Melungeon-L Archives

Archiver > Melungeon > 2002-12 > 1041019832


From: Steve & Cindy Hartman <>
Subject: Re: [Melungeon] I think I got it
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2002 14:10:32 -0600
References: <67.59e277b.2b3d2063@aol.com><OE156reeJa2ygErNawR00009efa@hotmail.com>


That's very interesting Ernie. Thanks for this post. So many people see so
many different sides of a story, giving us different views. I would have
never thought of this one. I really appreciate hearing everybody's
viewpoints, and putting them all together.

Cindy

>
> "Mal" comes from Latin, meaning bad or badly wrong. "Injuns" is common, &
> probably has been for a while, as a corruption or mispronunciation of
> "Indians". Put these together, with some of the unique accents that are
> heard in the Southern States even today & it could sound like "Melungins"
&
> mean "bad Indians".
>
> Another possibility - many words that begin with the prefix "mel" denote
> "black" or "very dark", coupled with "Injuns" sounds pretty close to
> "Melungins" & might mean "Black Indians".
>
> Regards
>
> Ernie


This thread: