226 



SIOUAN SOCIOLOGY 



[ETll. ANN. 15 



a view to a gift in return. I'rojierty obtained by gambling i.s held by 

 a very indefinite tenure. 



Murder is generally avenged by tlie kindred of tlie deeea.sed, as 

 among the Omaha and Pouka. Goods, horses, ete, may be ottered to 

 expiate the crime, when the murderer's friends are rich in these things, 

 and sometimes they are accepted : but sooner or later the kindred of 

 the murdered man will try to avenge him. Everything except loss of 

 life or personal chastisement can be comi)ensated among these Indians. 

 llai)e is nearly unknown, not that the crime is (considered morally wrong, 

 but the puuishment would be death, as the price of the woman would 

 be (lei)reciated and the chances of marriage lessened. Besides, it would 

 be an insult to her kindred, as implying contempt of their feelings and 

 their ])ower of protection. Marriage within the gens is regarded as 

 incest and is a serious offense. 



THE OMAHA 



The gentes keeping the sacred pipes and those having the sacred 

 tents are designated among the Omaha by appropriate designs. The 



sacred tent of the Wcji"ete was the 

 tent of war, those of the llauga were 

 the tents associated with the bufl'alo 

 hunt and the cultivation of the soil. 

 The diameter of the circle (figure 34) 

 represents the road traveled hy the 

 tribe when going on the buffalo hunt, 

 numbers 1 and 10 being the gentes 

 which were always in the van. The 

 tribe was divided into half tribes, each 

 half tribe consisting of tive gentes. 

 The sacred tents of the Omaha and all 

 the objects that were kept in them 

 are now in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at 

 Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



The two groups of gentes forming the half tribes or phratries, some- 

 times composed of subgentes or sections, are as follows : 



IlnJujacenu {jrnte.s — 1, Weji"cte, Elk. 2, Inke-sabe, P.lack shoulder, 

 a Buffalo gens; the custodian of the real pipes of peace. 3, Hanga or 

 Ancestral, a Buffalo gens; the regulator of all the so-called i)ipes of 

 peace and keeper of two sacred tents. 4, (/'atada, meaning uncertain; 

 in four subgentes: a, Wasabe hit'ajl, Touch-uot-the-skin-of-ablack- 

 bear; />, Wajinga fataji, Eatno-small-birds; Bird people; c, j^e-da it'a.ji. 

 Touch-no-buffalo-head; Eagle i)eople; d, ^je-'i", Carry-a-turtle-on-the- 

 back; Turtle people. .5, ;jja"ze. Wind people. 



Trtamnda fjenten — (>, Ma"<firdva-gaxe, Earth-lodge- makers; coyote and 

 wolfi)eople. 7, j^e sinde, ISutt'alotail; a Buffalo-calf iieojile. S, j^a-da, 

 Deer-liead; Deer people. 0, irig(|e,jide. Red dung; a Buffalo-calf gens. 



Fig. 34 — Omaha camping circle. 



