haʼaʼaah

Navajo

Etymology

ha- (“up out”) + -ʼa- (unspecified person object prefix) + -∅- (3rd person subject prefix) + -∅- (classifier) + -ʼaah (imperfective stem of root -ʼĄ́, “to handle SRO”)

Pronunciation

• Audio (NV):

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Verb

haʼaʼaah

1. (transitive) to take something unspecified out, to remove something
2. (intransitive) a solid roundish object (= the sun) moves up, rises

Usage notes

This verb has both a transitive and an intransitive meaning, the latter implicitly referring to the sun as a subject. The root -ʼĄ́ is otherwise never used for the free movement of an SRO (for this, -TSʼID is used instead). In the intransitive meaning, this verb is limited to expression in the third person

Conjugation

Paradigm: Momentaneous (∅/yi), third person only

	3rd person singular
IMPERFECTIVE	haʼaʼaah
PERFECTIVE	haʼííʼą́
FUTURE	haʼdooʼááł

Noun

haʼaʼaah

1. east

Usage notes

Each of the four cardinal directions is associated with a different color. Haʼaʼaah is associated with the color white (łigaii), and is considered the first direction. The Navajo people traditionally rise before the sun to witness the dawn, which they believe prompts the creativity and free thinking that will lay the foundation for strong ideas and a better life. This is the direction of the sunrise and it is the Navajos' thinking direction (ntsáhákees), the light nurturing the mind in a way that is believed to encourage personal development. It represents the dawn, spring, corn, infancy, the mind, and thinking. It also represents the kin yaaʼáanii clan.