There is a great deal of linguistic evidence that people from India and Southeast Asia were engaged in transit and interactions with the peoples across the Pacific Ocean long before Columbus, as the plethora of Sanskrit and Tamil cognates in Native American languages clearly indicate. Below is but a sample of the many lists of transpacific cognates included in To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down. Enjoy and consider . . .
Excerpts from To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down :
The ancient world shows connections of peoples across
oceans that indicate a shared paradigm and sense of the sacred, extant in so
many diverse expressions and resonant forms, telling of an ancient unity of the
world that the current official story is generally loathe else at least
hesitant to acknowledge. Even looking to
the plains and eastern tribes, not to mention Mexico and Central and South
America to the Atlantic coast, further from likely landings of immigrants from
Asia/Southeast Asia, many cognates and nigh cognates readily show that many
Native American Indian languages are closely related to Sanskrit, Tamil and
other Asian languages and cultures [Sanskrit and Tamil definitions are from the
Cologne Digital Online Sanskrit Dictionary[i]
or the Wisdom Library,[ii]
unless otherwise noted].
[i] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'),
https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.
[ii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom
Library Peace-Love-Dharma, Search the Database: Glossary,
https://www.wisdomlib.org/index.php.
Native American Language followed by possible or likely Sanskrit and Tamil roots/cognates/related words:
Yavapai literally “people of the sun” (from Enyaava “sun” + Paay “people”)[i]
Sanskrit ahnya n.
daily course (of the sun)
pA P.
... to watch, keep, preserve; to protect from, defend against … to protect (a
country) i.e. rule, govern … to observe, notice, attend to, follow
Tamil enRavan Sun
pAy servant
paya-ttal 01 1. to
yield, produce, put forth fruit; 2. to come into existence; to be made; 3.
to take place; to be productive of good or evil; 4. to be obtained; 1. to
produce, create; 2. to beget, generate, give birth to; 3. to give; 4. to
blossom; 5. to compose [The Tamil suffix
-ttal indicates the preceding word is a verbal noun][ii]
Sanskrit surya “sun, God of the Sun”
sUra m. the sun.
Churápa súush “sun”[iv]
Sanskrit surya “sun, God of
the Sun”
sUra m. the sun.
sahas prefix to a number of words related to the sun:
sahas mfn. powerful, mighty, victorious ... sahasradhalman (%{saha4sra-}) mfn. having thousand-fold splendour AV. TBr. ; m. the sun ; sahasradhAman a. having thousandfold might or splendour; m. the sun ; sahasradIdhiti m. `\" thñthousand-rayed \"\' , the sun ; sahasrAGka m. the sun L. ; sahasragu mfn. possessing a thousand cows ; thousand-rayed L. ; thousand eyed , ; m. the sun Var. ; N. of Indra ; sahasrakara m. `\" thousand-rayed \"\' , the sun ; sahasrakara m. the sun (thousand-rayed) ; sahasramarIci m. thousand-rayed N. of the sun; sahasrAMzu mfn. thousand-rayed ; m. the sun ... m. `\"sun-born \"\'N. of Saturn %{-sama} mfn. sun-like Ml. ; sahasrapAda m. `\" thousand-footed \"\' or `\"thousand-rayed \"\' , the sun L. ; sahasraruc m. the sun ; sahuri mfn. mighty , strong , victorious RV. ; m. the sun
Blackfoot Naato'si the Sun[v]
Tamil naTTucci the time of the day when the sun is
exactly at the zenith
Cree kîsikâwi-pîsim sun or daytime sun[vi]
Sanskrit Kīśa (कीश).—a. Naked. -śaḥ 1 An ape, monkey … 2) The sun. Kisa (किस):—m. Name of an attendant of the sun
kavi m. a thinker,
intelligent man, man of understanding, leader; a wise man, sage, seer, prophet
… Name of the ancient sages or patriarchs (as spirits now surrounding the sun);
of the Ribhus (as skilful in contrivance); [Name] of Pushan (as leader or
guider) … the sun
pUSan m. N.
of a Vedic divinity, often identified with the Sun.
Nahuatl Tula Spanish “place of reeds” from the Classical
Nahuatl tōllin (“bulrush, sedge”).
Sanskrit
tUla n. a tuft of grass or reeds
Nahuatl Tepoztli “Principal English Translation: a
workable metal; copper, iron (see Molina); devices made from metal (see
Karttunen); e.g., used as a noun to refer to metal bell(s), metal tool(s),
armor; can also refer to steel. Orthographic
Variants: tepostli, tepustli, tepuztli, tepoztl”[vii]
Sanskrit tapaneSTa n. `\" loved by sunbeams \"\', copper
Tamil Tappu 1. small copper coin[viii]
Muscogee/Mvskoke
yvmvse (pronounced
“Yamasee”) “tame”[i]
Sanskrit yama a rein, curb, bridle[ii]
S. Iroquois nvda moon[iii]
Sanskrit navodaya mfn.
newly risen (moon)
Aztecs Aztecah[iv] Nahuatl for Aztec
Sanskrit Astika mf(%{I})n. (fr. %{asti} , `\" there is
or exists \"\' … one who believes in the existence (of God, of another
world , &c.) ; believing, pious, faithful.[v] This name origin would very much fit the
central Aztec myth of their ancestors originally coming from another homeland,
“Aztlan.”
"Kiva," round half-underground Hopi/Pueblo ceremonial houses
with entrance on the roof.
Sanskrit ki, anthill,[vi]
va, dwelling[vii]
Hopi Sipapu
the hole in the floor of every kiva
that represents the place the people emerged from underground via a ladder
made of a hollow log.
Sanskrit sopAna n. (perhaps contracted fr. %{sa} +
%{upA7yana}) stairs, steps, a staircase, ladder to (gen. or
comp.)
sopAnabhUta mfn. become or being a staircase
sopAnamAlA f. winding stairs
sopAnapaGkti f. a line or flight of steps, staircase
ib.
sopAnapatha m. a way of steps, staircase Ragh.
sepAnakaparamparA f. a flight of steps , staircase
Tamil sOpAnam step; stair
Hopi Taawa sun[viii]
Tamil Tavaṉaṉ
sun[ix]
Hopi Muuyaw moon[x]
Tamil muyaRcaRai spots
on the moon, as like a hare
muyaRkUTu moon[xi]
Hopi Kuuyi
water[xii]
Tamil kOlA
or kayam[xiii]
Hopi anu ant
Sanskrit aNu f. …
small, minute, tiny, atomic[xiv]
Tamil aNu 1. atom, minute particle of matter; 2.
smallness, subtleness[xv]
Sanskrit bhaSa, bhaSaka or Tamil pAki, purOkam [xvii]
“dog”
Hopi döva earth[xviii]
Sanskrit dhara[xix]
earth
Hopi paayu river[xx]
Sanskrit payo-
(prefix) payodhArA “stream”, payoraya “river current”[xxi]
Hopi patupha lake[xxii]
Tamil patu “pond,
deep pool”[xxiii]
Hopi qööhi fire[xxiv]
Tamil koLLi fire[xxv]
Hopi tiva
dance
Sanskrit tandava dance
Navajo/Diné
words[xxvi]
[xxvii]
[xxviii]
cognate to/related to Sanskrit Tamil and Punjabi words[xxix]
[xxx]:
The name of the Diné and related Athabascan Dene
peoples, including the Denesuline (Chipewyan) people, generally means
“the people” or “original people,” as with many tribal names where the people may
have forgotten the original meaning of their peoples’ name. Generosity is a central tenet of the Dene/Diné culture, and especially food-sharing. As I formerly noted, it seems not unlikely
that the Dene/Diné were Danavas, of the children of Danu
and Kashyapa.
Sanskrit dAna 1 n. giving, imparting, bestowing of (gen. or
---) on (loc. or ---); giving in marriage, giving up, sacrificing, offering,
paying; teaching, communicating; granting, conceding; gift, present, donation.
dAnazIla a. of liberal disposition, munificent.
dAnazUra m. = {dAnapati}.
m. `\"
liberality-lord \"\' , munificent man
The
name of the Dene/ Diné people may also indicate they were of the offspring of Kashyapa’s
wife Danu, the Danavas. The
Sanskrit root da generally means “to give.”
Diné Aoo’ yes
Sanskrit Aho (अहो).—ind. 1) A particle showing (a) surprise or wonder;
often agreeable (ah, how great or wonderful)[xxxi]
Punjabi Aaho yes
Diné ni
you, yours
Tamil nI you
Diné cheii grandfather
Tamil cIyAn great-grandfather
ciyyAn
maternal
grandfather
Diné Klaychaa’i dog
Sanskrit kauleya m. dog (lit. family or
domestic animal).
Kauleyaka mfn. sprung from a
noble family … pertaining to a family W. ; m. … `\" domestic animal
\"\' (or `\" of good breed\'?) , a dog (esp. a
hunting dog)
Diné Tó
water
Sanskrit toya n. water (p. {-vant}Å); acc. w. {kR} make a
libation of water.
[i] “Mvskoke Word List Y,” Muscogee Nation, Muscogee
(Creek) Nation 2016, accessed August 1, 2022,
https://www.muscogeenation.com/word-list-y/.
[ii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams'
'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.
“Vocabulary Words in the Iroquoian Language Family,”
Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 26, 2024,
https://www.native-languages.org/famiro_words.htm.
[iv] “Aztecs,”
Wikipedia, last edited August 31, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztecs.
[v] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “astika.”
[vi] Ibid., s.v. “ki,” accessed March 1, 2021.
[viii] “Vocabulary in Native
American Languages: Hopi Words,” Native Languages
of the Americas, accessed March 10, 2024, https://www.native-languages.org/hopi_words.htm.
[ix] Wisdom Library Search the
Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “tavanan,” accessed March
17, 2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/tavanan.
[x] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi
Words.”
[xi]
Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “moon.”
[xii] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi
Words.”
[xiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit
Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “water,”
accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.
[xiv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “anu.”
[xv] Ibid.
[xvi] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v.
“dog,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/dog.
[xvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “dog.”
[xviii] Glosbe Dictionary, translate
English to Hopi, s.v. “earth,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/earth.
[xix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit
Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “earth.”
[xx] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v.
“river,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/river.
[xxi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit
Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “river.”
[xxii] Wiktionary The Free Dictionary, s.v. “patupha,” last
edited on June 16, 2017, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patupha.
[xxiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “patu.”
[xxiv] Glosbe, s.v. “Hopi word fire”, accessed June 30,
2025, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/fire.
[xxv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “kolli,” accessed June
30, 2025,
https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.
[xxvi] “Diné Bizaad,” Black Mesa Indigenous Support,
accessed August 26, 2024, https://supportblackmesa.org/dine-bizaad/.
[xxvii] “Navajo Word List,” UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive,
accessed August 26, 2024,
https://archive.phonetics.ucla.edu/Language/NAV/nav_word-list_1983_01.html.
[xxviii] Leon Wall and William Morgan, Navajo-English
Dictionary (1958), University of Northern Colorado: Scholarship
& Creative Works @ Digital UNC,
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=navajo.
[xxix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'),
https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.
[xxx] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom
Library Peace-Love-Dharma, https://www.wisdomlib.org/.
[xxxi] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom
Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “aho,” accessed February 26, 2024,
https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/aho.
[i] “Yavapai,” Wikipedia, last edited February 11, 2024,
accessed February 26, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavapai.
[ii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “sun,” accessed August 1,
2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.
[iii] Chiquitano language, Wikipedia, last edited January
7, 2024, accessed May 12, 2024,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiquitano_language.
[iv] Ibid.
[v] “Blackfoot Mythology,” Wikipedia, last edited July 7,
2024, accessed June 18, 2025,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfoot_mythology.
[vi] Itwêwina Plains Cree Dictionary, s.v.
“kîsikâwi-pîsim,” accessed June 28, 2025,
https://itwewina.altlab.app/word/k%C3%AEsik%C3%A2wi-p%C3%AEsim/#:~:text=only%20one,+%20show%20more.
[vii] “tepoztli,” Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Stephanie
Wood, ed., accessed September 30, 2025,
https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tepoztli#:~:text=Headword:-,tepoztli.,%2C%20steel%2C%20copper%2C%20workable%20metal.
[viii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from
Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “t” English s.v.
“copper,” accessed September 30, 2025,
https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.
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