October 13, 2005

In some soup

In his fine On The Rez, Ian Frazier writes of the time he spends on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ("Rez") -- one of the poorest spots in all the United States -- with his friend Le War Lance. Le belongs to the Oglala Sioux, and is the kind of grasping, story-telling, barnstorming, larger-than-life character that you never imagine can actually be real.

Here's a vignette from the book. Frazier is driving Le around the reservation, and at one point Le directs him onto a dirt road that goes up an embankment. Frazier writes:
    I walked to the top and concluded my car couldn't make it. As I turned to go back, several dogs at a house beside the hill saw me and set out for me at a run, barking and growling with their teeth bared. I walked quickly but did not run, fearing to enrage them further. I calculated that our paths would converge just about at the car. I was a few feet from it and they were a few yards from me when Le heard the racket, stuck his head from the car door, and growled a word at them in Sioux. His growl was throaty and loud, like that of a dog much bigger than they. The dogs stopped so fast they left skid marks in the mud, and then ran yelping back home. The word Le had said to them sounded familiar. I asked him what it was. He said, "I said to them, 'Wahampi!' It means soup. ... Dogs on the reservation know the word wahampi because they know they might end up in some soup themselves. Eat a dog once in a while, it teaches the other dogs a healthy respect."


km said...

Ha ha ha....funny, funny story. I have a hunch Uma M-D won't enjoy it too much :)


Pareshaan said...