Meaning of "Belecana"

Question

This word may have usage relating to race or ethnic origin. It may be a Native American word, from southwest USA..not sure.Lee Carkenord

Usenet · Accepted Answer

I knew I had seen the word, but spelled "belegana". I think in a couple of Tony Hillerman's novels. So, I put it into www.google.com which is open for your use, too. What was the context in which you heard or saw "belecana"?

The Racial Slur Database
... Belegana, Whites, Navajo term which roughly translates to "silly white person".
Belgie, Belgians, Shortening of word ...
www.rsdb.org/ -

Usenet · Answer

Pat Durkin schrieb:
[nq:1]I knew I had seen the word, but spelled "belegana". I think in a couple of Tony Hillerman's novels.[/nq]
That's how I know it, too. It's a Navajo word.
Belagaana gets more hits; the first one is "Three Belagaana Stories" ( http://www.terrain.org/essays/5/merit.htm ) and explains: " Author's Note: The word Belagaana is a Navajo word, or more properly Dineh word. In the Dineh language there are words which signify people who are not Dineh such as Hopi or Zuni or Apache. There is even a word for Mexican. All others are Belagaana."
From "FAQ's* About Life on the Navajo Nation
& Among the Navajo People", Section I, "What are clans?": "Except for other American Indians, some Irish, Scots and the Mexican people, all non-Navajos are regarded as Belagaana's, being lumped together."
http://navajocentral.org/faq02a.htm
Cheers
Michael

It's silly talking about how many years we will have to spend in the jungles of Vietnam when we could pave the whole country and put parking stripes on it and still be home by Christmas. Ronald Reagan, October 10, 1965

Usenet · Answer

Thanks folks..
It appears that the word:
belecan or belegana or belegaana
means about what I suspected it meant. The word "belecana" is used repeatedly by Elizabeth Hegemann in her autobiography/narrative book "Navaho Trading Days".
Thanks again... Lee Carkenord

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Thanks folks.. It appears that the word: belecan or belegana or belegaana means about what I suspected it meant. The word "belecana" is used repeatedly by Elizabeth Hegemann in her autobiography/narrative book "Navaho Trading Days".[/nq]
An English spelling of a non-English word is always liable to have some variations. Much of the difficulty stems from either the way the word is pronounced ( I am reasonably sure that there are variations among the Navaho in pronunciation of this simple word.) or the way the listener hears the sound, which comes through his/her sound system.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I knew I had seen the word, but spelled "belegana". I think in acouple of Tony Hillerman's novels. So, I ... Database ... Belegana, Whites, Navajo term which roughly translates to "sillywhite person". Belgie, Belgians, Shortening of word ... www.rsdb.org/ -[/nq]
My recollection from my Flagstaff days is that it literally means "white eyes". I briefly studied the language at the community college from a Navajo instructor. I didn't get any sense of this being a slur, though of course in context any racial term can be used that way. The instructor was quite forthright about some surprising cultural aspects (polygamy, anyone?), so I doubt that he would have held back on this. On the other hand, at this late date I can't be sure what I learned from him and what I learned from Tony Hillerman.
Richard R. Hershberger

Meaning of "Belecana"

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions