Kickapoo whistled speech is a means of communication among

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, based in Eagle Pass, is a federally recognized tribe that uses revenue from its gaming and business operations to provide housing, education, and social services to its members. The tribe has been held a ...

, a Kickapoo tribe in Texas and Mexico.

Whistled speech Whistled languages use whistling to emulate speech and facilitate communication. A whistled language is a system of whistled communication which allows fluent whistlers to transmit and comprehend a potentially unlimited number of messages over l ...

is a system of whistled communication that allows subjects to transmit and exchange a potentially unlimited set of messages over long distances. Whistled language occurs among the Kickapoo Indian tribe living in the Mexican state of

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

. It is a substitute for spoken Kickapoo, in which the pitch and length of vowels and vowel clusters are represented, while vowel qualities and

consonants In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wit ...

are not. The system of

whistling Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

was employed around 1915 by young members of the Kickapoo tribe, who wanted to be able to communicate without their parents' understanding. To produce whistled speech, users cup their hands together to form a chamber. Next, they blow into the chamber with their lips placed against the knuckles of their thumbs. To alter the pitch of their whistle, the Kickapoo Indians lift their fingers from the back of the chamber. Among the Kickapoo Indian tribe, whistled speech is employed primarily for

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

purposes. Young men and women rendezvous using whistle speech each evening as a cultural

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

. The whistling can be heard from dusk to as late as midnight every evening. Messages mostly consist of phrases such as, "I'm thinking of you" and "Come on."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whistled Speech Among Kickapoo Indians In Mexico Dating Kickapoo tribe Whistled languages

See also

References