370 A STUDY OF SIOUAN CULTS. 



§ 15. At the same time there seems to be some conuectiou between 

 certain myths and the personal names called, " nikie names." This will 

 be considered in detail in a future monograph on " Indian Personal 

 Names," now in course of preparation. One example must suffice for 

 the present. In the ^ja^ze gens of the Omaha there is a nikie name, 

 jasi duba, Four Peaks. The author did not understand its derivation 

 until he studied the myth of Haxige and observed the prayers made in 

 gathering the stones for the sweat-bath. Each stone was invoked as a 

 venerable man (see § 9), the Four Peaks were mentioned several times, 

 and the two superior deities or chief mysterious ones (Wakanda ^afiga 

 ag(j;ani[a"ha° hnankace) were invoked.' 



This last refers to the Wakanda residing above and the one in the 

 ground. It is therefore possible that in past ages the Siouau tribes did 

 not differentiate between the myth and what is " Wakanda(^a(!!ica"." But 

 we have no means of proving this. 



§ 16. Most of the Omaha governmental instrumentalities (" wewaspe") 

 were " Wakanda<^a(^ica°," but there were things that were " Wakanda- 

 :}af ica°," which were not " wewaspe," such as the law of catamenial se- 

 clusion. 



' Contr. N. A. Ethn.. Vol. TI, pp. 234,242 



