242 SIOUAN SOCIOLOGY 1etii.ans.15 



"bashfulness,'' which forbids the mother-in-law and son-in-law to speak 



to cacli other, no allowable rela.\:itiou of the prohibition has been 

 reconled. 



THE HIDATSA 



Our chief authority for the names of the llidatsa gentes is Morgan's 

 "Ancient Society." l)r Washington ^Matthews could liave furnished a 

 corrected list from his own notes had tliey not unfortunately been 

 destroyed by fire. All that can now be done is to give Morgan's list, 

 using his system of s]>elling: 



1. Knife, Mit-che-ro'-ka. 



2. Water, Minne pa'-ta. 



3. Lodge, Bii-hoha'-ta. 



4. Prairie chicken, Seech-ka-beruh-pii'-ka (Tsi-tska' do-lipa'-ka of 

 Matthews; Tsi-tska' dfo-qpa'-ka in the Bureau aljihabet). 



5. Hill people, E-tish-sho'-ka. • 



6. Unknown animal, Ah-nah-ha-nii'-ine-te. 



7. Bonnet, E-ku'-pii-be-ka. 



The llidatsa have been studied by Prince Maximilian (1833), Ilayden, 

 and Matthews, the work of the last writer' being the latest one treat- 

 ing of them; and from it the following is taken : 



Marriage among the Hidatsa is usually made formal by the distribution 

 of gifts on the i^art of the man to the woman's kindred. Afterward pres- 

 ents of equal value are commonly returned by the wife's relations, if they 

 have the means of so doing and are satisfied with the conduct of the hus- 

 band. Some travelers have represented that the "marriage by purchase" 

 among the Indians is a mere sale of the woman to the highest bidder, 

 whose slave she becomes. Matthews regards this a misrepresentation 

 so far as it concerns the Hidatsa, the wedding gift being a pledge to 

 the parents for the proper treatment of their daughter, as well as an 

 evidence of the wealth of the suitor and his kindred. Matthews has 

 known iiuiny cases where large marriage presents were refused from 

 one person, and gifts of much less value accepted from another, simply 

 because tlie girl showed a preference for the poorer lover. Marriages 

 by elopement are considered undignified, and difierent terms are applied 

 to a marriage by elopement and one by parental consent. Polygamy 

 is practiced, but usually with certain restrictions. The husband of the 

 eldest of several sisters has a claim to each of the others as she grows 

 up, and in most cases the man takes such a potential wife unless she 

 form another attachment. A man usually marries his brother's widow, 

 unless she object, and he may adopt the orphans as his own children. 

 Divorce is easily eflected, but is rare among the better ('lass of people 

 in the tribe. The unions of such people often last for life; but among 

 ]>ersons of a different character divorces are common. Their social 

 discipline is not very severe. Punishments by law, administered by the 



' Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa Indiana; TJ. S. Gnological and Geographical Survey, 

 miacellaiieoua jtublicatious No. 7, Washington, 1877. 



