128 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 190 



DESCENT 



The father's successors and heirs were the children of his sisters, 

 not his own children (C 140; S 130). The Jesuit statement that the 

 chieftainship usually went to the deceased chief's nephew or grand- 

 son ( JR 10 : 233) seems to indicate tliat they were matrilineal, as 

 does their statement, "There have been near relatives, such as nephews^ 

 who at the death of their uncles did all they could to make them say 

 that it was we who made them die ... to solace themselves for the 

 death of persons whom they tenderly cherished" ( JR 17 : 123 : italics 

 mine). Also indicating matrilineal descent is the statement that a 

 niece was a surer support for a man than were his own children 

 (JR26:29T).^« 



The presence of clans is difficult to ascertain from the Relations. 

 The Jesuits' mention that each family had a distinct armorial bearing, 

 as a deer, snake, crow, or the thunder (JR 15: 181) may indicate 

 clans. The eight chiefs, "from the eight nations that constitute the 

 Huron country" ( JR 33 : 243 ; cf . JR 33 : 247 for another reference to 

 this "eight") mentioned in the giving of gifts for reparation of the 

 murder of a Frenchman may be an indication that there were eight 

 clans (see note 82, p. 55) . 



KINSHIP TERMS 



The following are some Huron kinship terms (from S 71, 85) : *" 



aystan (ymstan) — my father; sometimes used to address old men. [cf. below, 



aistan (JR10:267)] 

 sendon4 — ^my mother 

 houatinorMi (honratinoron) — my uncle 

 ataquen (attaquen) (ataquon) — my brother 

 earassi (sarass^) — my cousin 

 ayein — my son [cf . below, aien ( JR 10 : 267) ] 



Muoittan (Mnoittan) — my nephew [cf. above chouatan (JR13: 69)] 

 yatoro — ^my friend, my companion, my comrade, i.e., those of no relationship 

 eadsi — ^my kind friend, my companion ; used to address girls 

 garihouanne — ^great chief 



DEATH 



The Huron was expected to be courageous in the face of approach- 

 ing death. If the man was dying slowly of natural causes, he was 

 often shown the clothing, the robe, leggings, moccasins, and belt, in 

 which he was to be buried, and frequently he was prepared for burial 



^ There is very little material in the 17th-century accounts that indicates the Huron 

 had matrilineal descent. As the Wyandot (Powell 1881 : 59 fif.) and the Iroquois are 

 matrilineal, the Huron probably were also — the few statements in the early reports only 

 tend to support this contention. 



" The terms for "cousin" and "uncle" probably mean "cross cousin" and "mother's 

 brother," respectively (see Morgan 1871 : 291-382). 



