Numic is the northernmost branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin , Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Plains . The word Numic comes from the cognate word in all Numic languages for “person”, which reconstructs to Proto-Numic as /*nɨmɨ/ . For example, in the three Central Numic languages and the two Western Numic languages it is /nɨmɨ/ . In Kawaiisu it is /nɨwɨ/ and in Colorado River /nɨwɨ/ , /nɨŋwɨ/ and /nuu/ .
60-469: These languages are classified in three groups: Apart from Comanche , each of these groups contains one language spoken in a small area in the southern Sierra Nevada and valleys to the east (Mono, Timbisha, and Kawaiisu), and one language spoken in a much larger area extending to the north and east (Northern Paiute, Shoshoni, and Colorado River). Some linguists have taken this pattern as an indication that Numic speaking peoples expanded quite recently from
120-624: A Plains Apache group as Tasipenanʉʉ band. The Texans and Americans divided the Comanche into five large dominant bands – the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika) , Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) , Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni) , Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka) and Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada) , which in turn were divided by geographical terms into first three (later four) regional groupings: Northern Comanche, Middle Comanche, Southern Comanche, Eastern Comanche, and later Western Comanche. However, these terms generally do not correspond to
180-855: A circumstantial nature, but this is a distinctly minority opinion among specialists in Numic. David Shaul has proposed that the Southern Numic languages spread eastward long before the Central and Western Numic languages expanded into the Great Basin. Bands of eastern Shoshoni split off from the main Shoshoni body in the very late 17th or very early 18th century and moved southeastward onto the Great Plains. Changes in their Shoshoni dialect eventually produced Comanche. The Comanche language and
240-423: A fight. They were formidable warriors who developed strategies for using traditional weapons for fighting on horseback. Warfare was a major part of Comanche life. Comanche raids into Mexico traditionally took place during the full moon, when the Comanche could see to ride at night. This led to the term "Comanche Moon", during which the Comanche raided for horses, captives, and weapons. Comanche raids, especially in
300-688: A mutual cooperation and a sharing of the land. The treaty was agreed to at a meeting in San Saba County, and signed by all parties on May 9, 1847, in Fredericksburg, Texas . The treaty was very specifically between the Peneteka band and the German Immigration Company. No other band or tribe was involved. The German Immigration Company was dissolved by Meusebach himself shortly after it had served its purpose. By 1875,
360-814: A number of local tribes, among which were the Comanches. This treaty was named for the nearest military fort, which was Fort Martin Scott . The treaty was never officially ratified by any level of government and was binding only on the part of the Native Americans. List of federally recognized tribes in the United States This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States . There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes . As of January 8, 2024 , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by
420-499: A small core, perhaps near the Owens Valley , into their current range. This view is supported by lexicostatistical studies. Fowler's reconstruction of Proto-Numic ethnobiology also points to the region of the southern Sierra Nevada as the homeland of Proto-Numic approximately two millennia ago. A mitochondrial DNA study from 2001 supports this linguistic hypothesis. The anthropologist Peter N. Jones thinks this evidence to be of
480-453: Is nʉmʉnʉʉ , meaning "the human beings" or "the people". The earliest known use of the term "Comanche" dates to 1706, when the Comanche were reported by Spanish officials to be preparing to attack far-outlying Pueblo settlements in southern Colorado. The Spanish adopted the Ute name for the people: kɨmantsi (enemy), spelling it Comanche (or Comanchi , Cumanche , Cumanchi ) in accord with
540-615: Is Mark Woommavovah. The tribe requires enrolled members to have at least 1/8 blood quantum level (equivalent to one great-grandparent). The tribe operates its own housing authority and issues tribal vehicle tags . They have their own Department of Higher Education, primarily awarding scholarships and financial aid for members' college educations. They own 10 tribal smoke shops and four casinos: The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center in Lawton, Oklahoma, has permanent and changing exhibitions on Comanche history and culture. It opened to
600-421: Is set forth in the following tables. Proto-Numic had an inventory of five vowels. Proto-Numic had the following consonant inventory: In addition to the above simple consonants, Proto-Numic also had nasal-stop/affricate clusters and all consonants except *s , *h , *j , and *w could be geminated. Between vowels short consonants were lenited. The major difference between Proto-Central Numic and Proto-Numic
660-520: Is the last to develop as an independent band in the 19th century. They lived on the hot, low-shadow desert plateaus of Llano Estacado in eastern New Mexico and found shelter in Tule Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon in northwestern Texas. They were the only band that never signed a contract with the Texans or Americans, and they were the last to give up the resistance. Because of their relative isolation from
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#1732771758935720-702: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States. Of these, 228 are located in Alaska and 109 are located in California. 346 of the 574 federally recognized tribes are located in the contiguous United States. Federally recognized tribes are those Native American tribes recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with
780-703: The Edwards Plateau and the Texas plains of the upper Brazos and Colorado Rivers, and east to the Cross Timbers . They were probably the ancestors of the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka – 'Honey Eaters'). Over time, these divisions were altered in various ways, primarily due to changes in political resources. As noted above, the Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) were probably the first proto-Comanche group to separate from
840-473: The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, various Plains peoples acquired horses, but it was probably some time before they were very numerous. As late as 1725, Comanches were described as using large dogs rather than horses to carry their bison hide "campaign tents". The horse became a key element in the emergence of a distinctive Comanche culture. It was of such strategic importance that some scholars suggested that
900-658: The Second Battle of Adobe Walls (1874). The attack was a disaster for the Comanche, and the US army was called in during the Red River War to drive the remaining Comanche in the area into the reservation, culminating in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon . Within just 10 years, the buffalo were on the verge of extinction, effectively ending the Comanche way of life as hunters. In May 1875, the last free band of Comanches, led by
960-705: The Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation , headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma . The Comanche language is a Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family. Originally, it was a Shoshoni dialect, but diverged and became a separate language. The Comanche were once part of the Shoshone people of the Great Basin . In
1020-653: The U.S. Congress the right to interact with tribes. More specifically, the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Sandoval warned, "it is not... that Congress may bring a community or body of people within range of this power by arbitrarily calling them an Indian tribe, but only that in respect of distinctly Indian communities the questions whether, to what extent, and for what time they shall be recognized and dealt with as dependent tribes" (at 46). Federal tribal recognition grants to tribes
1080-666: The "Eastern Comanche" and becoming known as the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit). Many Kiowa and Plains Apache moved to northern Comancheria and became later closely associated with the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika). In the mid 19th century, other powerful divisions arose, such as the Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni) ('wanderers', literally 'go someplace and return'), and the Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada) ('Antelope Eaters'). The latter originally some local groups of
1140-549: The 1780s, the Spanish began to divide the now dominant Comanche into two geographical groups, which only partially corresponded to the former three Naciones. The Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) ('Buffalo Eaters'), which had moved southeast in the 1750s and 1760s to the Southern Plains in Texas, were called Cuchanec Orientales ("Eastern Cuchanec/Kotsoteka") or Eastern Comanche , while those Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) that remained in
1200-399: The 1840s, reached hundreds of miles deep into Mexico devastating northern parts of the country. Kavanagh has defined four levels of social-political integration in traditional pre-reservation Comanche society: In contrast to the neighboring Cheyenne and Arapaho to the north, there was never a single Comanche political unit or "Nation" recognized by all Comanches. Rather the divisions;
1260-579: The 18th and 19th centuries, Comanche lived in most of present-day northwestern Texas and adjacent areas in eastern New Mexico , southeastern Colorado , southwestern Kansas , and western Oklahoma . Spanish colonists and later Mexicans called their historical territory Comanchería . During the 18th and 19th centuries, Comanche practiced a nomadic horse culture and hunted, particularly bison. They traded with neighboring Native American peoples, and Spanish , French , and American colonists and settlers. As European Americans encroached on their territory,
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#17327717589351320-452: The 1950s, the BIA in 1978 published final rules with procedures that groups had to meet to secure federal tribal acknowledgment. There are seven criteria. Four have proven troublesome for most groups to prove: long-standing historical community, outside identification as Indians, political authority, and descent from a historical tribe. Tribes seeking recognition must submit detailed petitions to
1380-457: The 574th tribe to gain federal recognition on December 20, 2019. The website USA.gov , the federal government's official web portal, also maintains an updated list of tribal governments . Ancillary information present in former versions of this list but no longer contained in the current listing has been included here in italic print. The Federal Register
1440-561: The BIA's Office of Federal Acknowledgment. To be formally recognized as an Indian tribe, the US Congress can legislate recognition or a tribe can meet the seven criteria outlined by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment. These seven criteria are summarized as: The federal acknowledgment process can take years, even decades; delays of 12 to 14 years have occurred. The Shinnecock Indian Nation formally petitioned for recognition in 1978 and
1500-664: The Comanche advance, the Apaches were driven off the Plains. By the end of the 18th century the struggle between Comanches and Apaches had assumed legendary proportions: in 1784, in recounting the history of the southern Plains, Texas governor Domingo Cabello y Robles recorded that some 60 years earlier (i.e., c. 1724) the Apaches had been routed from the southern Plains in a nine-day battle at La Gran Sierra del Fierro ‘The Great Mountain of Iron’, somewhere northwest of Texas. There is, however, no other record, documentary or legendary, of such
1560-593: The Comanche broke away from the Shoshone and moved south to search for additional sources of horses among the settlers of New Spain to the south (rather than search for new herds of buffalo.) The Comanche have the longest documented existence as horse-mounted Plains peoples; they had horses when the Cheyennes still lived in earth lodges. The Comanche supplied horses and mules to all comers. As early as 1795, Comanche were selling horses to Anglo-American traders and by
1620-731: The Comanche language was the lingua franca of the Great Plains region. Diseases, destruction of the buffalo herds, and territory loss forced most Comanches on reservations in Indian Territory by the late 1870s. In the 21st century, the Comanche Nation has 17,000 enrolled citizens, around 7,000 of whom reside in tribal jurisdictional areas around Lawton, Fort Sill , and the surrounding areas of southwestern Oklahoma. The Comanche Homecoming Annual Dance takes place in mid-July in Walters, Oklahoma . The Comanche's autonym
1680-443: The Comanche waged war on the settlers and raided their settlements, as well as those of neighboring Native American tribes. They took with them captives from other tribes during warfare, using them as slaves , selling them to the Spanish and (later) to Mexican settlers, or adopting them into their tribe. Thousands of captives from raids on Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers were assimilated into Comanche society. At their peak,
1740-482: The Comancheria. While the Comanche managed to maintain their independence and increase their territory, by the mid-19th century, they faced annihilation because of a wave of epidemics due to Eurasian diseases to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox and measles . Outbreaks of smallpox (1817, 1848) and cholera (1849) took a major toll on the Comanche, whose population dropped from an estimated 20,000 in
1800-527: The Comanches had been relocated to reservations. Five years later, artist Friedrich Richard Petri and his family moved to the settlement of Pedernales , near Fredericksburg. Petri's sketches and watercolors gave witness to the friendly relationships between the Germans and various local Native American tribes. In 1850, another treaty was signed in San Saba, between the United States government and
1860-557: The Eastern Shoshones. The name Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi) vanished from history in the early 19th century, probably merging into the other divisions, they are likely the forerunners of the Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni), Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada), and the Hʉpenʉʉ (Hois) local group of the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka). Due to pressure by southwards moving Kiowa and Plains Apache (Naishan) raiders, many Yaparʉhka (Yamparika) moved southeast, joining
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1920-712: The Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) from the Cimarron River Valley as well as descendants of some Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi), which had pulled both southwards. The northernmost Comanche division was the Yaparʉhka (Yapai Nʉʉ or Yamparika — ‘(Yap)Root-Eaters’). As the last band to move onto the Plains, they retained much of their Eastern Shoshone tradition. The power and success of the Comanche attracted bands of neighboring peoples who joined them and became part of Comanche society; an Arapaho group became known as Saria Tʉhka (Chariticas, Sata Teichas – 'Dog Eaters') band, an Eastern Shoshone group as Pohoi (Pohoee – 'wild sage') band, and
1980-544: The Native language terms. The "Northern Comanche" label encompassed the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika) between the Arkansas River and Canadian River and the prominent and powerful Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) who roamed the high plains of Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles between Red and Canadian River, the famous Palo Duro Canyon offered them and their horse herds of protection from strong winter storms as well as from enemies, because
2040-459: The Plains was part of the larger phenomenon known as the "Shoshonean Expansion" in which that language family spread across the Great Basin and across the mountains into Wyoming. The Kotsoteka ("Bison Eaters") were probably among the first. Other groups followed. Contact with the Shoshones of Wyoming was maintained until the 1830s when it was broken by the advancing Cheyennes and Arapahoes. After
2100-536: The Plains, provided that the Comanche, along with the Apaches , Kiowas , Cheyenne , and Arapahos , move to a reservation totaling less than 5,000 square miles (13,000 km ) of land. However, the government did not prevent the slaughtering of the herds. The Comanche under Quenatosavit White Eagle (later called Isa-tai "Coyote's Vagina") retaliated by attacking a group of hunters in the Texas Panhandle in
2160-641: The Quahada warrior Quanah Parker , surrendered and moved to the Fort Sill reservation in Oklahoma. The last independent Kiowa and Kiowa Apache had also surrendered. The 1890 Census showed 1,598 Comanche at the Fort Sill reservation, which they shared with 1,140 Kiowa and 326 Kiowa Apache. The Peneteka band agreed to a peace treaty with the German Immigration Company under John O. Meusebach . This treaty
2220-503: The Shoshoni language are quite similar although certain low-level consonant changes in Comanche have inhibited mutual intelligibility. Recent lexical and grammatical diffusion studies in Western Numic have shown that while there are clear linguistic changes that separate Northern Paiute as a distinct linguistic variety, there are no unique linguistic changes that mark Mono as a distinct linguistic variety. The sound system of Numic
2280-536: The South Plains, leaving opportunities for political maneuvering by European colonial powers and the United States. At one point, Sam Houston , president of the newly created Republic of Texas , almost succeeded in reaching a peace treaty with the Comanche in the 1844 Treaty of Tehuacana Creek . His efforts were thwarted in 1845 when the Texas legislature refused to create an official boundary between Texas and
2340-665: The Spanish pronunciation. Before 1740, French explorers from the east sometimes used the name Padouca for the Comanche since it was already used for the Plains Apache and the French were not aware of the change of tribe in the region in the early 18th century. The Comanche Nation is headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. Their tribal jurisdictional area is located in Caddo , Comanche , Cotton , Greer , Jackson , Kiowa , Tillman and Harmon counties. Their current Tribal Chairman
2400-655: The US federal government . For Alaska Native tribes, see list of Alaska Native tribal entities . In the United States , the Native American tribe is a fundamental unit of sovereign tribal government. As the Department of the Interior explains, "federally recognized tribes are recognized as possessing certain inherent rights of self-government (i.e., tribal sovereignty)...." The constitution grants to
2460-399: The above changes. Forms in the daughter languages are written in a broad phonetic transcription rather than a phonemic transcription that sometimes masks the differences between the forms. Italicized vowels and sonorants are voiceless. Comanche The Comanche / k ə ˈ m æ n tʃ i / or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( Comanche : Nʉmʉnʉʉ , "the people" ) is a Native American tribe from
Numic languages - Misplaced Pages Continue
2520-710: The addition of six tribes in Virginia under the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017, signed in January 2018 after the annual list had been published. In July 2018 the United States' Federal Register issued an official list of 573 tribes that are Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs . The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana became
2580-654: The clusters. Geminated stops and affricates are voiceless and non-geminated stops and affricates are voiced fricatives. The velar nasals have fallen together with the alveolar nasals. The dialects of Colorado River east of Chemehuevi have lost *h . The dialects east of Kaibab have collapsed the nasal-stop clusters with the geminated stops and affricate. Proto-Western Numic changed the nasal-stop clusters of Proto-Numic into voiced geminate stops. In Mono and all dialects of Northern Paiute except Southern Nevada, these voiced geminate stops have become voiceless. The following table shows some sample Numic cognate sets that illustrate
2640-500: The confusion. Some names given by others include: Unassignable names include: Old Shoshone names Other names, which may or may not refer to Comanche groups include: Modern Local Groups The Comanche fought a number of conflicts against Spanish and later Mexican and American armies. These were both expeditionary, as with the raids into Mexico , and defensive . The Comanche were noted as fierce warriors who fought vigorously for their homeland of Comancheria . However,
2700-465: The earliest record of Comanche from 1786, but precedes the 20th century. Geminated stops in Comanche have also become phonetically preaspirated. Proto-Southern Numic preserved the Proto-Numic consonant system fairly intact, but the individual languages have undergone several changes. Modern Kawaiisu has reanalyzed the nasal-stop clusters as voiced stops, although older recordings preserve some of
2760-564: The first Spanish and Texan settlements; their tribal areas extended from the upper reaches of the rivers in central Texas and Colorado River southward, including much of the Edwards Plateau, and eastward to the Western Cross Timbers; because they dominated the southern Comancheria they were called "Southern Comanche". The "Western Comanche" label encompassed the Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada) ('Antelope Eaters'), which
2820-463: The late 18th century to just a few thousand by the 1870s. The US began efforts in the late 1860s to move the Comanche into reservations, with the Treaty of Medicine Lodge (1867), which offered churches, schools, and annuities in return for a vast tract of land totaling over 60,000 square miles (160,000 km ). The government promised to stop the buffalo hunters, who were decimating the great herds of
2880-657: The massive population of the settlers from the east and the diseases they brought led to pressure and decline of Comanche power and the cessation of their major presence in the southern Great Plains . The Comanche maintained an ambiguous relationship with Europeans and later settlers attempting to colonize their territory. The Comanche were valued as trading partners since 1786 via the Comancheros of New Mexico, but were feared for their raids against settlers in Texas. Similarly, they were, at one time or another, at war with virtually every other Native American group living on
2940-495: The mid-19th century, Comanche-supplied horses were flowing into St. Louis via other Indian middlemen (Seminole, Osage, Shawnee). Their original migration took them to the southern Great Plains , into a sweep of territory extending from the Arkansas River to central Texas. The earliest references to them in the Spanish records date from 1706, when reports reached Santa Fe that Utes and Comanches were about to attack. In
3000-475: The most "tribe-like" units, acted independently, pursuing their own economic and political goals. Before the 1750s, the Spanish identified three Comanche Naciones (divisions): Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi), Yaparʉhka (Yamparika), and Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka). After the Mescalero Apache, Jicarilla Apache and Lipan Apache had been largely displaced from the Southern Plains by the Comanche and allied tribes in
3060-559: The northwest and west, together with Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi – 'Timber/Forest People') (and sometimes Yaparʉhka (Yamparika)), which had moved southward to the North Canadian River, were called Cuchanec Occidentales ("Western Cuchanec/Kotsoteka") or Western Comanche . The "Western Comanche" lived in the region of the upper Arkansas , Canadian , and Red Rivers, and the Llano Estacado . The "Eastern Comanche" lived on
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#17327717589353120-475: The other bands on the westernmost edge of the Comancheria, they were called the "Western Comanche". There has been, and continues to be, much confusion in the presentation of Comanche group names. Groups on all levels of organization, families, nʉmʉnahkahni, bands, and divisions, were given names, but many 'band lists' do not distinguish these levels. In addition, there could be alternate names and nicknames. The spelling differences between Spanish and English add to
3180-701: The public in 2007. In 2002, the tribe founded the Comanche Nation College , a two-year tribal college in Lawton. It closed in 2017 because of problems with accreditation and funding. Each July, Comanche gather from across the United States to celebrate their heritage and culture in Walters at the annual Comanche Homecoming powwow . The Comanche Nation Fair takes place every September. The Comanche Little Ponies host two annual dances—one over New Year's Eve and one in May. The Proto-Comanche movement to
3240-405: The right to certain benefits, and is largely administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). While trying to determine which groups were eligible for federal recognition in the 1970s, government officials became aware of the need for consistent procedures. To illustrate, several federally unrecognized tribes encountered obstacles in bringing land claims ; United States v. Washington (1974)
3300-423: The same tribal areas: the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit) ("Those Living Downstream") and Tanimʉʉ (Tanima, Dahaʉi, Tevawish) ("Liver Eaters"). All three bands together were known as "Middle Comanche" because they lived "in the middle" of the Comancheria. The "Southern Comanche" label encompassed the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka) ("Honey Eaters"), the southernmost, largest, and best known band among whites as they lived near
3360-472: The two bands dominated and ranged in the northern Comancheria. The "Middle Comanche" label encompassed the aggressive Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni) ("wanderers", "those who turn back") between the headwaters of the Red River and the Colorado River in the south and the Western Cross Timbers in the east, their preferred range were on the Brazos River headwaters and its tributaries, the Pease River offered protection from storms and enemies. With them shared two smaller bands
3420-431: Was a court case that affirmed the fishing treaty rights of Washington tribes; and other tribes demanded that the U.S. government recognize aboriginal titles . All the above culminated in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 , which legitimized tribal entities by partially restoring Native American self-determination . Following the decisions made by the Indian Claims Commission in
3480-402: Was not affiliated with any level of government. Meusebach brokered the treaty to settle the lands on the Fisher-Miller Land Grant, from which were formed the 10 counties of Concho , Kimble , Llano , Mason , McCulloch , Menard , Schleicher , San Saba , Sutton , and Tom Green . In contrast to many treaties of its day, this treaty was very brief and simple, with all parties agreeing to
3540-518: Was recognized 32 years later in 2010. At a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing, witnesses testified that the process was "broken, long, expensive, burdensome, intrusive, unfair, arbitrary and capricious, less than transparent, unpredictable, and subject to undue political influence and manipulation." The number of tribes increased to 567 in May 2016 with the inclusion of the Pamunkey tribe in Virginia who received their federal recognition in July 2015. The number of tribes increased to 573 with
3600-555: Was the phonemic split of Proto-Numic geminate consonants into geminate consonants and preaspirated consonants. The conditioning factors involve stress shifts and are complex. The preaspirated consonants surfaced as voiceless fricatives, often preceded by a voiceless vowel. Shoshoni and Comanche have both lost the velar nasals, merging them with *n or turning them into velar nasal-stop clusters. In Comanche, nasal-stop clusters have become simple stops, but p and t from these clusters do not lenite intervocalically. This change postdates
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