318 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 43 



Their social life must have been almost identical with that of 

 the Natchez, but we have no sejjarate description of it nor of their 

 games, excepting a note of Charlevoix to the effect tliat when he 

 was in their village '' the young people were diverting themselves at 

 a kind of truck, much like ours.".« All that we know of their social 

 organization is that they had two grand chiefs of the entire nation, 

 one of whom was called the liead civil chief and the other the head 

 Avar chief.'' At the present day only one chieftainship is kept up, 

 but in view of their numerical insignificance more would be absurd. 

 On being asked whether the tribe formerly embraced any subdi- 

 visions such as totemic clans, a social feature that was carefully 

 explained to him, the present chief replied that there may have been 

 such in olden times, but he had never heard of them. The existence 

 of certain subdivisions seems likely, but their nature can never be 

 known to us. 



That the Tunica had some ritual or at least a sacred origin legend 

 about which the national feeling clustered is rendered quite cer- 

 tain by the existence of a temple. Gravier says this was the only 

 one in the nation and was small, standing on a mound of earth Avhich, 

 like that of the Natchez, would seem to have been artificial. Father 

 Davion told him that they entered this only on going to or returning 

 from war, and did not make all the bowlings in front of it custonuiry 

 among the Natchez and Taensa when passing their temples.'' La 

 Source states that the temple contained "earthen figures which are 

 their manitous." '^ After the abandonment of their former village and 

 settlement at the mouth of Red river they do not appear to have built 

 a new temple, perhaps owing to the opposition of Davion and the 

 interest taken in him by their head chief, but we can scarcely doubt 

 that some dwelling or portion of one was set apart for the sacred 

 images. What " i^owers " were represented by these is perhaps in- 

 dicated by La Harpe's statement that " their household gods are a 

 frog and a figure of a woman which they worship, thinking that they 

 represent the sun,"'' although the wording does not leave it clear 

 whether there was only one of each of these images or whether each 

 family possessed duplicates. If Gatschet is correct in stating that 

 the sun is feminine in Tunica, the woman referred to Avas very likely 

 the solar goddess, but it is hard to understand Avhat connection there 

 could have been between the sun and the frog. This, in fact, presup- 

 poses an explanatory myth which is unfortunately now lost. An 

 earlier statement regarding the religion of the Tunica is given by 

 Gravier. He says: 



They acknowledge nine gods — the sun, thunder, fire, the god of the east, 

 south, north, and west, of heaven, and of earth. In each cabin there is a great 



"French, Hist. Coll. La., 174. 1851. "Shea, Early Voy. Miss., i;!6. 



''Margry, D6couvertes. vi, 247; Cliarlevoix ''Ibid., 81. 



In Shea's Hist, of New France, vi, 117. « Margry, Decouvertcs, vi, 247. 



