Pahuk

Pahuk, also written Pahaku, or Pahuk Hill, is a bluff on the Platte River in eastern Nebraska in the United States. In the traditional Pawnee religion, it was one of five dwellings of spirit animals with miraculous powers. The Pawnee occupied three villages near Pahuk in the decade prior to their removal to the Pawnee Reservation on the Loup River in 1859.

Pahuk is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Description

Pahuk was defined by erosion of the Platte River and tributary gullies into the plain south of the river. The north side of the bluff is a near-vertical face rising 150 feet (46 m) from the river. The east and west sides are delimited by deep and steep-sided gullies about 1,000 feet (300 m) apart. The ground dips slightly to the south; there is a gentle rise about 40 feet (12 m) high near the bluff edge, making Pahuk the highest point for several miles in any direction.

Pawnee tradition

The Pawnee name "Pahuk" is generally translated as "hill island". The accent is on the second syllable; the vowel in the first syllable is pronounced like the "a" in "father"; and the "u" is pronounced short, as in "us". More recently, the name has often been rendered "Pahaku".