D0H6EV.] RIDDLES PEOVERBS GAMES. 335

dots orlines,

and

twoof

them

are

marked

on bothsides; theyare,how- ever,sometimes

made

ofboneofaroundedorflattenedform,

somewhat

likean orbicularbutton-mold, the dots in this case being impressed-

A

widedish and acertain

number

of smallsticks

by

the

way

of coun- tersare also provided.

Any number

of persons

may

play this

game

and agreeably to the

number engaged

in^it, is the quantity ofsticks or counters.

The

plumstonesor bones areplaced in adish,

and

athrow

is

made by

simply jolting thevessel against the ground to

make

the seeds orbones rebound,

and

theyarecountedastheylie

when

theyfall.

The

i)artyplaysaroundforthefirstthrow.

Whoever

gainsallthesticks inthe course of the

game

wins the stake.

The

throws succeed each otherwith so

much

rapiditythat

we

vainlyendeavored toobservetheir laws of computation, whichit

was

the solebusiness of anassistant to attend to."

The

^seedsusedin this

game

are called j[a'^-sige. Their

number

va- ries.

Among

^the

Ponkas and Omahas,

onlyfiveare used,while theOtos play withsix. Sometimes four are

marked

alike^ and thefifth is black or wliite (unmarked). Generally three are blackon oneside,and white or

unmarked

on theother, while

two have

each astar on onesideand a

moon

on the other.

The

players

must

always be of the

same

sex

and

class; that is,

men must

play with men, youths with youths,

and women

with

women.

There

must

alwaysbe an even

number

ofplayers, not

more

than two on eachside. There areabout twentysticks usedas counters. These are

made

ofdeskaorof

some

othergrass.

The

seed are put ina bowl, whichishit against apillow,

and

noton thebareground, lestit shouldbreak the bowl.

When

three seeds

show

black, and two have the

moon

ontheupper

side, itis awinning throw; but

wheu

one is white, one black, a third black (orwhite),the fourth showingamoon,

and

the fifth astar, itis a losingthrow.

The game

is played for smallstakes, such as rings and necklaces.

§229. Banan'ge-kide, Shootingatthe

banange

or rolling wheel.

—

^This

is played by two men.

Each

one hasin his

hand two

sticks aboutas thick asone's littlefinger,which areconnectedinthemiddle

by

athong not over four inches in length.

The

sticks measure about three feet and a half in length. Those of one player are red,and those of the other are black.

The

wheel which is rolled is about two feet

and

a halfindiameter, itsrim ishalf an inchthick,

and

it extends about an inch from the circumference towards the center.

On

this side of the rim thatmeasures an inch arefourfigures.

The

first iscalled "

M4xu,"

Marked

with a knife, or "M^g^eze," Cut in stripeswith a knife.

The

secondis "Sdbe t6," The black one.

The

third is "Akifitg," Crossing each other.

The

fourthis "Jing4 tc6," The littleone, or "

M4xu

jiiig4 tc6," The little one marked with a knife.

The

players agreewhichouc'

336 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

of tbe ligures shall be.

"waqube"

^forthe

game;

that is,

what

card- players call ^''trumps."

The

wheel is pushed

and

(5aused to roll along,

and when

^ithas almost stopped each

man

hits gently atit to

make

^itfallon thesticks. Should the sticks fall on the top of the wheel, it does not count.

When

a playersucceedsinlodginghissticks iusuch a

way

that hetouches the waqube, he wins

many

sticks, or arrows.

When

^figuresaretouched by oneorboth ofhissticks,hecalls out thenumber.

AVhen

any twoof the figures

have

been touched, be says,"Na"ba"'a-uhii,"

I

havewound- edittwice. Ifthreefigureshave been

hit,hesays,"(/'ab((-i"a-uha,"J hare

wounded

three.

Twenty

arrows or

Fig.32.

—

Tbebanange.

stickscountasablauket,t\ventyfiveasagun, and

onehundred

as ahorse.

§ 230. j^abe-gasi, Men^s

game

_of ball.—Thi>i is played

by

the

Omahas

Fig.^33.

—

Thesticks.

and Poukas

with a singleball. Thereare thirty, forty, orfifty

men

on eachside,

and

eachoneis

armed

with acurved stickabout

two

feetlong.

The

^players strip off all clothing except their breech-cloths.

At

each end of the playground are twopostsfrom 12to15 feet apart.

The

play-ground is from 300 to 400 yards iu length.

When

the players on the opposite side see that theball is liable to reach

A

theytry to

knock

^it aside, either towards

B

orC, as theiropponents would winif the ball passed be- tween the posts at A.

On

the other hand, if the party repre-

FiG.34.—Na»ba»aub.i. scutcd

by A

scc that the ball is in dangerofpassingbetween ^{the posts} at

D

theytry to divert^it,either towards

E

or F.

DOUBEV.j

MKNS GAMES:

BANAN'GE-KIDE, ETC.

337 The

stakes

may

beleggings, robes,arrows, necjklaces, etc. All are lost

by

the losing side,

and

are distributed

by

the winners in equal shares.

One

of the elder

men

is requestedto

make

the

distribution. Two

small boys, about twelve years old, stand at the posts A,

and two

others are atD.

One

boyateach end tries to send the ball

between

theposts,butthe otherone attemptstosend

itintheoppositedirection.

These boys are called uhe

giuaji".

The game

used to be played in three

ways

: (1.)

Phratry ^{against phratry.}

Then

oneoftheplayers

was

notblindfolded. (2.)Village

againstvillage.

The Omahas ^had

^threevillages after 1855. Bi-kilde

was

Gabige'svillage,where mostof the people were. Wi»-dja'-gewasStand-

ilG.'io.

—

I'iibvi" ail b;l.

Fig.36.—Diagramoftheplay-ground

ing

Hawk's

village,near the Mission. Ja° -(fa'-te

was

Sanssouci'svillage,

near Decatur.

Frank La

Flfeche

remembers

one occasion

when

Wi"- djage challenged Bikudeto play c(abe-gasi,

and

the former won. (3.)

^^'hen the

game was

played neither

by

phratriesnor

by

villages, sides werechosen thus:

A

^player

^was

blindfolded,

and

thestickswereplaced before

him

inone pile, eachstick having aspecial

mark by

^{wliicli its}

owner

couldbe identified.

The

blindfolded

man

then took

up

two^sticks at a time, one in each hand, and, after crossing hands, he laid the sticks in separate ^piles.

The

owners ^{of thesticks in}one pile formed a side for thegame.

The

correspondiugwomen's

game

is

Wabaouade.

*231. ja(|;i"-jahe, or Stick and rin<i.

—

ja(|!i"-jahe is a

game

played by two men.

At

eachend of the play-ground, there are

two

"buja,"

or rounded heapsofearth.

A

^{ring of rope orhide, the wafigije, is rolled} along the ground,

and

each player tries todart a stick through ^it as ^itgoes.

He

runs very swiftly after the hoop, and thrusts the stick with considerable^force.

3

ETH

22

338 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

ir the hoopturus aside as ^{itrolls it is} uot so ^ditficult to thrusta stick through it.

The

stick (A) is about 4 feet long.

D

^{is the end that isthrustatthe}

hoo|i. BP> are the

gaqa

or forked eudsfor catching at the hoop.

CO

=

ⁱⁱ⁾

C.

A

B

Fig.37.

—

^{Thestickusedinplaying}(iii<:i"-jalie.

are

made

ofliauasage, w^abasta n^sagelka"ta", stiff^hicJe,fastciwd to the forked ends with stiff "weabasta," or material used for soJcsof^moccasins. These

ha

nasage often serve to i)revent the escape of the hoop from the forked ends. Sometimes

tliese ends alone catch or

hook

the hoop. Sometimes the

Fig. 3k—Tbe end

D

^{is thrust through it.}

When

^{both sticks} catch the

wavigije.

jjQQp ueitiierone wins.

The

^{stakesareeaglefeathers, robes,blankets,arrows,earrings,neck-}

laces, &c.

§ 232. Wabiiouade, the women^s

game

_of hall.

— ^Two

^{ballsof hide are}

filled with earth, grass, or fur, and then joined bya cord.

At

eachend of the play-ground are two

"gabazu"

orhills of earth, blankets, &c., that arefrom 12 to 15 feet apart.

Each

pair of hills

may

be regarded as the "

home"

^or

"base"

of one of thecontending parties,

and

it is

the aim of the

members

ofeach party tothrow the ballsbetween ^their pair of^hills, as that

would

win the game.

Two

small ^girls, about twelveyears old, stand at each end of the play-ground

and

act as uhe giuaji" for the

women,

as boys do for the

men m

;)abe-gasi.

Each

iilayerhas a webaonade, a very small stick of hard orred wil- low, about5 feet long,

and

with this she tries topick

up

the balls

by

thrusting theend of the stick under the cord.

Whoever

succeeds in picking

them up

hurls

them

^into the air, as in playing with grace hoops.

The women

can throw ^{these balls}very far.

Whoever

catches thecord onherstick iu spite of the efforts of her opponents, tries to throw ^{itstill further,} and closer to her "home."

The

^{stakes are} buf falo hides, small dishes or bowls,

women's

necivlaces, awls, &c.

The

bases arefrom 300 ^to400yards apart.

The

corresponding men's

game

isj^abe-gasi.

§ 233. Ja"-(f'awa,iStichcounting,isplayed

by

any

number

of persons with sticks

made

^of deska^{or siduhi.} These sticksare all placed in a heap, and then the playersinsuccession take

up some

of

them

iutheirhands.

The

sticksare not counted ^till theyhave been taken up,

and

then he

who

Las the lowest

odd number

always wins. Thus, if oneplayer

had

five, another three, and a third only one the last

must

be the victor.

The

highest

number

that

any

one can have ^{is nine.} If ten or moi-e sticks have been taken, thoseabove ninedo uot count.

With

the ex-

DoneEY.J

GAMES. 339

ceptiou of horses,anything

may

be staked which is playedfor iu ba- narige-kide.

§ 23-1. Ma">-gddaze isa

game unknown among

the

Omahas,

butprac- ticed

among

the Ponkas,

who

havelearneditfrom theDakotas. Itis

played

by

two men.

Each

one holds a

bow

upright in his left

hand

with one end touching the ground

and

the bowstring towards a heap of arrows. In the other

hand

he holds an arrow, which he strikes against the bow-string, which rebounds as he lets thearrow go.

The

latterflies suddenly towards the heapofarrows

and

goes

among

them.

The

player aims to have the featheron hisarrow touch that on

some

other arrowwhich isinthe heap. In that casehewins as

many

arrows asthe featheror

web

has touched; butifthesinew onhisarrowtouches anotherarrow itwins not onlythat one butall iu the heap.

§ 1'35. P'-uti"',Hittingthe stone,isa

game

playedat night. Sometimes there aretwenty,thirty,or fortyplayerson each^side.

Four

moccasins are placed in a row, and a

member

of one party covers them, putting inone of

them some

small objectthatcan be easily concealed.

Then

he says "

Come

!hit themoccasin in which you thinkitis."

Then

one ofthe opposite side is chosen tohitthe moccasin.

He

^arises,examines

all,

and

hits oue. Should it be empty, they say, "(ping^g ha," Itis icanting."

He

throws itfaraside

and

forfeits his stakes. Three moc- casinsremain forthe restofhis friends to try. Should oueof

them

hit the right one (uska-^'ska" uti"', or uka° 'ska uti"'),he wins the stakes,

and

his sidehastheprivilegeofhiding theobject in the moccasin.

He who

hits the right moccasin can hit again and again till he misses.

Sometimes itis deteriiiined to change the rulefor winning,

and

then the guesseraims to avoid the right moccasin the firsttime, but tohit it

when

he

makes

the second trial. Should he hittherightonethe

firsttime heloses his stakes. Ifhe hitstherightone

when

he hitsthe second moccasin,he wins,and his sidehas theright to hide theobject.

They

play till one side or the other has

won

all the sticksor stakes.

Sometimes there are players

who

win back

what

they

have

lost.

He who

takes the right moccasin winsfour sticks, or any other

number

which

may

be fixed

upon

byprevious agreement.

Eight sticks win a blanket; four winleggings; onehundred sticks, a full-grown horse; sixty sticks, acolt; tea sticks, a

gun

^; one, an ar-

row;four, a knifeora

pound

oftobacco^; two, half a

pound

oftobacco.

Buflalo robes (meha), otterskins, and beaver skins are each equal to eight sticks. Sometimes they stake moccasins.

When

oneplayer winsall his party yell.

The men

of each party sit in a row, facingtheiropponents, and the moccasins areplaced between them.

§236. Shooting^arrotvsat a

mark

^is called "

Ma"

kide."

The mark

(nac^begfe t6)

may

be placed at any distance from the contestants.

There

must

be an even

number

ofpersonson each^side.

Men

play with

men

and boys with boys.

Arrows

are staked. Sometimes

when

an ar-