potlatch
Loanword
- Meaning
- Pacific NW: a Native ceremonial gift-giving feast.
- Type
- Loanword
- Used in
- Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Washington, Oregon
What does “potlatch” mean
From Chinook Jargon 'patshatl' meaning 'to give'. A formal gift-giving ceremony of the Pacific Northwest Coast Native peoples, used to mark births, weddings, totem-pole raisings, and chieftainship. Banned by the US and Canada for decades, now openly practiced again.
Where it's used
More from this region
Comments
Loading comments…