Remarks on the Origin of the Ainu Word inaw : with Reference to the Etymology of the Uilta Word illau

Abstract

The Ainu word inaw means 'a ritual offering in the form of a wooden staff with attached wood shavings'. It is similar to the Gilyak words inau and nau, the Uilta illau and the Orochi ilau. They are assumed to be originally the same word. The Uilta word illau (=illaun-) is probably derived from *ilawun. This form is composed of a verb-stem *ila- and a substantive-forming suffix *-wun which means 'instrument, etc.'. It seems to have changed into illau (n-) by the loss of *w and the compensatory doubling of *l. The Orochi word ilau came also from an earlier form *ilawun, in which the *w and *n were dropped. The suffix *-wun goes back to the proto-form *-pun which survives in Uilta -pu (n-). Consequently, the Uilta word illau (n-) derived from *ilawun containing *-wun seems to be a loan-word, and to have been borrowed probably from Orochi or another Tungus language closely related to Orochi. On the basis of the meanings of the Manchu verb-stem ila- and its derivatives, we assume that *ila- accompanying *-wun means 'a stick which puts forth flowers, or a stick which men shave'. It may be assumed that the Ainu word inaw came from the Tungus word ilau. The Ainu language borrowed this Tungus word, but the l-sound was replaced by n, because Ainu has an n-sound but not l. If a Tungus dialect, such as Orochi or Uilta has borrowed an Ainu word like inaw, it would have preserved the n instead of replacing it with l, because these dialects have n as well. The Gilyak words inau and nau are probably also loan-words which orginated from the Tungus word ilau.