Activities

Mystery Pictures

The SSBMI Language Department created Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok mystery picture activities which you can download and print at home to practice the number words 1-10. To play, you just color the numbered squares according to the color key and see what hidden picture you reveal!

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) You can also listen to the number words 1-10 and learn more on this page.

Henopé! (Nisenan)

Mystery Picture 01            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 02            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 03            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 04            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 05            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 06            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 07            (Answers)

Néetettic! (Miwok)

Mystery Picture 01            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 02            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 03            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 04            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 05            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 06            (Answers)

Mystery Picture 07            (Answers)


Number Words

The Mystery Pictures activity sheets include Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok numbers 1 through 10:

One  (1)

Nisenan

Wíttee

Miwok

Lútti


Two  (2)

Nisenan

Peen

Miwok

Oṭíiko


Three  (3)

Nisenan

Sapwíy

Miwok

Tolóokosu


Four  (4)

Nisenan

C’ɨɨy

Miwok

Oyíisa


Five  (5)

Nisenan

Máawɨk

Miwok

Mássokka


Six  (6)

Nisenan

Tɨ́mboo

Miwok

Témmokka


Seven  (7)

Nisenan

Topwíy

Miwok

Kenékkakɨ


Eight  (8)

Nisenan

Peenc’ɨ́ɨy

Miwok

Káwwinṭa


Nine  (9)

Nisenan

Pelyibóo

Miwok

Wó’e


Ten  (10)

Nisenan

Máac’am

Miwok

Na’áaca

More Nisenan number words

Have you heard other words for the numbers 1 through 10 in Nisenan? While we only give one word for each number in these activity sheets, there is some variation in the number words that Nisenan speakers know and use. For example, whereas most Nisenan speakers say wíttee for "1", Tom Cleanso, a Nisenan man from Pusúune and the brother of SSBMI Matriarch Pamela Cleanso Adams, says wɨkté instead:

One  (1)

Nisenan

Wíttee

Wɨkté

These words are related to one another, and the wɨk- of wɨkté is the root of a related word that all speakers use - wɨ́kpay (once).

Similarly, different Nisenan speakers have shared different words for "7" and "9" - Some speakers shared topwíy as their word for "7", while other speakers, including William Joseph and Charlie Hunchup, shared the unrelated word peenímboo:

Seven  (7)

Nisenan

Topwíy

Peenímboo

And while some Nisenan speakers have shared pelyibóo or related forms as their word for "9", other speakers have given pelyi’ó and c’ɨɨyímboo:

Nine  (9)

Nisenan

Pelyibóo

Pelyi’ó

C’ɨɨyímboo

It's important to recognize that none of these number words are more "right" than others. Rather, these are just different ways of saying the same thing, and speakers probably understand each of these number words even if they don't use it themselves. Moreover, we know that some speakers know multiple sets of number words because they actually shared different number words with different researchers.

If this seems unusual to you, think about how you name large numbers in English - For example, would you read the number "1200" out loud as "one thousand, two hundred", "one thousand and two hundred", or "twelve hundred"? Or, could you even read it out in any of these ways?

What should you say? As a learner, you may find it intimidating to learn all these words at once. We recommend that you pick one set of number words and use them as often as you can, knowing that other speakers & learners may also know different words. We chose to share the numbers 1-10 that are in these activity sheets because the Tribe's relations use these Nisenan words and they would be understood by most speakers.

Esak’ahá daak’ábe mi c’aykɨ́? (Do you want to know more?)

If you would like a copy of the mystery pictures activity sheets and cannot print them at home, please visit the SSBMI Language Department in the SSBMI Tribal Administration building or contact us at language@ssband.org.

Webpage last updated: 2024-10-18     

SSBMI Language Department