The name Ouiamot is ostensibly similar to Wiyot, the name of another important figure, the primeval tyrant killed just before the appearance of Chinigchinix. Ouiamot is possibly to be taken as Ouiamot the childhood name of Chinigchinix. The name Quaoar was first recorded by Hugo Reid in his 1852 description of Tongva, in the spelling Qua-o-ar. Quaoar's parents were Tacu and Auzar, or, according to other accounts, he was born of Tamaayawut. According to yet other accounts, "he had neither father nor mother". Both the Tongva mythology and language are recorded only fragmentarily. As a consequence, the pronunciation of the name Quaoar is not known with certainty. Hugo Reid recorded it as Qua-o-ar, suggesting that it was trisyllabic. But the Spanish transcribed it Quaguar, suggesting two syllables. Kroeber spells it Kwawar, though he notes Reid's spelling as well: Kwawar . Harrington gives the most precise transcription, Ká’uwar, in interpreting an 1846 translation of a Spanish text. Given the general quality of Harrington's work, this might be expected to be the most accurate as well, approximately, with three syllables. In English it is, with two syllables.
Mythology
The Takic mythology is known only fragmentarily, as these peoples were Christianized early, by Spanish missionaries, during the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Only sparse material has been collected by ethnologists from the few remaining native speakers during 19th century. Chingichngish has variously been represented as a creator deity, a culture hero or lawgiver figure or a "prophet", who became associated with the figure of Christ after the conversion of the Takic peoples. This character was first mentioned in a description of the beliefs of the native peoples who were associated with the Mission San Juan Capistrano in accounts written by the Franciscan missionary Jerónimo Boscana in the 1820s. One version of Boscana's manuscript was subsequently published by Alfred Robinson, who gave it "Chinigchinich" as a title. Some subsequent scholars have characterized Luiseño religionin general, or certain portions of it, or a set of some more widely shared traits, as a Chingichngish cult. John Peabody Harrington thought that Chingichngish might have been a historical figure, but most scholars have interpreted him as a deity. Alfred L. Kroeber suggested that Chingichngish beliefs were a historic-period native response to cultural shock of the missions, and Raymond C. White thought that they might have arisen in response to earlier contacts with European sailors along the California coast. The most distinctive characteristic of Chingichngish beliefs concerned the existence of a set of "Chingichngish avengers" who spied on human beings and enforced the moral code. These figures included Raven, Rattlesnake, Bear, Mountain Lion, and others. There were also ceremonial items sacred to Chingichngish, including mortars and winnowing trays. Chingichngish beliefs were associated with the initiation ceremonies for adolescent boys, during which the hallucinogenic plantDatura was ingested, but elements of these ceremonies were much more widely shared than were belief in the specific character of Chingichngish.
