234 OMAHA SOCIOLOGY

of the tribe, as they containtwo objects which

have

been regarded as

"

Wakafida

<Jga"," partaking of the nature of deities.

Theseobjects arethe sacred pole or "waqfdxe,"

and

the ":>e-sa"'-ha."

The

^decorationofthe outside of each sacred tent^is asfollows:

A

^corn-

stalk on each side of the entrance

and

one on the back of thetent, opposite the entrance.

(Compare

the ear of cornin thecalumet dance.

See §§123

and

1G3.)

Tradition of^{thesacred pole.}

— ^The

^"waq^exe," "ja"' waqiibe," or sa- cred pole, isvery old, having been cut

more

than two

hundred

years ago, before the separation of the

Omahas,

Ponkas,

and

lowas.

The Ponkas

^still claim a share in it,

and have

a traditionaboutit,whichis

denied

by La

Fleche

and Two

Crows.

The Ponkas

say that the tree from whichthe pole

was

cut

was

firstfound

by

a

Ponkaof

the

Hisada

gens,

and

that in the race

which

ensueda

Ponka

of the

Maka"

gens

was

the firstto reach thetree.

The Omahas

^tellthe following

:

At the^firsttherewere no chiefs iuthegentes,andthe people did notprosper. So a councilwasheld, and they asked one another,

"What

^shall wedotoimproveour condition?" Then the youug men were sent out. Theyfound manycotton-wood

treesbesidealake,but oneof thesewasbetterthantherest. Theyreturnedandre- ported thetree,speakingofitasif itwasa person. Allrushedto the attack. They struckitiiud felleditas ifithadbeenafoe. Theythenputhaironitshead,making a person of^it. Then were the sacred tents m.ade, thefirstchiefs wereselected,and thesacredpijiesweredistributed.

The

sacred pole

was

oiigiuallylonger than it is now, but the lower part having

worn

out, a piece of ash-wood, about 18 inches long, has been fastened to the cotton-wood with a soft piece of cord

made

of a buffalo hide.

The

ash-wood forms the bottom of the ]>ole,

and

is the l^artwhichis stuck in theground atcertain times.

The

cotton-woodis

about 8 feet long.

Fig.17.

—

Thesacredpole.

A.

—

Theplacewherethetwopieces ofwoodare joined.

B.—Theaqande-paor hi"-qpe-i(Hba",madeofthedownofthemi"xa(a8wan. SeetiieMa»i|;inkag:ix)

gens.)

^-

—

^{Thescalp,fastenedtothe top,}whencethepropern.lme, N^ik'umi»je, ludi.an-man's (scalp)couch.

Two Crows

said that thepole rested onthe scalp

when

it

was

in the lodge.

The

proper name, Mi"-wasa",referring to the mi"xasa"orswan,

and

also to the

aqandepa

(15). Tiie proper name,

"Yellow Smoke"

(rather),

"Smoked

Yellow," or Cude-nazi,also refers to thepole,

which

has

become

yellowfrom smoke.

Though

a scalp isfasteued tothe top, thepole has nothingto do with war.

But when

the

Omahas

encounter enemies, any brave

man who

gets a scalp

may

decide topresentit to thesacred pole.

The

middle of the pole has swan's

down wrapped

DOBSEY.)

THE HANGA

GENS.

235

arouud^it, and the swan's

down

is coveredwith cotton-woodbark,over whichisa piece of:}6ha (buffalohide) about18 inches square. All the

^eha

and

cord is

made

of the hide of a hermaphrodite buffalo. This"

pole used tobegreasedevery year

when

theywere abouttoreturn

home

from the

summer

hunt.

The

people were afraid toneglect this cere-

mony

lestthere should be adeep

snow when

they traveled on the next hunt.

When

Joseph

La

Flfechelosthisleg, theold

men

^told thepeople that this

was

apunishmeut which hesuffered because he

had

opposed the greasingofthe sacred pole.

As

the

Omahas

havenotbeen ou thehunt forabout seveu years, thesacred tents arekept near thehouseof

Wa-

ka^-ma^fi". (See§ 295.)

The

other sacredtent,whichiskeptatpresent

by

Waka^-ma^^i",con- tains thesacred "-je-sa^'-ha,"the skin of a white buffalocow,

wrapped

in abuffalohide that is withouthair.

Joseph

La

Fl^che

had

two horses that ran

away and knocked

over the sacred tents ofthe

Hanga

gens.

The

two old

men

caught

them

and rubbed

them

all over with wild sage, saying to

Frank La

^Flfeche, " If

you

let

them

do thatagain the buffaloes shallgore them."

§37. Subgentes and Taboos.

—

There are

two

great divisionsof the gens,answeriug tothe

number

ofthesacredtents:

The

Keepersof the Sacred Pole

and The

Keepersof thej^e-sa^-ha.

Some

said that there were originally four subgentes, but

two

have

become

altogether or nearly extinct,

and

thefewsurvivors

have

joined thelarger subgentes.

There are several

names

for each subgens.

The

first which^is some- times spoken of as being "Ja° 'ha-a^d^ica"," Pertaining to the sacred cotton-

wood

bark,is the

"Waq^exea^i"'"

or the "Ja° ' waqiibe a^i"',"

Keepers oftheSacred Pole.

When

its

members

are described bytheir taboos,they are calledthe "

x^ ^waqube

^atdjl," Those

who

do not eat the "qa"or buffalo sides; and "Mi° xa-sa° (j*,at4jt"

and

''<j6ta° (l-atiiji,"

Those

who

do not eat geese, swans, and cranes. These can eat the the buffalo tougues.

The

secondsubgens,which isoften referred to as being^" jje-sa° '-ha-4^^ica"," Pertaining tothe sacred skin of the white buffalocow,consists ofthe

Wac^be

or Haii'gaqti,the Real Hafigapeo- ple.

When

reference is

made

totheir taboo, they are called the "j^e-

^^ze^at4ji," as theycannoteat buffalotongues; but theyareat liberty to eat the "ja,"which the other

Hanga

cannoteat. In the tribal circle the

Wacabe

people

camp

nexttothe liike-sabg gens; and theWaqifexe a^i"have theQujja of the (patada gensnext tothem,as heis their serv- ant and ^is counted as one of theirkindred. But, in the gentile circle, the

Waq^exe

a(f;i° occupy the left side of the "couucil-flre," and the

Wacabe

^siton the oppositeside.

§38. Styleof ^{tcearingthe hair.}

— ^The

^{Haiiga styleof wearing the hair}

is called " ^e-nau'ka-bdxe,"referringorigiuallyto thebackof abuffalo.

Itisacrestof hair, about 2 iuches long, standing erect, and extind- ingfrom one ear to the other.

The

endsof the hair are a littlebelow theears.

236 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

§39. Birthiiames of ^boys, according to ^ja^i^-na^paji.

The

first is

Niadi ctagabi^; the second, Ja''-gAp'uje, referring to the Sacred Pole.

It

may

be equivalentto the

Dakota

Tca^kap'oja (Cag-kaiioza), mean- ing thatit

must

be carriedby one

unincumbered

with

much

baggage.

The

third is

named Ma"

p6ji,

Bad

Arrow, i. e., SacredArrow, because thearrow has

grown

black from age!

(Two Crows

gave this explana- tion. It is probable thaf thearrowis kept in or with the ^"}e-sa° -ha.")

The

^{fourth is} Fat covering the outside of a buiialo'sstomach.

The

fifth is Bufi'alo bull.

The

sixth.

Dangerous

buffalo bull;

and

the sev- enth is Buffalo bull rolls again inthe place where he rolled formerly.

§40. Principal

Hanga

names. I. Men.

—

^(Buffalo)

^Makes

^a

^{Dust by}

rolling.

Smoked

Yellow ("Yellow Smoke"). (Buffalo)

Walks

inaCrowd.

He who makes

no impression

by

Striking. EealHaiiga. Short

Horns

(ofabuffalo about

two

years old). (Buffalo calf) Shedsits hair nextto theeyes.

Two

Crows. Flying Crow.

He who

^givesback blowforblow,

or,

He who

gets the better of afoe. Grizzly bear

makes

the sound

"4ide"

by

walking. Grizzly bear's Head. Standing Swan.

He

^{(a buf-}

falo?)

who

is Standing. (Buffalo?)

That

does not run. (Buffiilo)

That

runs

by

the Shore of a Lake. Seven (buffalo bulls) In the Water.

Pursuerof theattacking ^foe. Scalp Couch. Pointed

Eump

^(ofabuf- falo?). Artichoke. Buffalo

Walks

atNight.

A

Buffalo Bellows.

Odor

ofBuffalo

Dung.

^BuffaloBellows inthedistance. (Sacredtent)Stands in the Middle(of the circle). Seeks Fat meat.

Walking

Sacred one.

Corn.

He who

Attacks.

II.

Women. —

^{Iron-eyedFemale.}

^Moon

^{thatisTraveling.}

^{White Hu-}

man-femaleBuffaloin thedistance.

THE

4'ATADA GENS.

§41. ^Tills genoccupies the fourth placein the tribal circle,beingbe- tween the

Hanga and

the3;a° ze. But, unlike the other gentes, its sub- geutes haveseparate

camping

areas.

Were

^itnotforthemarriagelaw,

we

should say that the (fatada

was

a phratry,

and

its subgentes were gentes.

The

present leadersof thegens are j^edegahi ofthe VVajinga-

^atajiandCyu-jiiigaof the

Wasabe

hit'ajl.

When

onthehunt the four subgentes pitch their cents inthe following order in thetribal circle

:

1. Wasabehit'aji; ^2. Wajiiiga(fataji; 3. ^^e-da-it'aji; 4. 3;e-'i".

TheWa-

sabe-hit'aji are related tothe Haiiga on the one

hand and

to the

Wa-

jiiiga-^ataji on theother.

The

^latterin turn, are related to the xe-da-

itaji; theseare related to the^^e-'i";

and

the ^e-'i"

and

3;a° zeare re- lated.

THE WABABE-HlT'UlSDBGENS.

§42.

The name

ofthissubgens ^isderived fromthreewords^: wasabe, ablackhear; ha,«sA;m;

and

it'aji,no< totowc/t;

meaning "Those who

do

DUltEAUOK ETHNOLOOy ANNUALUl'.rOIiT 1882 I'l..XXXI

TENT or AGAItA-WAClTCE.

DORSET.)

QATADA GENS WASABE-HIT'AJI

SUBGENS.

237

not touch the skin of a black bear."

The

writer

was

toldin ¹879, that theuju, or principal

man

ofthis subgens,

was

Icta-duba,but

La

Fleche

and Two

Crows, in 1882,asserted that theynever heardofan ^"uju^" of agens.

Taboo.

— ^{The members}

^{of this subgens areprohibitedfrom touching}

the hide of a black bear

and

from eatingits flesh.

Mythical origin.

— ^They

^{say thattheir ancestors were}

^made

^underthe

ground

and

that they afterwards

came

^to thesurface.

§ -13. Plate ^{II is} a sketch of a tent which belonged to

Agaha-wa-

cuce,thefather ofja(fi"-na"paji. Hupecfa's father,

Hupefa

^II,

owned

^it before

Agaha-wacuce

obtained ^it.

The

circleat the top representiug a bear's cave, is sometimespainted ^blue.

Below

thezigzaglines (repre- senting the ^differentkinds of thunders?) are theprints ofbear's paws.

This painting

was

not a uikie butthe personal

"qube"

or sacredthing ofthe owner.

The

lower part of the tent

was

blackenedwith ashesor charcoal.

§ 44. iS7.(//eof^{irearinq the hair.}

— ^Four

short locksarelefton^theliead,

as in the followingdiagram.

They

are about2 inches long.

Birth-names of boys.

—

<ja(j;i° -na"pajl gave the following^:

The

first son^is called

Young

Blackbear.

The

^second, Black bear.

The

third,FourEyes, including the trueeyesand the

two

spots like eyes thatare above the eyes ofablackbear.

The

fourth.

Gray

Foot.

The

fifth.Cries likea Eaccoon. (La Fleche said that this is a

Ponka

name, but the

Omahas now

have ^it.)

The

sixth, Nidaha° , Progressing toward maturity (sic).

The

seventh,

He

turnsroundand round suddenlj"

(saidof both kinds ofbears).

§ 45. Sectionsofthesubgens.

— The Wasabe-

, ^{. "} .„ ,

T

^{-1 1-} i ^- ,. I'IG. 18.—Waaabe-hit'aji stvle of

hit'ajipeoplearedividedinto sections, ja^'i"- weaimgtii?hair. ^'

na"pajiand others told thewriterthat they consisted of four divisions

:

Black bear, Eaccoon, Grizzly bear,

and

Porcupine people.

The

Black bear

and

Eaccoon people arecalled brothers.

And when

a

man

kills ablackbear hesays, "I have killed araccoon."

The young

black bear

is said to cry like a raccoon, hence the birth-name Mijfa-xage.

The

writeris inclined to think that thereis

some

foundation forthese state- ments, though

La

Fleche

and Two Crows seemed

todoubtthem.

They

gavebuttwo divisionsof the

Wasabe

hit'aji;

and

^it

may

bethat these two arethe onlyones

now

inexistence,while there were fourin ancient times.

The two

sections which arenot doubtedarethe Wasabe-hit'ajl proper, and the Qujja, i. e., theEaccoon i)eople.

When

they meet as a subgens, they sit thus in their circle^:

The

Wasabe-hit'ajl people sit on the right of the entrance,

and

the Qujia have theirplaces on theleft.

But

in thetribalcirclethe Quj[a people

238 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

camp

uextto theHafiga Keepers of tbeSacred Pole, astheformerare the servants of the

Hanga. The

leader of the Qujia ^or Singers

was

himself the only one

who

acted as ^{qn^ja,}

when

called on to serve the Hafiga. j^a(fi"na"paji's half-brother, Hupe^a,

commonly

styledj^e-da- n^iqaga, usedto bethe leader. Since the

Omahas

have

abandoned

the hunt, to which this officepertained, no one has acted as qu^ia^; butif

it were ^still iu existence, the three brothers. Dangerous, Gihajl,

and

Ma° -(j;i'u-ke, are the only ones from

whom

^the

qu^a

could bechosen.

Quiia

men.—

Dried Buffalo Skull. Dangerous. Gihaji. Black bear.

Paws

the

Ground

asheEeclines.

Young

(black bear)Runs.

Mandan.

Hupe^a. Laugher.

Maqpiyaqaga.

j,anga-gaxe. Crow's Head.

Gray

Foot. J.

La

Flfeche said that Hupe^a, Laugher,

Maqpiyaqaga, and

j^aiiga-gaxe were servants of the

Elk

gens; but <ja(fi° -na° paji, their fellow-gentile, places

them among

^{the Qujja. (See}§ 143.)

In the tribal circle the Wasabe-hit'aji proper

camp

uext to the Wajifiga-^ataji. TheseWasabe-hit'ajiare the servants of the Elkpeo- ple,

whom

^{they assist in} the worship of the thunder-god.

When

^this

ceremonytakes place there are a few of the Qujja people

who

accom-

pany

the Wasabe-hit'aji

and

act as servants. These ^are probably the four

men

referred to above.

Though

^all of the

Wasabe

^hit'aji proper

ai'e reckoned as servants of the Weji° cte, only two of them, ja^i"- na° paji

and

Sidama"^!", take a prominent part ⁱⁿ the ceremonies de- scribed iu _§§ 23, 24. Should these

men

die or refuseto act, other

mem-

bers oftheir Section

must

take their places.

Wasabe-hit'aji men.

— ^{He who}

^fearsnot the sight of a

Pawnee. White

Earth River.

Pour Eyes

(ofa black bear).

Without

Gall. Progress- ingtoward maturity. Visible (object?). Gaxekati^a.

Qu:![a

and

Wasabe-hit'aji

women. —

^{Da° abi.}

^{Da° ama. Land}

^Female.

Mi° hupeg(j!e. Mi° -}a"i''ge.

She who

^is

Coming back

in sight. Weta"ne.

Wete

wi".

THEWAJINGACATAjI SCBGENS

§4G. This

name

means,

"They who

do not eat (small) birds."

They

caneat wild turkeys,all birds of the mi° xaor goose genus, including ducks

and

cranes.

When

^sick,they are allowedtoeat prairiechickens.

When members

of this subgens go on the warpath, the only sacred thingswhichthey

have

are the g^eda" (hawk)

and

nickucku ^(martin).

(See§ 196.)

Style of wearing^{the hair.}

—

^They leavea little hair in front, overthe forehead, forabill,

and some

atthe

back

ofthe head, ^forthebird's tail,

with

much

overeach ear, forthe wings.

La

Flfeche

and Two Crows

do not

deny

this; butthey

know

nothing about^it.

Curious customduring^harvest.

—

^These Wajinga-^ataji callthemselves

"

The

Blackbird people." In harvest time,

when

the birdsused toeat the corn, the

men

of this subgens proceeded thus^:

They

took

some

corn,which they

chewed and

spitaround over thefield.

They

thought

DORBEY.] WAJINGA-(j;ATAJI

AND

XE-dA-IT'AJI.

239

thatsuch a procedurewoulddeter the birdsfrom

making

furtherinroads

upon

thecrops.

Waclia° -ma"^i" of this subgens keeps one of the great wa^ixabe, or sacred bags, used

when

a warrior's

word

is doubted. (See§ 19G.)

§ 47. Sections and subsections of ^{the subgens.}

— Wani^a-waq6

of the Xa-da genstohl

me

thatthe followingwerethedivisionsoftheWajiuga-

^ataji; but

La

Fl^che

and Two Crows deny

it. It

may

be that these minordivisionsnolongerexist, orthattheywerenot

known

tothe

two

men.

I.

— ^Hawk

^people, under Standing

Hawk.

II.

—

^{Mang^iqta, or Blackbird people,} under "Waji° a-gahige. Sub- sections: {a)

White

^heads. (6)

Eed

heads, (c) Yellow heads, {d)

Eed

wings.

III.

—

Mangfiqta-qude,

Gray

Blackbird (the

common

starling), or

Thunder

people, under Wa^idaxe. Subsections: (a)

Gray

Blackbirds. _(&)

Meadow

larks, (c) Prairie-chickens^; and, judging from theanalogyofthe

Ponka

Hisada,(d)Martins.

IV.

—

^Threesubsections ofthe

Owl

and

Magpie

people are(a) Great Owls. (6) SmallOwls, (c) Magpies.

§ 48. Birth-names ofboys.

— ^The

^firstson

^was

^called,Maiig^iqta,Black- bird.

The

^second,

Eed

featherson thebase of thewings.

The

third.

White-eyed Blackbird.

The

fourth. Dried

Wing. The

fifth,

Hawk

(denied

by La

Fl^che).

The

sixth.

Gray Hawk. The

seventh,

White

Wings. This last is a

Ponka

uame, according to

La

Fl^cheand

Two

Crows.

Wajiiiga-^ataji men.

— ^Eed

^{Wings. Chief}

^{who Watches}

^{over (any}

thing).

Becomes

Suddenly Motionless.

Poor

man. Standing

Hawk.

He

^from

whom

they flee. Eustling Horns.

Scabby

Horns.

The

one

Moving

towards the

Dew

(?).

White

orJackEabbit.

Gray

Blackbird.

White

Blackbird.

Pour Hands

(or Paws). Ni-^actage. Yellow

Head

(ofablackbird). FireChief. Coyote's Foot. Buffalobull Talkslike a chief.

Bad

temperofa Buffalo bull.

White

Buftalo in thedistance.

Hominy

(a

name

of ridicule).

He who

continues Trying

(commonly

translated,

"Hard

Walker").

He who makes

the crackling sound

"Gh-t- ^!" in thundering. Bird Chief.

Wajiiiga-^atajiwomen.

—

^{(Femaleeagle) Is}

^{Moving On}

^high.

^Moon

ⁱⁿ

motion during the Day. Turning

Moon

^Female. Mi° daca° -fi° . Mi° - tena. Visibleonethat

Has

returned,

and

is in aHorizontalattitude.

THEiE-jA-IT'AJI8DBGEN8.

§49. These aretheEaglepeople,

and

they are not allowedtotouch a buffalo head. (See Iuke-sab6 gens, _§§ 30, 32.)

The

^writer

was

told thattheir uju orhead

man

ⁱⁿ 1879

was

Maiige-zi.

He who

is theheadoftheNinibat'a° ,Keepersofa (Sacred) Pipe,has duties toperformwheneverthechiefsassemblein council. (See Sacred Pipes, § 18.)

240 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

The

^{decoratiou of the} tents in this subgens resemble ^those of the lukesabg.

§ 50. Birth names ofboys.

— The

^first

was

called Dried Eagle. ^iifi° - ua° paji said thatthisreally

meant

^"Driedbuffalo skull^;" but

La

Fleche and

Two Crows

^{denied this, giving another meaning,}

"Dried

Eagle skin."

The

second

was

Pipe.

The

third, Eaglet.

The

fourth, Keal BaldEagle.

The

sixth, Standing

Bald

Eagle.

The

seventh,

He

(an eagle)

makes

theground

Shake

suddenly

by

Alighting

on

it.

§ 51. Sectionsof the Subgens.

—

^{Lion gave the following, which were}

doubted

by La

Flfeche

and Two

^{Crows. I.} Keepers of ^the Pipe, or Workers, under Eaglet. II. Under

TheOnlyHauga,

are Pidaiga,

Wa-

djepa,aud Ma° ze-guhe. HI. Under BealEagleare bis son,Eagle

makes

a Crackling sound by alightiug on a limb of a ^tree,

Wasaapa,

Gakie- nia° ^i° ,

and

Tcaza-^iuge. IV.

To

the

Bald

Eaglesection belongYellow Breast

aud

Small Hill.

The Omahas

^reckon three kinds of eagles,the whiteeagle, the

young

white ^eagle,

and

the spotted eagle.

To

^these they

add

the bald eagle, which they say is not a real eagle. These probably correspond with thesections of thejjO-da-ifaji.

THE ^jE-'in,OB TBRTIE ^8BBGEN8.

§ 52. This subgens

camps

between thexe-da-it'aji

and

the 5£a"ze, in thetribal circle. Its

head man

in 1879

was

saidtobej,enuga-ja° -^iiake.

3;e'i°

means

"to carry a turtle on one's back."

The members

of this

subgens areallowed to touch or carry aturtle,but they cannot eat one.

Style of wearing ^{the hair.}

— ^They

^{cutoii"all the hairfrom}a boy's head, except six locks;

two

arelefton each side, one over the forehead,

and

onehanging

down

^{the back, inimitation of the}legs, hcixd,

and

tailofa turtle.

La

^Flfeche

and Two Ciows

did not

know

about this, but they said thatit might betrue.

Decoration of ^{the tents.}

— ^The

^{figures of turtles were painted on the}

outside of the^tents. (See the ISke-sab6 decorations, §§ 30-32.) Gurioits custom during afog.

—

^{In the} time of a fog the

men

of this subgens

drew

thefigure of aturtleon the ground with itsface to the south.

On

the head, tail, middleof the back,

and

on each leg were placed small pieces of a (red) breech-cloth with

some

tobacco. This they imagiued would

make

the fog disappearvery soon.

§ 53. Birthnames_of boys.

— ^The

^{first son}

^was

^called

^{He who}

^Passed

by hereon his

way

back to the

Water;

the second,

He who

runs very swiftly to get back to the

Water;

the third.

He who

floats

down

the stream; the fourth,

Eed

Breast; the fifth. Big Turtle; the sixth.

Young

one

who

carriesa turtle on ^his back^; the seventh. Turtle that kicks out his legs

and paws

the ground

when

a person takes hold of him.

Sections of^{the subgens.}

—

^{Lion gave} the following as sections of the

^e-'i", thoughthe statement

was

denied

by La

Pl^che

and Two

Crows.

"The

first section is Big Turtle, under jahe-^ad'6, in 1878.

The

sec-