Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 73 



Numeral Ponca term Meaning of Ponca term 



80 g4ibq-pe4d,bdi eight tens 



90 gdibq-spka nine tens 



100 gSibq-hiwi a circle of tens 



(101, 102, etc, are formed by adding, as with 21, 22.) 



200 g46bq-hj,m-nampa two circles of tens 



(300, 400, etc. are formed in a like manner.) 



1,000 hokiwi one box 



The term for one thousand is derived from the fact that the money 

 which the Ponca received for treaty payments came in boxes which 

 contained $1,000 each. Nmnerals above 1,000 were not secured. 

 PLC stated that they were so rarely used that he did not know them. 

 They could, however, be formed by combinations of the terms above, 

 as kokewi-nampa, 2,000. The numerals given by my informants 

 correspond quite closely with those given by Riggs (1893, pp. xxiii- 

 xxix). 



"Four," "seven," and "twelve" were the numbers sacred to the 

 Ponca, decreasing in importance in the order listed. PLC stated: 

 "We use four a lot. Four is most important. I think we use it the 

 most. Nearly everything we do is in fours. We use seven quite a 

 bit too. There are seven sticks in the chief's fire." J. O. Dorsey 

 (1890, p. 397) mentions "seven" as well: "Seven is the sacred number 

 in the Omaha and Ponka gentUe system, and is the number of the 

 original gentes of the Dakota." 



Some Ponca have told me that "four" is important because there 

 are four winds or directions (PLC, WBB). "Seven" comprises these 

 four directions plus zenith, nadir, and the locus of the individual, and 

 is thus symbolic of his place in the cosmos. "Twelve" is said to be 

 symbolic of the number of feathers in the tail of the war eagle. There 

 has been some syncretism in this area on the part of Ponca peyotists. 

 WBB stated that "seven" was important because "there are seven 

 days in the week, the first being Sunday, the Lord's day." The same 

 informant identified "twelve" with the Twelve Apostles. 



Twelve moons or months were recognized by the Ponca. They 

 were named after customary occurrences of the seasons. Apparently 

 these terms went out of use many years ago, as only one informant, 

 Leonard Smith, could supply the full set of names. They were as 

 follows: 



Month Ponca name Translation of Ponca name 



January Md-spi Snow thaws. 



February Miga-ikidg4eg4i-ke-mi Moon when the ducks come back 



and hide. 

 or 



Wa!^igoma-waeke-mi Water stands in ponds moon. 



March Istuktadd Sore-eyes (because of snow glare) . 



April NqziUa Rains. 



