magnificent Prairie, all covered with Beef and other Hoofed Animals." He italicized the term to indicate it was a geographical term and noted that "one of the tribes bears that name." Charlevoix was a professor or belles lettres, and his spelling has come to be a preferred spelling in general and scholarly discussions.
. The noted cartographer Joseph Nicollet
supported this interpretation, as did the Algonquian linguist Henry Schoolcraft
. Schoolcraft and Nicollet's report says that "Moingona"
In this theory, the name 'Moingona', or, especially in its older French spelling, 'Moinguena', is from Illinois mooyiinkweena 'one who has shit on his face'. This etymology is supported by Gravier's word 'm8ing8eta', which he translates as "visage plein d'ordure, metaphor sale, vilain. injure". This verb, phonetically mooyiinkweeta, morphologically consists of mooy- 'shit', -iinkwee- 'face', and the third person singular intransitive suffix -ta, for a meaning "he who has shit on his face". The form 'Moinguena', phonetically mooyiinkweena, is the same verb but with the independent indefinite subject ending -na, for a more precise meaning 'one who has shit on his face'. The spelling 'Moinguena' is exactly how the French spelling of the time would render the Illinois verb mooyiinkweena. Perhaps this name arose as an insult given to the Moinguena by some neighboring tribe, as thus it is not known what the Moinguena called themselves. This scenario is rejected by amateur historian Jim Fay:
Fay has not named which 'knowledgeable Algonquian linguists' he refers to, though his etymology is not accepted by any authorities within the field of Algonquianist linguistics.
Peoria (tribe)
The Peoria people are a Native American tribe. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Historically, they were part of the Illinois Confederation.-History:...
. They were assimilated by that tribe and lost their separate identity about 1700. The name "Moingona" was probably the basis for the name of the City of Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, the Des Moines River
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
, and Des Moines County, Iowa
Des Moines County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 40,325 in the county, with a population density of . There were 18,535 housing units, of which 17,003 were occupied.-2000 census:...
.
Jacques Marquette
Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...
documented in 1672 that the Peolualen (the modern Peoria
Peoria (tribe)
The Peoria people are a Native American tribe. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Historically, they were part of the Illinois Confederation.-History:...
). and the mengakonkia (Moingona) were among the Ilinoue (Illinois) tribes who all "speak the same language."
Other names for them mentioned in 1672-73 records were "Mengakoukia," and "Mangekekis."
In 1673 Marquette and Louis Jolliet
Louis Jolliet
Louis Jolliet , also known as Louis Joliet, was a French Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America...
left their canoes and followed a beaten path away from the river out onto the prairie to three Illinois villages within about a mile and a half of each other. Marquette identified only one of the villages at the time, the peouarea, but a later map apparently by him identified another as the Moingwena. He said of the 1673 meeting that there was "some difference in their language," but that "we easily understood each other."
Father Jacques Gravier
Jacques Gravier
Jacques Gravier was a French Jesuit missionary in the New World. He founded the Illinois mission in 1696, where he administered to the several tribes of the territory...
reports helping the close allies "Peouaroua and Mouingoueña" deal with a common adversary in 1700.
Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix
Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix
Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix was a French Jesuit traveller and historian distinguished as the first historian of New France....
, a missionary who explored the region in 1721, recorded that "le Moingona" was "an immense and magnificent Prairie, all covered with Beef and other Hoofed Animals." He italicized the term to indicate it was a geographical term and noted that "one of the tribes bears that name." Charlevoix was a professor or belles lettres, and his spelling has come to be a preferred spelling in general and scholarly discussions.
Meaning of “Mongona”
The meaning of “Moingona” has been debated; historians have espoused conflicting definitions of the term, ranging from “People by the Portage” to “Clan of the Loon” and, more controversially, “Excrement-Faced”.Mongona as “People by the Portage”
Historic accounts suggest that Moingona was a term referring to people who lived by, or were encountered near, the portage around the Des Moines RapidsDes Moines Rapids
The Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa-Hamilton, Illinois is one of two major rapids on the Mississippi River that limited Steamboat traffic on the river through the early 19th century....
. The noted cartographer Joseph Nicollet
Joseph Nicollet
Joseph Nicolas Nicollet , also known as Jean-Nicolas Nicollet, was a French geographer and mathematician known for mapping the Upper Mississippi River basin during the 1830s....
supported this interpretation, as did the Algonquian linguist Henry Schoolcraft
Henry Schoolcraft
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 discovery of the source of the Mississippi River. He married Jane Johnston, whose parents were Ojibwe and Scots-Irish...
. Schoolcraft and Nicollet's report says that "Moingona"
Moingona as “Loon Clan”
An alternative interpretation is that Moingona is derived from the Algonquian clan name "Loon"; the Miami Indian term for loon is mong’wa, and many Algonquian villages took their names from tribal clans.Moingona as “Excrement-Faced”
Another theory is that the root of the expression is not mi8 but m8i meaning "filth" or "excrement," and the expression means "excrement face."In this theory, the name 'Moingona', or, especially in its older French spelling, 'Moinguena', is from Illinois mooyiinkweena 'one who has shit on his face'. This etymology is supported by Gravier's word 'm8ing8eta', which he translates as "visage plein d'ordure, metaphor sale, vilain. injure". This verb, phonetically mooyiinkweeta, morphologically consists of mooy- 'shit', -iinkwee- 'face', and the third person singular intransitive suffix -ta, for a meaning "he who has shit on his face". The form 'Moinguena', phonetically mooyiinkweena, is the same verb but with the independent indefinite subject ending -na, for a more precise meaning 'one who has shit on his face'. The spelling 'Moinguena' is exactly how the French spelling of the time would render the Illinois verb mooyiinkweena. Perhaps this name arose as an insult given to the Moinguena by some neighboring tribe, as thus it is not known what the Moinguena called themselves. This scenario is rejected by amateur historian Jim Fay:
Fay has not named which 'knowledgeable Algonquian linguists' he refers to, though his etymology is not accepted by any authorities within the field of Algonquianist linguistics.