26820: Wilcken (reply) Fwd: Re: 26804: Walton (reply) RE: 26782: Lois Wilcken (ask) La miralo (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lois Wilcken <makandal-ny@juno.com>

Thank you for the lead, Bob.

At first glance, "admiral" is strange for a nation of Vodou spirits that
represent farmers.  But the root of the word is Arabic for ²commander.²  My
Webster has its relative, emir, as a 17th century word meaning "a native
ruler in parts of Africa and Asia.²  So its original use might have had no
connection with the sea, and Africans might have brought it to St. Domingue
as such.

Another interesting connection:  Herskovits describes Azaka Mede, a major
lwa of the Djouba nation, as a Dahomean ³river god² (Life in a Haitian
Valley, p. 280).  A reason to use ³admiral²?

Just possibilities, and I¹d be interested in more feedback.

Lois

--
La Troupe Makandal, Inc.
Master Drummer Frisner Augustin, Artistic Director
Lois Wilcken, Ph.D., Executive Director
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