DCHP-1 Online

soapolallie [< Chinook Jargon soap soap + olallie berry] B.C.

• 1 n. a dessert or drink made from crushed soapberries (def. 2). See 1952 quote.

  See also: Indian ice-cream  olallie  soapberry  soapsuds  

  • The spellings of this term are very numerous: soapal(l)al(l)i(e), soapalalla, soopal(l)al(l)y, sopelalee, sopolally, etc.

  • 1895  Walking over to the reservation . . . we were fortunate enough to see some Indians eating "soapolali."
  • 1944  Here are the stems of blackberries and the wild fruit of the hills that gives sopelalee.
  • 1952  The soapberry . . . was mashed, formed into cakes, and dried in the sun. When required the cake was crumbled into water and soaked for awhile, then whipped into a foamy liquid of the consistency of thick soup. This drink was called "soopalally" and was considered a great delicacy.
  • 1966  There was [at the potlatch] also a great deal of oolachan-grease and soapollalie

• 2 n. this substance used as a medicine.

  • 1954  Soopolallie made a mild laxative, and rattlesnake weed was used for more drastic purging.

• 3 n. a shrub, Shepherdia canadensis, the berries of which have a high saponaceous quality.

  See also: soapberry (def. 1)  soapolallie bush  

• 4 n. the edible red berries of the shrub Shepherdia canadensis.

  See also: soapberry (def. 2)  soapolallie berry