﻿186 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [bth.anm.27 
  

  

  family 
  there 
  is 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  but 
  one 
  survivor, 
  who 
  has 
  an 
  only 
  

   son; 
  if 
  this 
  son 
  should 
  be 
  childless, 
  on 
  his 
  death 
  the 
  subdivision 
  would 
  

   be 
  extinct. 
  In 
  the 
  past 
  when 
  a 
  subgens 
  lost 
  its 
  distinctive 
  rites 
  and 
  

   became 
  depleted 
  through 
  death 
  the 
  survivors 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  joined 
  the 
  

   nearest 
  related 
  group 
  within 
  the 
  gens. 
  That 
  such 
  a 
  change 
  has 
  taken 
  

   place 
  in 
  the 
  I 
  n 
  shta'cu 
  n 
  da 
  gens 
  is 
  evidenced 
  by 
  the 
  names. 
  Formerly 
  

   there 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  a 
  clear 
  line 
  of 
  demarcation 
  between 
  the 
  

   subgentes 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  gentes 
  of 
  the 
  tribe, 
  and 
  each 
  had 
  its 
  set 
  of 
  

   names 
  that 
  referred 
  directly 
  to 
  the 
  rites 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  gens 
  or 
  

   subgens. 
  Laxity 
  in 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  subgentes' 
  names, 
  owing 
  probably 
  to 
  

   disintegration, 
  had 
  already 
  set 
  in 
  by 
  1883, 
  when 
  the 
  names 
  as 
  here 
  

   given 
  were 
  collected, 
  although 
  each 
  gens 
  still 
  clung 
  with 
  tenacity 
  to 
  

   its 
  distinctive 
  ni'leie 
  names. 
  

  

  Of 
  the 
  two 
  subgentes 
  formerly 
  existing 
  in 
  the 
  I 
  n 
  shta'cu 
  n 
  da 
  gens 
  

   one 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  earth 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  to 
  the 
  sky. 
  At 
  first 
  glance 
  

   these 
  two 
  rites 
  appear 
  unrelated, 
  but 
  in 
  fact 
  they 
  were 
  allied 
  and 
  

   formed 
  an 
  epitome 
  of 
  the 
  basal 
  idea 
  expressed 
  in 
  the 
  tribal 
  organiza- 
  

   tion. 
  The 
  rites 
  which 
  pertained 
  to 
  the 
  earth 
  subgens 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  its 
  

   name 
  have 
  been 
  lost, 
  and 
  the 
  people 
  who 
  composed 
  this 
  subgens 
  have 
  

   mingled 
  with 
  the 
  surviving 
  subgens. 
  From 
  the 
  meaning 
  of 
  the 
  name 
  

   of 
  the 
  latter 
  and 
  the 
  significance 
  of 
  its 
  rites 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  to 
  identify 
  

   not 
  only 
  those 
  names 
  which 
  originally 
  belonged 
  to 
  it 
  but 
  also 
  those 
  

   names 
  which 
  were 
  formerly 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  rites 
  of 
  the 
  lost 
  earth 
  

   subgens. 
  In 
  this 
  connection 
  it 
  is 
  interesting 
  to 
  note 
  that 
  the 
  present 
  

   tabu 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  gens 
  (worms, 
  insects, 
  etc.) 
  relates 
  to 
  the 
  lost 
  rites 
  of 
  

   the 
  lost 
  subgens 
  rather 
  than 
  to 
  the 
  rites 
  of 
  the 
  surviving 
  subgens, 
  a 
  

   fact 
  that 
  throws 
  light 
  on 
  the 
  relation 
  which 
  existed 
  between 
  the 
  rites 
  

   of 
  the 
  t 
  \\ 
  1 
  1 
  subgentes. 
  The 
  subgens 
  which 
  survives 
  and 
  the 
  rites 
  which 
  

   it 
  controls 
  pertain 
  to 
  the 
  sky, 
  to 
  the 
  power 
  which 
  descends 
  to 
  fructify 
  

   the 
  earth. 
  This 
  power 
  is 
  typified 
  by 
  the 
  rain 
  which 
  falls 
  from 
  the 
  

   storm 
  clouds, 
  with 
  their 
  thunder 
  and 
  lightning, 
  and 
  causes 
  the 
  earth 
  

   to 
  bring 
  forth. 
  The 
  response 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  is 
  typified 
  by 
  the 
  abound- 
  

   ing 
  life 
  as 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  worms, 
  insects, 
  and 
  small 
  burrowing 
  creatures 
  

   living 
  in 
  the 
  earth. 
  These 
  were 
  the 
  sign, 
  or 
  symbol, 
  of 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  

   the 
  fructifying 
  power 
  from 
  above. 
  Tradition 
  says 
  that 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   symbols 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  rites 
  of 
  the 
  lost 
  subgens 
  was 
  a 
  mole, 
  painted 
  red 
  

   (the 
  life 
  color). 
  

  

  The 
  surviving 
  subgens 
  is 
  called 
  Washe'to". 
  The 
  prefix 
  wa 
  denotes 
  

   action 
  with 
  a 
  purpose; 
  she 
  is 
  from 
  shie, 
  a 
  generic 
  term- 
  for 
  children 
  (as, 
  

   shie' 
  athi 
  n 
  Tcithe, 
  "to 
  beget 
  children," 
  and 
  shie' 
  githe, 
  "to 
  adopt 
  chil- 
  

   dren"); 
  to 
  11 
  means 
  "to 
  possess" 
  or 
  "become 
  possessed 
  of." 
  The 
  word 
  

   washe'to 
  11 
  therefore 
  means 
  "the 
  act 
  of 
  possessing 
  children." 
  Through 
  

   the 
  rites 
  pertaining 
  to 
  this 
  subgens 
  the 
  child's 
  life 
  was 
  consecrated 
  to 
  

   the 
  life-giving 
  power 
  symbolized 
  by 
  the 
  thunder 
  and 
  lightning, 
  and 
  

  

  