Editing Chingachgook

{{Short description|Fictional character created by James Fenimore Cooper}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox character
| name               = Chingachgook
| series             = [[Leatherstocking Tales]]/[[The Last of the Mohicans]]
| image              = Chingachgook-ASIN-B00005NFMB.jpg
| image_size         = 200px
| caption            = [[Gojko Mitić]] playing Chingachgook the Great Serpent, in the [[Chingachgook, die große Schlange|East German western film of the same name]].
| first              = ''[[The Pioneers (novel)|The Pioneers]]'' (1823)
| last               = ''[[The Deerslayer]]'' (1841)
| creator            = [[James Fenimore Cooper]]
| alias              = Le Gros Serpent, Indian John, John Mohican
| occupation         = Chief
| spouse             = Wah-ta-Wah (wife)
| gender             = Male
| children           = Uncas (son)
| religion           = [[Mahican]] tradition, [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] convert
| nationality        = [[Mahican]]
}}

'''Chingachgook''' is a fictional character in four of [[James Fenimore Cooper]]'s five ''[[Leatherstocking Tales]]'', including his 1826 novel ''[[The Last of the Mohicans]]''. Chingachgook was a lone [[Mohican]] chief and companion of the series' hero, [[Natty Bumppo]]. In ''[[The Deerslayer]]'' (1841), Chingachgook married Wah-ta-Wah, who had a son with him named Uncas, but died while she was still young. Uncas, who was at his birth "last of the Mohicans",<ref>"Uncas will be the last pure-blooded Mohican because there are no pure-blooded Mohican women for him to marry." [http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/Whitec/LITR/4232/research/critics/mohicansassgn.htm Craig White, "Guide to ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1826) by James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)", LITR 4232 coursesite, University of Houston–Clear Lake] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008041920/http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/Whitec/LITR/4232/research/critics/mohicansassgn.htm |date=2011-10-08 }}</ref> grew to manhood but was killed in a battle with the Huron warrior [[Magua]]. Chingachgook died as an old man in the novel ''[[The Pioneers (novel)|The Pioneers]]'' (1823), which made him the actual "last of the Mohicans", having outlived his son.

== ''The Leatherstocking Tales'' ==
In the series ''[[Leatherstocking Tales|The Leatherstocking Tales]]'' by [[James Fenimore Cooper]], Chingachgook is the best friend and companion of the main character [[Natty Bumppo]], aka Hawkeye. He appears in ''[[The Deerslayer]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3285/3285-h/3285-h.htm|title=The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper|language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[The Last of the Mohicans]]'',<ref name=":0" /> ''[[The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea|The Pathfinder]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1880?msg=welcome_stranger|title=The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea by James Fenimore Cooper|language=en-US}}</ref> and ''[[The Pioneers (novel)|The Pioneers]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2275/2275-h/2275-h.htm|title=The Pioneers, by J. Fenimore Cooper|website=www.gutenberg.org|language=en|access-date=2018-11-12}}</ref> He is characterized by his skills as a warrior and forester, his bravery, his wisdom, and his pride for his tribe.

==Other literature==
Chingachgook is a major character in ''Song of the Mohicans'' by Paul Block (Bantam Books, 1985, {{ISBN|978-0553565584}}), a sequel to ''The Last of the Mohicans''. Taking up the story a few days after Uncas' death and burial, it recounts the adventures of Hawkeye and Chingachgook as they travel north to discover the connection between an Oneida brave and the Mohican tribe, and whether a sachem truly holds the key to the ultimate fate of the Mohicans.

==Etymology and pronunciation==
Chingachgook is said to have been modeled after a real-life wandering Mohican basket maker and hunter named Captain John. The fictional character, occasionally called John Mohegan in the series, was an idealized embodiment of the traditional [[noble savage]]. [[French people|The French]] often refer to Chingachgook as "{{lang|fr|Le Gros Serpent}}", the Great Snake, because he understands the winding ways of men's nature and he can strike a sudden, deadly blow.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Indians/last.html |title=Last of the Mohicans |publisher=Xroads.virginia.edu |access-date=2013-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124182625/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Indians/last.html |archive-date=2015-11-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The name is derived from the [[Lenape language]], which is closely related to the [[Mohican language]]. In Lenape, {{lang|del|xinkw-}} means 'big'<ref>{{cite web |title=xinkw- |url=http://talk-lenape.org/detail?id=14673 |work=Lenape Talking Dictionary |access-date=2018-08-23 }}</ref> and {{lang|del|xkuk}} means 'snake'.<ref>{{cite web |title=xkuk |url=http://talk-lenape.org/detail?id=11642 |work=Lenape Talking Dictionary|access-date=2018-08-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=xinkwi xkuk |url=http://talk-lenape.org/detail?id=14537 |work=Lenape Talking Dictionary |access-date=2018-08-23 }} This page includes an audio file of the words being pronounced by a native Lenape speaker.</ref> Professor William A. Starna, of SUNY Oneonta, says the initial "ch" sound would be pronounced more like the German guttural "h" than an English "ch".<ref>{{cite web |last=Starna |first=William |title=Cooper's Indians: A Critique |url=http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/articles/suny/1979suny-starna.html |access-date=2018-03-22 |publisher=State University College of New York |archive-date=2012-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422042910/http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/articles/suny/1979suny-starna.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The digraph {{angle bracket|ch}} in the spelling used by [[John Heckewelder]], the source for the name, and the letter {{angle bracket|x}} in modern Lenape spelling both represent the [[voiceless velar fricative]] sound {{IPA|[x]}} (as in "[[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]"), not the [[voiceless palato-alveolar affricate]] {{IPA|[t͡ʃ]}} (as in "church").

Cooper got the name from Heckewelder's book ''History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations who once inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States''<ref>{{cite book |last=Slotkin |first=Richard |title=The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800–1890 |year=1998 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=[[Norman, Oklahoma|Norman]] |isbn=0-8061-3030-X |pages=93–94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tf2XVsLUBsoC&pg=PA93 |author-link=Richard Slotkin |access-date=2012-10-28 }}</ref> (1818), which cited a Lenape word as "{{lang|del|chingachgook}}" (in Heckewelder's spelling which was influenced by [[German language|German]]), meaning "a large snake". He gave this word as such in the context of how to use the adjective {{lang|del|xinkwi}} (pronounced {{IPA|del|xiŋɡwi|}}) 'large', which Heckewelder spelled {{lang|del|chingue}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heckewelder |first=John |title=History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations who once inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States |year=1876 |location=Philadelphia |publisher=[[Historical Society of Pennsylvania]] |url=https://archive.org/details/historymannersa01heckgoog |author-link=John Heckewelder |access-date=2012-10-28 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historymannersa01heckgoog/page/n438 431] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Starna|first=William|title=Cooper's Indians: A Critique|url=https://jfcoopersociety.org/content/04-crit/articles/suny/1979suny-starna.htm|publisher=State University College of New York|access-date=2018-03-22}}</ref>

==Portrayals in film and television==

The first film portrayal of Chingachgook was by [[Wallace Reid]] in a 1913 film version of ''The Deerslayer''.

[[Bela Lugosi]] played Chingachgook in two German silent films, ''Lederstrumpf, 1. Teil: Der Wildtöter und Chingachgook'' (''Leatherstocking 1: [[The Deerslayer and Chingachgook]]'') and ''Lederstrumpf, 2. Teil: Der Letzte der Mohikaner'' (''Leatherstocking 2: [[The Last of the Mohicans (1920 German film)|The Last of the Mohicans]]''), both filmed in 1920.

[[Jay Silverheels]], best known for his role as [[Tonto]] on ''[[The Lone Ranger (TV series)|The Lone Ranger]]'', played Chingachgook in the 1953 film version of ''[[The Pathfinder (1952 film)|The Pathfinder]]''.

[[Lon Chaney Jr.]] played Chingachgook in the 1957 TV series ''[[Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans]]''.

Chingachgook, played by [[Gojko Mitić]], was the main character of an [[East German]] [[Western (genre)|western]], ''[[Chingachgook, die große Schlange|Chingachgook the Great Serpent]]'' (1967), based on Cooper's novels.

In the [[BBC]] miniseries ''[[The Last of the Mohicans (1971 series)|The Last of the Mohicans]]'' and ''The Pathfinder'', Chingachgook was played by [[John Abineri]].

Chingachgook was played by [[Ned Romero]] in the TV versions of ''[[The Last of the Mohicans (1977 film)|The Last of the Mohicans]]'' (1977) and ''The Deerslayer'' (1978), by [[Russell Means]] in the 1992 film adaptation of ''[[The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)|The Last of the Mohicans]]'', by [[Rodney A. Grant]] in the 1994 TV series ''[[Hawkeye (1994 TV series)|Hawkeye]]'' and by [[Graham Greene (actor)|Graham Greene]] in the 1996 TV version of ''The Pathfinder''.

Many films portray Chingachgook with long hair, braided or flowing. A notable exception is [[The Last of the Mohicans (1920 American film)|the 1920 adaptation]] which faithfully represents him with a tuft on his shaved head, according to the novel.

==In Boy Scout legend==
In the Ordeal Ceremony of the [[Order of the Arrow]], the National Honor Society of the [[Boy Scouts of America]], the Legend of the Order refers to an imaginary [[Lenni Lenape]] chief named Chingachgook. In the legend, Chingachgook's son, Uncas, is the original propagator of the Order. Chingachgook wanted to create a band of volunteers from all the nations of the [[Delaware River]] valley to support and protect their collective interests. Uncas volunteered to be the first member of such a group, and thus the Order of the Arrow was founded.

According to the Boy Scouts of America's Ordeal Ceremony, the preferred pronunciation of the name is "ching-gatch-gook".<ref>{{cite web|last=Boy Scouts of America|title=Order of the Arrow Ordeal Ceremony Pamphlet|url=http://oaceremonies.org/Documents/Training/pronunciation_guide.html|publisher=Boy Scouts of America|access-date=2018-03-22}}</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{reflist}}

{{The Last of the Mohicans}}

[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1823]]
[[Category:Characters in American novels of the 19th century]]
[[Category:Drama film characters]]
[[Category:Fictional Native American people]]
[[Category:Fictional sole survivors]]
[[Category:Fictional tribal chiefs]]
[[Category:James Fenimore Cooper]]
[[Category:Male characters in literature]]
[[Category:Leatherstocking Tales]]