M

MAD.  Make sign for ANGRY.

MAKE.  Use sign for WORK.

MALE.  Elevate the right index, back out, in front of face.  Same as MAN.

MAN.  Elevate the right index, back out, in front of face.  Same as MALE.

MANY.  Hold hands well in front, to right and left of body, fingers curved and pointing to front; move hands towards each other on vertical curve downwards; move them slightly upwards as though grasping hands, and finish full movement with hands opposite and few inches apart.

MANY TIMES (also, EVERY LITTLE WHILE).  Hold left forearm horizontally in front of left breast, pointing front and right; touch forearm of left several times with side of tip of extended index of right hand, other fingers and thumb closed, back of hand nearly to front; commencing near left wrist and moving hand towards elbow.  This is also used to mean.  OFTEN, ALL THE TIME, and WHILE.

MARRY (meaning: trade or purchase).  Make sign for TRADE; then join index fingers, side by side, pointing to front.

MARVELOUS. See MEDICINE.

MATCH (lucifer).  With right hand hold match between thumb and index; then rub quickly against left forearm, as though scratching a match.

MATE or CHUM.  Make the signs for FRIEND and EQUAL.

MAY-BE-SO.  Same as PERHAPS.

Click on picture to enlarge

ME.  Point right thumb at breast.

MEAN (meaning: compressed heart).  Make the signs for HEART and SMALL.

MEAT.  Hold flat left hand, back up, in front of left breast; then with the flat right hand, palm up, slice imaginary pieces off the left palm.

MEDAL.  Make an incomplete circle with thumb and index of right hand, spaced one inch between tips, other fingers closed, and place little finger on center of breast.

MEDICINE (meaning: mysterious and unknown).  Hold right 2 hand close to forehead, palm outwards; index and second fingers separated and pointing upwards,others and thumb closed; move hand, upwards while turning from right to left in a spiral.

MEDICINE MAN.  Make the sign for MAN and for MEDICINE.

MAKING BAD MEDICINE, or MAKING GOOD MEDICINE.  Many Indians use this idiom which is somewhat typical.  To express either of the above, make signs accordingly.

MEET (to).  Hold I hands opposite each other, pointing upwards; bring the hands towards each other until tips of index fingers touch.

MELANCHOLY.  Make the signs for HEART and SICK.

MEMORY. Make the signs for HEART and KNOW.

METAL. There is no general sign for this except that for HARD.  Anything made of metal must be pointed to or touched.

METEOR. Make sign for STAR, and with hand in that position make sign for FIRE; and then let it drop in a wavy, tremulous motion.

MID-DAY.  Indicate that the sun is exactly overhead, or make the signs for DAY and MIDDLE.

MIDDLE. Hold left I hand well in front of left breast, with back to left; hold right 1 hand in front of right breast, raise it slightly up and over in small semi-circle until tip of right index rests on middle joint of left index.

MIDNIGHT. Make the signs for NIGHT and MIDDLE.

MIDWINTER. Make the sign for WINTER and for MIDDLE.

MIGRATE (meaning: of birds).  Make sign for BIRD, MANY and FLYING to south or north.

MILKY-WAY (meaning: ghosts, or dead men's road).  Make sign for DIE, for TRAIL; then with right flat hand fully extended sweep in a segment of circle that part of the sky.

MIND. Touch the two first fingers of right hand to forehead.

MINGLE. Hold slightly compressed hands out in front of body, opposite neck, hands pointing upward, close together, move them one about the other in circles, surfaces touching.

MIRROR.  Hold up flat right hand with palm twelve inches from face, fingers pointing upwards.  This represents a hand mirror.

MISLEAD. Make sign for TRAIL; then show deception by pushing right index out at a different angle.

MISS (to).  Make the sign for AVOID.

MISTAKE.  Make the signs for WORK and HIDE.

MIX. To mix by stirring imitate the motion.  To mix otherwise, make the sign for MINGLE.

Click on picture to enlarge

MOCCASIN.  Pass spread thumbs and indexes up from toes, over feet to ankles; right over right, left over left, palms close to feet.

MONEY.  Hold right hand, back to right, well out in front of right breast, index and thumb curved, forming an incomplete circle, space half inch between tips, other fingers closed.

MONKEY (meaning: half white man, half dog).  Pass the spread thumb and index finger of each hand, other fingers closed, over and near the surface of body from waist upwards, palms towards body; then make sign for WHITES; then pass the hand similarly from waist down, and make sign for DOG.  The upper portion like white man, lower like dog.

MONTHS or MOONS.  See pages 58 and 79.

MOON (meaning: night sun).  Make the sign for NIGHT; then with curved thumb and index of right hand form a segment or quarter moon, and hold it in line of vision to where moon should be on high.

MORNING.  Make the signs for DAY and SUNRISE.

MOTHER.  With partially curved compressed right hand give two or three gentle taps or pluckings at left breast.

 MOTHER-IN-LAW. Make the sign for HUSBAND or WIFE, and then for MOTHER.

MOTION PICTURES. This is a strictly recent proposition, and must be so regarded. The modern Indian, however, knows all about the pictures, and thousands act in them.  Have seen different descriptive signs made, the most common being to extend both flat hands, upright, and vibrate them rapidly, to show flicker of the picture, and sign LOOK.  One Indian who had been to Hollywood made sign similar to OWL, as though looking into opera glass, and then sign for turning crank.

MOUND.  Partially curve the hands and, with backs up, bring them alongside each other in front of body; separate the hands in downward curves, to right with right hand, to left with left.

MOUNTAIN.  Push up the closed hand as in bluff, but raised higher; then make the sign for HARD.  Use both hands to represent a mountainous country.

MOUNTAIN LION.  Make the signs for CAT, for LONG TAIL, and for JUMP.

MOURN (meaning: cutting off the hair and crying).  With extended separated right 2 hand make as though to cut off hair horizontally just below ears; then make the sign for CRY.

MOUSE.  To represent height hold the right flat hand close to ground, and partially closing same hand imitate its movements in running; then make sign for NIGHT, and with right thumb and index nibble at left index.

MOVE (meaning: to move camp).  Make sign for TEEPEE: then lower hands from this position as though taking down the lodge poles; then make the signs for WORK, for PACK, and GO.

MUCH.  Make the sign for MANY.

MUD. With left compressed, catch or hold right compressed hand and drag down over same; then reverse and repeat (imitating an animal pulling its feet out of the mud); point to ground.  For soft in any other sense, use signs for HARD and NO.

MULE. Hold extended hands alongside of ears, palms to front, fingers pointing upwards; by wrist action move hands forward and back to represent their motion.

MUST.  Make the sign for PUSH. (Used as a command.)

MY or MINE.   Make the sign for POSSESSION.

MYSTERIOUS or WONDERFUL.  Make the sign for MEDICINE.