178 THE SIOUAN IXlilANS (kth, ass. 15 



in jit'iicral, evanescent projierty, siutli as food and liud. was shared in 

 conmuin (subject to carefully regulated iiulividnal claims), wldle i)eriua- 

 nent jjroperty, sucli as tipis, doj^s, apparel, weajwiis, etc, was held by 

 individuals. As among other tribes, the more strictly personal i)roi)erty 

 was usually destroyed on the death of the owner, though the real reason 

 for the tuistom — the prevention of dispute — was shrouded in a mantle 

 of mysticism. 



Although of ])riiiiary importance in shaping the caieer of the Siouan 

 tribes, the marital institutions of the stock were not specially distinctive. 

 Marriage was usually elfected by negotiation through parents or elders; 

 among some of the tribes the bride was purchased, while among others 

 ther(^ was an iutercliange of presents. Polygyny was common; in sev- 

 eral of the tribes the bride's sisters became subordinate wi\es of the 

 husband. The regulations concerning divorce and the punishment of 

 infidelity were somewhat variable among the different tribes, some of 

 whom furnislied temporaiy wives to distinguished visitors. Generally 

 there were sanctions for marriage by elopement or individual choice. In 

 everj' tribe, so far as known, gentile exogamy prevailed — i. e., marriage 

 in the gens was forbidden, under pain of ostracism or still heavier pen- 

 alty, while the geiites interinarried among one another; in some cases 

 intermarriage between certain tribes was regarded with special favor. 

 There seems to have been no system of marriage by cai)ture, though 

 captive women were usually espoused by the successful tribesmen, and 

 gii Is were sometimes abducted. In general it would appear that inter- 

 gentile and intertribal marriage was practiced and sanctioned by the 

 sages, and that it tended toward harmony and federation, and thus 

 contributed much toward the increase and diffusion of the great Siouan 

 stock. 



As set forth in some detail by Dorsey, the ordination of the Siouan 

 tribes extended beyond the hierarchic organization into families, siib- 

 gentes, gentes, tribes, and confederacies; there were also pliratrics, 

 sometimes (perhaps typically) arranged in ])airs; there were societies 

 or associations estal>lished on social or fiducial bases; there was a gen- 

 eral arrangement or classification of each group on a military basis, 

 as into soldiers and two or more classes of noucombataiits, etc. 

 Among the Siouan peoples, too, the individual brotherhood of the 

 David-Jonathan or Damon-Pythias type was characteristically devel- 

 ojicd. Thus the corporate institutions were interwoven and suihm- 

 imposed in a manner nearly as complex as that found in the national, 

 state, municii)al, and minor institutions of civilization; yet the ordi- 

 nation preserved by means of the cami)ing circle, the kinshi]) system, 

 the simple series of taboos, and the elaborate symbolism was appar- 

 ently so complete as to meet every social and governmental demand. 



HELIEI-S 

 TlIK DkYELOPMENT of MVTIIOLOQY 



As explained by Powell, philosophies and l)eliefs may be seriated in 

 four stages: The first stage is hecasfothcism; in this stage extra- 

 natural or mysterious ])otencies are imputed to objects both animate 



