iichʼąh
Navajo
Etymology
ʼa- (unspecified person object prefix) + -yi- (semelfactive) + -Ø- (3rd person subject prefix) + -Ø- (classifier) + -chʼąh (semelfactive stem of root -CHʼĄH, “to have seizure”).
From the metaphorical meaning of fall-into-fire.
Conjugation
Paradigm: Semelfactive (yii/si).
| IMPERFECTIVE | singular | duoplural | plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | iishchʼąh | iichʼąh | daʼiichʼąh |
| 2nd person | iichʼąh | oohchʼąh | daʼoohchʼąh |
| 3rd person | iichʼąh | daʼiichʼąh | |
| 4th person | ajiichʼąh | daʼjiichʼąh | |
| PERFECTIVE | singular | duoplural | plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | ashéchʼąh | ashiichʼąh | daʼshiichʼąh |
| 2nd person | ashíníchʼąh | ashoochʼąh | daʼshoochʼąh |
| 3rd person | azhchʼąh | daʼazhchʼąh | |
| 4th person | ajizhchʼąh | daʼjizhchʼąh | |
Noun
iichʼąh
- a fit, seizure, epileptic seizure
- iich'aa, an epileptiform, psychosomatic illness found among the Navajo people, characterised by nervousness, loss of self-control, convulsions, self-destructive behavior, and fits of violence and rage, and often accompanied by the believe that parts of the body are shrinking (associated with violating the taboo against incest and supposedly caused by the growth of a moth in the cranial cavity. The affected person is cured in a ceremony called the "Mothway" (iichʼąhjí, no longer performed), in which he vomits to get rid of the creature.)
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