Connecticut Books

This is the single longest surviving document, in the old Algonquian dialect, of the original native peoples of the New Haven, Connecticut area. The tribe was known as the Quinnipiac tribe. Known today as Quiripi-Unquachog, this dialect was spoken in much of southwestern coastal Connecticut, as well as in parts of Long Island.

This booklet contains a two page, 1658 letter, from the Commissioners of the United Colonies, in Boston. They were writing to the directors of the New England Company, back in London. This letter defends their decision to have the Quinnipiac catechism printed in New England rather than back in London. The reasoning seems to have been that this decision allowed for local translators to be nearby, in case translation issues or other problems arose in the course of the printing. The letter also contains some discussion of bills, and concludes with an affirmation of the Commissioners' high hopes for the spiritual edification of the "poore natives" of the New Haven, Connecticut area.

There is another letter accompanying the first one, from John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians." A native of Roxbury, very near to Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Eliot is chiefly remembered today for having translated the entire bible into Massachusett, the dialect indigenous to Eastern Massachusetts and the surrounding region. His letter isn't explicitly about Abraham Pierson's catechism. Rather, it is a broader appeal to the Board of Directors of the New England Company, asking them to support the drive to translate materials for religious instruction into the local dialects.

After Eliot's letter, several pages are missing. If it is known what was once contained in those pages, I am unaware of that knowledge. I have not been able to come up with anything useful about the missing pages, although that doesn't necessarily mean that someone out there hasn't done a thesis on it at some point.

The boolet resumes at page 24, with a few short paragraphs by Abraham Pierson. These words are addressed not to the Quinnipiac people, but to English readers. He makes several points about pronunciation, accent, and grammar. This section is very short, but it still has value to students of this topic.

The catechism itself is only ten pages long, including the title page. It could be of interest to a student of Algonquian linguistics, or to someone with an interest in early English religions in America. I myself came to this text as part of a hobby, which is learning what I can about the early tongues spoken in New England. I noticed that this text has a lot in common with Massachusett, but with some differences. I understand the natives of local tribes could communicate, but from eastern Massachusetts to New Haven was starting to push it a little... Watch for the word "mandoo," a local variation of the better-known "manitou," referring to God, or to more general supernatural power. This appears very similar to the old Mohegan Pequot term "mandu." Iam not qualified to comment too much beyond this, although I tentatively have noted a few other points. Keep an eye out for things like the use of "qua" for "and," instead of Massachusett "kah." "Matta" is exactly the same, as the word for "not" in both dialects. The words for "light" seem to differ slightly, being "wequai" in Massachusett, but "wequai-ai" in Quripi-Unquachog. This is just a hobby for me, I'm still learning. Anyway, if you want to try to make this your own hobby, look for John Eliot's "Indian Primer," which cotains a small catechism in Massachusett. You can find some of your own points of comparison. Also, you need to know about the Smithsonian's "Handbook of North American Indians," volume 15, pages 70-77. This contains a great article that places Quiripi-Unquachog in linguistic context, and also has a helpful chart of phonetic relationships between this tongue and related Algonquian dialects.

After the catechism, there is a postscript written by Charles Chauncy, the contemporary president of Harvard College. He makes the point that some "indians" had already proven to be apt students of the printed word, and that he had great hopes for their "perfectibility."

Make sure you also check out the article I mentioned in the Smithsonian "handbook" (which is really a huge set of encyclopedias, taking up an entire bookshelf). Also, see the lists and guides I've placed on my reviewer's page, for some further suggestions related to this fascinating topic.