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Tekahionwake

♀ Girl

Pronounced teh-gah-hee-ON-wah-geh

Meaning: double wampum

In 30 seconds: A Mohawk name meaning 'double wampum,' borne by the celebrated poet E. Pauline Johnson, who performed under both her Mohawk and English identities.

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Origin Iroquois, Native American

Meaningdouble wampum

History & Origin

Tekahionwake is a Kanyen'keha name meaning 'double wampum' — a reference to the shell-bead belts used in Haudenosaunee diplomacy, ceremony, and identity. Wampum belts ratified treaties and recorded history with spiritual authority; a name of double wampum suggests a doubled significance or dual recorded identity. It was the ancestral Mohawk name of E. Pauline Johnson (1861–1913), the daughter of a Mohawk clan chief and an English mother, who became the first Indigenous Canadian writer published internationally. Her theatrical act embodied the duality: she performed as Tekahionwake in Indigenous dress, then returned as Pauline Johnson in Victorian attire — two streams, one person.

Did you know? Pauline Johnson staged her performances in two halves: the first in Mohawk dress as Tekahionwake, then after intermission in Victorian evening wear — embodying 'double' in her very name.

Wikipedia — E. Pauline Johnson — Biography of Tekahionwake/Pauline Johnson including etymology, performances, and cultural legacyThe Canadian Encyclopedia — Pauline Johnson — Authoritative Canadian reference on her dual identity, career, and designation as Person of National Historic Significance

Variations

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Nicknames

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Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Tekahionwake…

Karihwiiosta— Mohawk name meaning 'she tends the wampum,' sharing the same wampum-belt tradition

Kahente— Kanyen'keha name for a woman who leads, resonating with Pauline Johnson's pioneering life

Kaniehtiio— Mohawk name meaning 'she is good,' from the same Kanyen'keha naming tradition

Konwatsi'tsiaiénni— A Mohawk name of poetic beauty from the same Haudenosaunee tradition

Frequently Asked

What does Tekahionwake mean?

'Double wampum' in Kanyen'keha (Mohawk) — wampum belts were sacred shell-bead records used in Haudenosaunee diplomacy and ceremony.

How do you pronounce Tekahionwake?

dah-geh-ee-ON-wah-geh — six syllables; the 'T' is pronounced as a soft 'd' in Mohawk phonology.

Who was Tekahionwake?

The ancestral Mohawk name of E. Pauline Johnson (1861–1913), poet and the first Indigenous Canadian writer to be published internationally.

Is Tekahionwake a boy's or girl's name?

It was borne by Pauline Johnson as a feminine identity, though Haudenosaunee ancestral names carry clan lineage rather than strict gender assignment.