My Relatives (Mitakuyepi),
About "Mitakuye Oyasin" and "Aho".
Mitakuye Oyasin:
My understanding of "Mitakuye Oyasin" is that it literally means "All My Relations". I understand that this connotes an address to All of Creation, as "My Relations"; an acknowledgement that I am related to All of Creation; and an acknowledgement that "All Are Related". This means that all BEINGS are related - but for us, what are "things" in English are BEINGS. Here is a quote from Albert White Hat Sr.'s Reading and Writing the Lakota Language, that is just one example of this attitude:
"English does not acknowledge the relationship between human beings and the elements. For instance, it does not address the rain, the thunder beings, the sun, and so forth as living relatives. In Lakota philosophy, we remember this relationship. We remember the impotance of all Creation. We acknowledge these beings as we would a relative. ...We know that the thunder is a living being just as we are" (p.127).
Similarly, the Stone People, the Tree People and the Plant People, the four-leggeds Ones, the winged Ones, the finned Ones, and the crawling Ones are relations of each other and of ALL of us, all the two legged Ones. We repeat this in acknowlegdement of ALL our relations, all our relationships with all other two-leggeds, and ALL the rest of Creation.
Aho:
This is a male expression. Men properly say it when they are agreeing with something that has been said, like "Yes! I agree with that!" "That is right!"
The female equivalent can be "Ohan". There is disagreement on the female equivalent. However, according to Whitehead, "Ohan" is the female equivalent to "Hau" - the male word to say "OK" or "Yes" in a more casual way, and a more casual setting. The equivalent to "Aho!", for females, according to Whitehead, is "To!" (pronounced toh).
I have seen "Aho" used incorrectly, such as an ending for posts, by both males and females. This is not correct, both because it is, correctly, a reaction to something someone else has said, and second because it is, correctly, only a male word.
At the same time, I have been taught by my traditional, Lakota-speaking, Elders that "Ohan" is the female equivalent to "Aho!" - agreement with something someone has said in public.
In any case, "Aho" is for males, and not for females.
Mitakuye Oyasin,
Your Relative,
Cedar Elk Woman
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