Mzuri

When I first began volunteering with a local family of refugees from Burundi, I was surprised to hear the word Missouri used occasionally in their conversations. The first time a translator was available, I asked about the word, and was surprised to learn that in Swahili, mzuri means "good" or "beautiful."

Awhile back, I stumbled across an internet article about the Melungeons. In the course of trying to puzzle out the origins of this people, the article pointed out that several Native American words are identical or very similar to words of Turkish/Ottoman. Here are just a few examples listed by Brent Kennedy (see link below):

• Allegheny-- Allah genis-- Allah's vastness
• Alabama-- Allah bamya-- Allah's graveyard
• Appalachian-- (Apa-la-che) widespread/multitude
• Shawnee-- sah ne-- great shah/ king
• Shenandoah -- sen doga (pronounced "shen-doah") -- happy natural setting
• Shindig -- sen lik (pronounced "shen-lick") -- happy party
• Krill (Appalachian term for a sprain or twisting of the ankle) -- kiril -- to twist or break

Now here was "Missouri," which I had always thought of as Native American, also being mirrored almost perfectly in Swahili. Is this just a coincidence?  After all, what better name for a tribe to choose for themselves than mzuri . . . the good, the kind-hearted, the beautiful! Later, I also came across the Swahili word "kikapu," which means "basket." Hmm. I wonder whether the Kickapoo were known for their baskets?

Is there truly a connection between Swahili and the aboriginal American languages?  Has anyone actually made a thorough study of American tribal languages to try to find similarities to other language families? I would think that type of study could be an important clue as to the actual origins of "Native Americans," if enough of the languages still survive for making the necessary comparisons.