Yuman

Yu·man

noun \ˈyü-mən\

Definition of YUMAN

: an American Indian language family of southwestern United States and northern Mexico

— Yuman adjective

Origin of YUMAN

Yuma Quechan (member of a Yuman-speaking people of the lower Colorado River valley), from Spanish, from O'odham yu·mĭ

First Known Use: 1891

Rhymes with YUMAN

blooming, crewman, human, lumen, numen, rumen, Truman

Yuman

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of several North American Indian peoples living mostly in California and Arizona, U.S., and speaking related Hokan languages. They once lived in the lower Colorado River valley and adjacent areas in what are now the U.S. states of Arizona and California and in Mexico. The river Yumans (including the Mojave, Yuma, and Maricopa) lived along the lower Colorado and middle Gila rivers; the upland Yumans (including the Hualapai, Havasupai, and Yavapai) inhabited western Arizona south of the Grand Canyon. The river Yumans were primarily farmers; most upland Yumans emphasized hunting and gathering. Both settled in dispersed hamlets rather than in villages. Yuman religion is characterized by belief in a supreme creator, faith in dreams, and ritual use of song narratives. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated some 9,000 individuals who identified themselves as Yuman.