DCHP-1 Online

tamanawous tamanaos [< Chinook Jargon ta-mah-no-us magic, luck, shaman, anything supernatural, prob. < Interior Salish] Pacific Coast

• n. an Indian magician or shaman who practises healing by means of charms and the exorcism of evil spirits or by practical remedies such as administering herbs and sweat baths.

  See also: medicine-man (def. 1a)  

  • 1862  He was communing with the "To-man-na-was" or familiar spirit.
  • 1865  (1960)  . . . It was a favourable time to show these Indians that I did not fear them, nor their tamanaos (witch doctors). . . .
  • 1956  Smohalla--seer . . . medicine man or tamanawous--proved to be a rather undersized Indian. . . .