You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.

Yana
/yah"neuh/, n., pl. Yanas, (esp. collectively) Yana for 1.
1. a member of a North American Indian people who once resided in the eastern portion of the upper Sacramento River valley in California.
2. the now extinct Hokan language of the Yana, best known for a systematic differentiation between men's and women's speech.

* * *

people
      Hokan (Hokan languages)-speaking North American Indians formerly living along the eastern tributaries of the upper Sacramento River, from the Pit River to southwest of Lassen Peak, in what is now California. Traditional Yana territory comprised a myriad of foothills and narrow, rugged canyons, partly wooded but mostly brush-covered and rocky.

      Before colonization there were four Yana divisions—Northern, Central, and Southern Yana, as well as Yahi—speaking mutually intelligible dialects. A significant characteristic of Yana speech was its use of separate forms for men and women. The differences were small; but females used their word forms exclusively, whereas men used the male forms among themselves and the so-called female forms when addressing women.

      Life generally was very difficult in the harsh, barren environment. The Yana lived in earth-covered winter lodges and thatch-covered summer dwellings, hunted various game, and fished for salmon. Little is known of their social organization, except that it probably comprised small bands and contained classes or rankings. Before colonization the Yana had relatively frequent skirmishes with their neighbours, an unusual trait for California Indians.

      In 1864 the tribe was the victim of particularly brutal attacks by nearby miners. The miners launched an overt campaign of extermination, and over the course of several days they killed all but about 50 of the estimated 3,000 tribal members; the survivors subsequently avoided contact with Euro-Americans by living in isolated canyons. From 1911 until his death in 1916, the last known survivor of the Yahi band, Ishi, worked to record his memories of traditional culture with anthropologist A.L. Kroeber (Kroeber, A.L.).

      Early 21st-century population estimates indicated some 100 Yana descendants.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Yana — (de or. caribe; Cuba; Conocarpus erectus) f. Árbol combretáceo de tronco tortuoso, especie de mangle. ⇒ *Planta. * * * yana. f. Cuba. Árbol de la familia de las Combretáceas, con hojas alternas, flores en racimo, tronco tortuoso y madera muy dura …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Yana — steht für: Yana (Volk), einen nordamerikanischen Indianerstamm Yana Sprache, eine Hoka Sprache Yanacocha, eine Goldmine peruanischen Departement Cajamarca Ramayana, nach dem Mahabharata das zweite indische Nationalepos Hinayana, einer der beiden… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Yana — puede referirse a: El río Yana, un largo río de la Siberia rusa. Yāna, una palabra sánscrita. Los yana, una tribu indígena de América. Idioma yana, la lengua de los yana. Informe Yana Curi, sobre el impacto de las petroleras en la Amazonia.… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Yana — Things and people known as Yana include:* Yana Gupta, an Indian model. * Yana (Buddhism), a Buddhist term (path). * Yana River, a river in eastern Russia. * Yana, Sierra Leone, a town in western Africa. * Yana, a part of Kisarazu city, Japan. *… …   Wikipedia

  • Yana — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Le terme Yana peut désigner : le yana, une langue amérindienne ; un yâna, un « véhicule » du bouddhisme ; le fleuve russe… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Yana — geographical name river N Russia in Asia flowing N into Laptev Sea …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • yana — noun Any of the three vehicles of Buddhist practice; Mahayana, Hinayana and Vajrayana …   Wiktionary

  • Yana — noun . A romanization of the name …   Wiktionary

  • Yana — 1) Лингвистика: (язык) яна 2) География: (р.) Яна (РФ) …   Универсальный англо-русский словарь

  • Yana — [ jɑːnə] р. Яна (Россия, Республика Якутия) …   Англо-русский большой универсальный переводческий словарь