244 OMAHA SOCIOLOGY

THK XE-SlNDE

GENS.

§ 59.

The

j^e-sinde,orBuft'alotail gens,

camps

betweentheMa'>((;ifika-

gaxe and ^{the j^a-da gentes in the tribal circle. Its present chief is} Waha"-firige, son of Taknnaki(fabi.

Taboos.

— The members

of this gens cannot eata calf while it is red, bnt they can do so

when

^itbecomes black. This applies to the calf of the domestic cow, as well as to that of the buffalo.

They

cannottouch a buttiilo

head.— Frank La

Fleche. (See _§§ 31, 37,

and

49.)

They

can- noteatthe

meat

on the lowest rib, -jefi^-ucagif-e, becausethe1 ead ofthe calf before birth touches the mother nearthat rib.

IStyle of wearing ^{the hair.}

—

^{It is called} " j^4ihi"-muxa-gAxai,"

Mave made

mu.ra, i. e., to stand

np

and

hang

over a little on each side.

La

Fleche and

Two Crows

do not

know

this style.

§ 6<t. Birth names_of hoys.

—

^[afi"-na"paji

was

un- certain about them.

He

thought thatsix of

them

wereas follows^:

Gray Horns

(of a buffalo).

Uma-

abi, refers tocutting

up

abuffalo.

(A

buffalo that is almost grown) liaises his Tail in the air. Dai'k Eyes)

A

buffalo calf

when

it sheds its i-eddish- yellow hair,has a coat of black, which

commences

attheeyes). (BuffaloCalf)

Unable

toRun. Little

Fia. 19.—^{x«-8in(ie style} One ^{(buffiilo calf)}wlth reddish-ycllowhair.

ofweariugthebail.

^^^ Siibgentes.—F^01' marriagepurposes, the gens

is undivided, according to

La

Fleche

and Two

Crows; but they ad- mitted that there wereat present

two

parts ofthe gens, one of which

was The

Keepers of the Pipe. Lion said that he

knew

of but two subgentes, which were

The

Keepers of the Pipe,or. Those

who

do not Eatthe

Lowest

bnffalo rib, under

Wild

sage; and Those

who Touch

no Calves,01', KeepersoftheSweetMedicine,under Orphan. ^J.

La

Fleche saidthat allofthe j,e-sinde

had

thesweetmedicine,

and

thatnone were alktwed to eat calves.

§ 02.

Names

of men.

— ^Wild

^{Sage. Standsina}

High and marshy

^place.

Smoke Coming

back Regularly. Big ax. (Buffalo) Bristling with

Ar

rows. Ancestral Feather. Orphan,or,(Buffalo bull) Raisesa Bust by

Pawing

the Ground.

Unable

to run. (Body of a buffalo) l^ivided with a knife. Playful{?) or Skittish Buffalo. Littleone with reddish- yellow hair.

Dark

Eyes. Lies

Bottom

u]>wards. Stands on aLevel.

Young

Buffalo bull. Raises ^{his Tail} in theair. Lover.

Crow Neck

lace. BigM;ine. BuffaloHead.

He who

^is to be

blamed

forevil.

Nomes

of women.

—

Mi"-akanda. Sacred

Moon. White

Buffalo-Fe- male inthe distance.

Walks

in order to Seek (for something).

DOB-iEy]

XE-SINDE AND XA-dA GENTES. 245 THE XA-dA OR DEER-HEAD

GENS.

§ 63.

The

place of this geus in the tribal circle is afterthat of the Xe-siude.

The

chiefof the gens is SIu(le-xa° xa° .

Taboo.

— ^{The members}

^ofthis gens cannot touch the skin of anyani-

mal of the deer family; they cannot use moccasins of deer-skin ; nor can they use the fatof the deer for hair-oil, as the other

Omahas

can do; but they can eat the flesh ofthedeer.

Suhgentes.—La, Fleche

and Two Crows

recognized threedivisions of thegeusformarriagepurposes,andsaid thattheKeepersofthe Sacred Pipe were^" ujia"ha jiiiga,"a littleapart

from

the rest. Wani;a-waqf

,

who

is himself the keeperof the Sacred Pipe of this gens, gavefour subgentes. These sat in the gentilecircle inthe following order^:

On

the firstorleft side of the "fire-place"were the Ninibat'a° ,Keepers of the Pipe,

and

Jinga-gahige's subgens.

On

the other side were the

Thunder

peopleand thereal

Deer

people.

The

KeepersofthePipe

and

Jifigagahige's subgeus seem to form oneof the three divisions recog- nized

by La

Fltehe.

Wani}a-waqe

said that his

own

subgens were Eagle people, and that they had a special taboo,being forbidden to touchverdigris(see

^a^ze

gens), charcoal,

and

the skinofthe wildcat.

He

said thatthe

members

of the second subgeus could not touch cliar- coal, inaddition to the general taboo of the geus.

But La

Fltehe

and Two Crows

saidthatnoueof thexa-dacould touchcharcoal.

The

headoftheISTiniba t'a° took the

name

Wani-ja-waqg,

The Animal

thatexcels others,orLion, afteravisit totheEast; but hisreal

Omaha name

is Disobedient, ja^i^-gahige is the head of the

Thunder

sub- gens, and Sinde-xa° xa° , of the

Deer

subgens.

§ 64. Birth-names for hoys.

—

^{Lion said} that the following were

some

of the Eagle birth-names of his subgens (see

iSkesabg

birth-names,

§32):

The

thunder-god

makes

the sound ":)ide"as he walks. Eagle

who

^is a chief (keeping a Sacred Pipe). Eagle that excels.

White

Eagle (Golden Eagle).

Akida

gahige. Chief

who Watches

over some- thing (being the keeper of a Sacred Pipe).

He

gave the following _as the

Deer

birth-names:

He who Wags

his Tail.

The

Black Hair on the

Abdomen

of a Buck.

Horns

like pha- langes.

Deer Paws

the Ground,

making

parallel ordiverging indenta- tions.

Deer

in the distance

Shows

its Tail

White

Suddenly. Little

Hoof

of adeer.

Dark

Chin ofa deer.

§ 65. Ceremony_{onthe fifth}dayaftera&»></(.—According toLion, there isapeculiar

ceremony

observed in his gens

when

au infaut isnamed.

All the

members

of the gens assemble on the fifth

day

after the birth of achild. Those belonging to the subgens of the infant cannoteat anything cooked forthe feast, but the

men

of the other subgentesare at liberty topartake ofthe food.

The

infaut is placed within the gen- tilecircle and theprivilegeddecoration is

made

ontheface ofthe child

246 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

with "wase-jide-nika,"or Iiidiau red.

Then

with the tipsoftheiudex, middle, and the next fluger, arered spots

made down

thechild's back, at shortintervals, in imitationofa

fawn^ The

child'sbreech cloth{sic) isalso

marked

ⁱⁿ a similar way. AVith the tips of three fingers are rubbed ^stripes as long as a

hand

onthe

arms and

chest of the infant.

Allthe j,a-(Iapeople,eventheservants,decorate themselves.

Eubbing

therestof the Indian red on the palms of their hands, they passtheir hands

backwards

over their hair;

and

theyfinally

make

red spots on their chests, aboutthe sizeof a hand.

The members

of the Pipesub- gens, and those persons in the other subgentes

who

are related to the infant's father through the calumetdance, are the only ones

who

are allowed touse the privileged decoration,

and

to

wear

hi"iipe[down) in their hair. If the infantbelongs to thePipesubgens,charcoal,verdi gris,

and

the skin of a wild-catare placed beside him, as thearticles nottobetouched

by him

inafter-life.

Then

he^isaddressedthus: "This you

must

not touch; this, too, you

must

nottouch^;

and

this

you must

nottouch."

The

verdigrissymbolizes the bluesky.

La

Fleche

and Two Crows

saidthat the custom isdifferent from the above.

When

a child is

named

on the fifth

day

after birth, all of the gentiles are notinvited,the only jierson

who

iscalled is

an

old

man who

belongs tothesubgensof theinfant.'

He

puts the spotson thechild,

and givesit its

name

^; butthereis nobreech-cloth.

§66.

Wames

of men. ^I. Pipe subgens.

—

^{Chief that}

^Watches

^oversome-

thing. EagleChief. Eagle thatexcels,orEagle-maker(!).

Wags

his Tail. Standing

Moose

or Deer. (Lightning)Dazzles theEyes,

making them

Blink.

Shows

Iron.

Horns

Pulled around("?).

Forked

Horns.

(Fawn

that)

Does

unt Flee toa place of refuge. (Deer) Alights,

mak-

ing the sound ^"stapi."

Pawnee

Tempter, a

war

name.

White

Tail.

Gray

Pace. Like a Buffalo

Horn

(?).

Walks

Near.

Not ashamed

to askforanything. (Fawn) ^IsnotShotat(by thehunter).

White

Breast.

Goes

tothe Hill. Elk.

II.

Boy

Chief's suhijens.

— ^Human-male

^{Eagle (a}

^Dakota

^name,J.

^La

Fleche). Heart

Bone

(ofa deer;

some

sayitrefers to thethunder; J.

La

^Flfechesays that it has been recentlybrought from the Kansas).

Fawn

gives asudden cry. Small Hoofs.

Dark

Chin.

Forked

Horns.

(Deer) Leaps

and

raisesasudden

Dust by

Alightingon theground.

He who Wishes

tobe Sacred (oradoctor). Fleesnot.

Forked Horns

ofa

Pawn.

III. Thundersuhgens.

—

^Spotted

^Back

^{(ofa fawn). SmallHoofs. Like}

a Buffalo Horn.

Wet

Moccasins (thatis, thefeet ofadeer.

A

^female

name among

the Osages, etc.).

Young

Male-animal. WhiteTail. Daz-

zles theEyes.

Spoken

to(by the thunder-god).

Young

Thunder-god.

Dark

Chin.

Forked

Horns. Distant Sitting one with

White

Horns.

Fawn. Paws

^theGround,

making

^parallel ordiverging indentations.

"Thisagrees substantiallywiththeOsagecustom.

DOKSET.I

XA-dA AND

ing(;e-jide gentes.

247

Black Hair ou a buck's

Abdomeu. Two

Buffalo bulls.

Red

Leaf (a

Dakota

name). Skittish. Black Crow. Weasel.

Young

Elk.

Paw-

neeChief.

IV. Deersiibgens.

—

^{(Deer's) Tail showsred,}

^{now and}

^{then, in thedis-}

tance. White-horned animal

Walking Near

by.

White

Neck. Tail

Shows White

Suddenly in the distance. (Deer) Stands Eed. (Deer) Starts up, beginning to move. Big

Deer

Walks. (Deer that) Excels others ashestands,or.Standsaheadofothers. Small

Forked Horns

(of a fawn).

Four

Deer.

Back drawn

^uj)(asofan enrageddeerorbuffalo),

making

the hairstand erect.

Four

Hoofs.

He who

Carvesan animal.

Shows

aTurtle.

Euns

in theTrail (of the female). (Fawn) Despised (by the hunter,

who

prefers toshoot the full-grown deer). Feared

when

not seen.

White

Elk.

Lion saidthat

White Neck was

the only servantin hisgensat pres- ent.

When

the gensassembledin itscircle, theservants

had

to sit

by

thedoor, asit

was

^{theirplace to}bringin

wood and

water,

and

towait onthe guests.

La

Flfeche

and Two Crows

saidthattherewerenoserv- ants ofthissortin

any

ofthegentes.

Yet,

among

the Osages

and

Kansas,there are stilltwokinds ofserv- ants, kettle-tenders

and

water-bringers.

But

thesecan bepromotedto therank ofbrave men.

Xames

of

women

inthegens.

—

^Eona-maha.

Habitual-Hawk

Female.

Hawk

Female. Precious

Hawk

Female.

Horn

used for cutting or chopping(?).

Ax

Female.

Moon-Hawk

Female.

Moon

that is Fly- ing.

Moon

thatIs

moving On

^high. Na° z6i° ze.

White Ponka

in the distance.

Ponka

Female.

THE

IN6(|)£-JIDE GENS.

§G7.

The meaning

of this

name

has been explained in several ways.

In Dougherty's

Account

of the

Omahas

(Long'sExpedition to theRocky Mountains, ^I, 327)

we

read that "This

name

is said tohave originated from the circumstance of this

band

having formerly quarreled

and

separated themselvesfrom thenation, until, beingueailystarved,they were compelledto eatthe fruitof the wild cherry tree, until theirex-

crement

became

red". (They

must

have eatenbuffaloberries, not wild cherries.

La

Fleche.) A° ba-hebe did not

know

the exact

meaning

of the name, butsaid thatit referred to the bloody

body

of the buffalo seen

when

the seven old

men

visited this gens with the sacredpipes.

(See_§16).

Two Crows

said thatthe lugcfejide

men

give the following explanation: "x^jinga ^idai tedi, ingife zi-jide ega° ": ^i.e.,

"When

a buffalo calfisborn, its

dung

^is a yellowishred."

The

place ofthe Iug(fe-jide inthe tribal circle isnext to that ofthe xa-da. Their

head man

^is He-musnade.

248 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

Taboo.

— ^They

^ilouoteata bufialocalf. (Seej^esiudegeus.) Itappears thatthe

two

Ictasanda buffalogentes arebuffalo calf gentes, and that thetwonafigaceiiubnfi'alogentes areconnectedwith the

grown

buffalo.

Decoration ofnkiii tents.

—

^{Thisconsistsofacircle paintedoneachside}

of the entrance, within which is sketched the

body

of abuffalo calf, visible from theflanks up.

A

^similarsketchis

made

onthebackofthe tent.

§G8. Birth names_ofboys.

—

^{These are as follows,but their}exact order has notbeen gained: Buffalo calf. Seeks its Mother. Stands at the End.

Horn

Erect with the sharp end toward thespectator. Buffalo (calf?)Rolls over.

Made

dark

by

heat very suddenly. Ma^zeda", mean- ing

unknown.

Subgentes.

— ^The

^{Ing^e-jideare}not dividedformarriagepurposes. Lion, however, gave foursubgentes; but hecould not give the

names and

ta- boos.

He

said that

Horn

Erect

was

thehead ofthe first.

The

present head of thesecond is LittleStar. Rolls over is the

head

of thethird

;

aud Singer of thefourth.

Names

of men.

— ^Walking

^{Buffalo. Buffalo}

^Walks

^alittle. (Buffaloes) Continue Approaching. Tent-poles stuck Obliquely in the ground.

Becomes

Cold suddenly.

Hawk

Temper.

Bad

Buffalo. (Buffalocalf)

Seeks its Mother. (Buffalo bull) Kolls over. Stands at the End.

Singer.

Crow

Skin. SmallBank.

Kausas

Head.

Eapid

(asariver).

Sacred

Crow

that speaks inVisions.

White

Feather.

Walks

at the End.

Names

ofwomen.

— Moon-Hawk

Female.

Moon Horn

Female. (Buf- faloes)

Make

theground Stripedas theyrun. Walks,seekingher own.