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#REDIRECT [[Chinigchinix]]
'''Quaoar''' is the creation deity of the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[Tongva people|Tongva]] people, native to the area around [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], California. According to Tongva mythology, Quaoar sings and dances the world and other deities into existence.
[[Category:Gods of the indigenous peoples of North America]]

Like in most other creation myths, at first there was [[Chaos (cosmogony)|Chaos]]. Then along came Quaoar. He was sorrowed by the emptiness in existence and began to dance, whirl, and twirl all about while he sang the Song of Creation. God of the Sky, [[Weywot]], was first to be formed of the creation melody. Next came [[Chehooit]], who became Goddess of the Earth. These two new deities joined in the dance and created the sun and moon ([[Tamit]] and [[Moar (god)|Moar]], respectively).

Together these five sang and danced everything else into existence: animals, plants, people, and the other gods as well. His work finished, Quaoar faded into obscurity, perhaps returning to wherever it was he came from originally.

In 2002, a large [[Trans-Neptunian object]] was named [[50000 Quaoar|Quaoar]] after the Tongva deity.

==Pronunciation==
Tongva mythology is only preserved in scraps, and the [[Tongva language|Tongva]] pronunciation of Quaoar is not certain. It's not even entirely clear if it had two syllables or three. There have been several transcriptions. The Spanish transcribed it '''''Quaguar''''' {{IPA-es|ˈkwawar|}}, reflecting the Spanish use of ''gu'' for {{IPA|[w]}}. Hugo Reid recorded the name from Tongva elders in 1852 as '''Qua-o-ar''', and this (apart from the hyphens) is the spelling preferred by the Tongva today. [[Alfred L. Kroeber|Kroeber]] (1925)<ref>Kroeber, Alfred. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California'', Volume 2</ref> spells it '''Kwawar''', though he notes Reid's spelling as well: ''Kwawar (" Qua-o-ar ")''. [[John Peabody Harrington|Harrington]] (1933) gives the most precise transcription, '''K(w)á’uwar''', in interpreting an 1846 translation of a Spanish text.<ref>Harrington, John Peabody. 1933. ''Chinigchinich: A Revised and Annotated Version of Alfred Robinson's Translation of Father Geronimo Boscana's Historical Account of the Belief, Usages, Customs and Extravagancies of the Indians of This Mission of San Juan Capistrano Called the Acagchemem Tribe (1846).'' Hanna, ed.</ref> Given the general quality of Harrington's work, this might be expected to be the most accurate as well, approximately {{IPA-azc|ˈkʷaʔuwar|}}, with three syllables. In English it is {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|w|ɑː|w|ɑr}}, with two syllables.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Gods of the indigenous peoples of North America]]
[[Category:Mythology of the indigenous peoples of North America]]
[[Category:Creator gods]]


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Latest revision as of 10:43, 8 December 2011

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