Chingachgook is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...

in four of

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

's five ''

Leatherstocking Tales The ''Leatherstocking Tales'' is a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper, set in the eighteenth-century era of development in the primarily former Iroquois areas in central New York. Each novel features Natty Bumppo ...

'', including his 1826 novel ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfind ...

''. Chingachgook was a lone Mohican chief and companion of the series' hero, Natty Bumppo. In ''

The Deerslayer ''The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path'' (1841) was James Fenimore Cooper's last novel in his '' Leatherstocking Tales''. Its 1740–1745 time period makes it the first installment chronologically and in the lifetime of the hero of the Leather ...

'', Chingachgook married Wah-ta-Wah, who bore him a son named Uncas, but died while she was still young. Uncas, who was at his birth "last of the Mohicans", 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'', which makes him the actual "last of the Mohicans," having outlived his son.

''The Leatherstocking Tales''

In the series ''

The Leatherstocking Tales The ''Leatherstocking Tales'' is a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper, set in the eighteenth-century era of development in the primarily former Iroquois areas in central New York. Each novel features Natty Bumppo ...

'' by

, Chingachgook is the best friend and companion of the main character Natty Bumppo, aka Hawkeye. He appears in ''

'', ''

'', '' The Pathfinder'', and '' The Pioneers''. 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, ), 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 A noble savage is a literary stock character who embodies the concept of the indigene, outsider, wild human, an " other" who has not been "corrupted" by civilization, and therefore symbolizes humanity's innate goodness. Besides appearing in m ...

. The French often refer to Chingachgook as "", the Great Snake, because he understands the winding ways of men's nature and he can strike a sudden, deadly blow. The name is derived from the

Lenape language The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages ( del, Lënapei èlixsuwakàn), are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family. Munsee and Unami, spoken abo ...

, which is closely related to the

Mohican language Mohican (also known as Mahican, not to be confused with Mohegan, mjy, Mã’eekaneeweexthowãakan) is a language of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family, itself a member of the Algic language family. It was spoken i ...

. In Lenape, means 'big' and means 'snake'. ''Chingachgook'' is derived from Lenape , 'big snake', pronounced . The digraph in the spelling used by John Heckewelder, the source for the name, and the letter in modern Lenape spelling both represent the

voiceless velar fricative The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It was part of the consonant inventory of Old English and can still be found in some dialects of English, most notably in Scottish English, e.g. in ''l ...

sound (as in "

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

"), not the

voiceless palato-alveolar affricate The voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant affricate or voiceless domed postalveolar sibilant affricate is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet with , (formerly ...

(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'' (1818), which cited a Lenape word as "" (in Heckewelder's spelling which was influenced by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

), meaning "a large snake". He gave this word as such in the context of how to use the adjective (pronounced ) 'large', which Heckewelder spelled .

Portrayals in film and television

The first film portrayal of Chingachgook was by

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Louis, ...

in a 1913 film version of ''The Deerslayer''.

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in '' ...

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:

''), both filmed in 1920. Jay Silverheels, best known for his role as Tonto on '' The Lone Ranger'', played Chingachgook in the 1953 film version of '' 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 East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

, Chingachgook the Great Serpent (1967), based on Cooper's novels. In the BBC miniseries ''

'' and ''The Pathfinder'', Chingachgook was played by John Abineri. Chingachgook was played by

Ned Romero Ned Romero (December 4, 1926 – November 4, 2017) was an American actor and opera singer who appeared in television and film. Early childhood and education Romero was born on December 4, 1926 in Franklin, Louisiana, the seat of St. Mary Par ...

in the TV versions of ''

'' (1977) and ''The Deerslayer'' (1978), by

Russell Means Russell Charles Means (November 10, 1939 – October 22, 2012) was an Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native Americans, libertarian political activist, actor, musician, and writer. He became a prominent member of the American India ...

in the 1992 film adaptation of ''

'', by Rodney A. Grant in the 1994 TV series '' Hawkeye'' and by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

in the 1996 TV version of ''The Pathfinder''. Many films portray Chingachgook with long hair, braided or flowing. A notable exception is 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 Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner ...

, a program of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth partici ...

, the Legend of the Order refers to an imaginary

Lenni Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

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 correct pronunciation of the name is ching-gatch-gook. 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". Chingachgook is an Algonquian word meaning big (ching) snake (achgook); hence the references to the character in the book as The Great Serpent.

References

{{The Last of the Mohicans Literary characters introduced in 1823 Characters in American novels of the 19th century Drama film characters Fictional Native American people Fictional sole survivors Fictional tribal chiefs James Fenimore Cooper Male characters in literature