Talk:Mount Whitney

Tumanguya

On August 18, an IP editor added the information that the Native American name for Mount Whitney is "Tumanguya", which was later cited to an online women's magazine called Bustle, I do not think that this magazine is a reliable source for Native American names of mountains. I have climbed Mount Whitney and read about it extensively, and have never heard that name. I have checked three books in my own library, and none mentions "Tumanguya".

The Geographic Names Information System is very thorough in listing variant names of mountains. For example, they list 24 variants for Mount Shasta, six variants for Mount Rainier and 48 variants for Denali. Most of these variants are Native American names. However the GNIS listing for Mount Whitney includes only two real variants, one 19th century (Fisherman's Peak) and the second 20th century (Mount Churchill), neither Native American. The lack of Native American variants for Mount Whitney is not surprising. The three other peaks mentioned stand well apart from surrounding peaks, can be seen for hundreds of miles, and are memorable sights. Mount Whitney is just the highest point along an 11 mile high mountain ridge, surrounded by many other peaks nearly as high. From the Owens Valley, it does not seem to be the highest peak at all. I am unaware that Native Americans named individual peaks of the High Sierra, but I could be wrong.

California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary is an excellent source for such information. For example, the word "Shasta" appears 86 times in that book. The word "Tumanguya" does not appear at all. Another excellent source is Place Names of the High Sierra which also does not mention "Tumanguya". As a matter of fact, the word "Tumanguya" does not appear anywhere in Google Books, Google Scholar or JSTOR searches, and only seems to appear on the internet at all in recent weeks.

Accordingly, I am removing "Tumanguya" from the article. I will not object to adding the information back into the article if it can be cited to a better quality source.I will not object to adding the information back into the article if it can be cited to a better quality source. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 22:20, 10 September 2015 (UTC)

I added a section with documentation from one of the first parties to climb the mountain, Judge William B. Wallace of Visalia. He gives the Native American (Paiute) name as "Too-man-i-goo-yah". Judge Wallace was active in the Mt. Whitney Club which was instrumental in advocating for park protection for the Whitney area. I have not yet been able to find a copy of California Senator John Miller's Senate Bill 463 which was the first proposal put forth for park protection. (Pixpixpix (talk) 01:05, 5 October 2015 (UTC))

To avoid confusion I renamed the subheading as "Native American Name". I see that for many peaks there is a distinct "Names" section near the top of the entry, an edit that might be appropriate at some time, consolidating all the name history. (Pixpixpix (talk) 19:29, 5 October 2015 (UTC))

Tumanguya variations

One of the reasons why cullen328 has found it difficult to locate the above particular spelling is because the Paiute term is transliterated in about a dozen ways. The reason why I think it is preferable to list the Tumanguya spelling is because it corresponds to the standard English writing system that typically does not insert commas and spaces in a pronouns or words. However the fact that these variations exist is evidence enough that a variant int he native american language exists. Kleinebeesjes (talk) 10:35, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

There are some problems with the recent edits.

• "the term Tumanguya is a pronoun referring to a spirit believed to dwell within the mountain who looks over the peoples of the Owens Valley" . The reference to Francis P. Farquhar's 1926 book is incorrect. There are no Native American names for Mt.Whitney mentioned in the book
• a form of address is a proper noun not a pronoun
• You mention a dozen transliterations for the name. What is your source? I can only find two so far, "Too-man-i-goo-yah," from the 1902 Mount Whitney Club report and "Too-man-go-yah" first mentioned in 1998
• There is no evidence of the transliteration "Tumanguya" before August 31, 2015. It may be that the author of the Bustle article made it up. We should be careful about promulgated newly invented terms

(Pixpixpix (talk) 18:11, 5 October 2015 (UTC))

I commend Pixpixpix for finding the information about "Too-man-i-goo-yah". I share that editor's concern about "Tumanguya", and do not consider the Bustle source reliable for this information. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 19:04, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Jim. I emailed the author of the Bustle article to ask what her sources were. (Pixpixpix (talk)) —Preceding undated comment added 19:10, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi! I've received some messages about this in the past. I did not make this word up, but it would be wise to take down the article. 155.247.134.189 (talk) 21:52, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

I've removed it. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 23:03, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Would it be wise to remove "Tumanguya" from the top of the page? I noticed that the edit was made on August 18, 2015, which predates the Bustle article. So, someone added that spelling with the wrong source. 2600:4809:2236:A501:6522:9E66:F2BF:CED1 (talk) 17:13, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

Done. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 19:13, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

References

Name

Hi, I'm trying to clear up misinformation and remove citation 29. I keep getting violation warnings from the editor. I wrote the original article and I don't think it should be included as a reference. 155.247.134.189 (talk) 22:54, 23 January 2024 (UTC)