DENSMORE] MANDAN AND HIDATSA MUSIC 3 
MANDAN AND HIDATSA INDIANS 
NAME 
Manpan.—The origin of this name is not fully established, though 
many hold the opinion that it is a corruption of the Dakota word 
“ Miwatani,” which, it is said, was applied to these people by the 
Sioux. Matthews states that “ Previous to 1837, they called them- 
selves simply Numakaki, 7. e., People, Men. They sometimes spoke 
of themselves and the Minnetarees together as Niweta, Owrselves. 
A large band of their tribe was called Siposka-numakaki, Prazrie- 
hen People, or Grouse Men.’”* Wa Verendrye in his journal (1738- 
39), speaks of “the Mandans, who were formerly called Ouachi- 
pouanne.” 4 
Himarsa.—‘ The name Hidatsa, by which they now call them- 
selves, has been said, with doubtful authority, to mean ‘ willows,’ 
and is stated by Matthews to have been originally the name only 
of a principal village of the tribe in their old home on Knife 
r.... By the Mandans they are known as Minitari, signifying 
‘they crossed the water,’ traditionally said to refer to their having 
- erossed the Missouri r. from the E.... The Crows call them 
Amashi, ‘ earth lodges.’” ® 
Hisrory AND CHARACTERISTICS 
Manpan.—This Siouan tribe occupied an important strategic posi- 
tion on the northern Missouri River (pl. 6,)). They were visited by 
Sieur de la Verendrye in 1738 and later by Maximilian, Lewis and 
Clark, Catlin, and other explorers, who recorded their impressions 
of the tribes and its customs. While related to the tribes immedi- 
ately to the south and west (the Dakota and Crow) in language, the 
Mandan differed from them in habits and type of dwelling. 
Traditions concerning the history of these people are scanty, but 
“the fact that when first encountered by the whites they relied to 
some extent on agriculture as a means of subsistence would seem to 
justify the opinion that they were, at some time past, in a region where 
agriculture was practiced.”°® According to Catlin, the Mandan were 
“very interesting and pleasing people in their personal appearance 
and manners.” He states further that “ They are handsome, straight, 
and elegant in their forms—not tall, but quick and graceful; easy 
and polite in their manners, neat in their persons, and beautifully 
% Matthews, Ethnography of the Hidatsa. 
*La Verendrye’s Journal, in Report on Canadian Archives, 1889, p. 5. 
5 Handbook Amer. Inds., pt. 1, p. 547. 
® Handbook Amer, Inds., pt. 1, art. Mandan, p. 797. 
