SIOUAN SOCIOLOGY 



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By James Owen Dorsey 



GENERAL FEATURES OF ORGANIZATION 



111 the study of the orgauizatioii of societies, units of different orders 

 are discovered. Among the tribes of the Siouau family the primary 

 unit is the chxn or gens, which is composed of a number of consan- 

 guiuei, claiming descent from a common ancestor and having common 

 taboos; the term clan implying descent in the female line, while gens 

 implies descent in the male line. Among the Dakota, as among the 

 <|'egiha and other groups, the man is the head of the family. 



Several of the Sionan tribes are divided into two, and one (the 

 Osage) is divided into three subtribes. Other tribes are composed of 

 phratries, and each snbtribe or phratry compi'ises a number of gentes. 

 In some tribes each gens is made up of subgentes, and these in turn 

 of a lower order of groups, which are provisionally termed sections for 

 want of a better designation. The existence of these minor groups 

 among the Omaha has been disputed by some, though other members 

 of the tribe claim that they are real units of the lowest order. Among 

 the Teton many groups which were originally sections have become 

 gentes, for the marriage laws do not affect the original phratries, 

 gentes, and subgentes. 



The state, as existing among the Sionan tribes, may be termed a 

 kinship state, in that the governmental functions are performed by 

 men whose offices are determined by kinship, and in that the rules 

 relating to kinship and reproduction constitute the main body of the 

 recognized law. By this law marriage and the mutual rights and 

 duties of the several members of each body of kindred are regulated. 

 Individuals are held responsible chiefly to their kindred; and certain 

 groups of kindred are in some cases held responsible to other groups 

 of kindred. When other conduct, such as the distribution of game 

 taken in the forest or fish from the waters, is regulated, the rules or 

 laws pertaining thereto involve, to a certain extent, the considerations 

 of kinship. 



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