﻿208 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [eth. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  The 
  seven 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  council 
  belonged 
  to 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  Ni'kagahi 
  

   sha'be, 
  in 
  fact 
  they 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  represented 
  that 
  order 
  in 
  

   which 
  each 
  man 
  held 
  his 
  place 
  until 
  death 
  or 
  voluntary 
  resignation. 
  

   Five 
  other 
  persons 
  were 
  entitled 
  to 
  attend 
  the 
  meetings 
  of 
  the 
  council, 
  

   being 
  of 
  an 
  ex 
  officio 
  class 
  : 
  The 
  keeper 
  of 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Pole 
  ; 
  the 
  keeper 
  

   of 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Buffalo 
  Hide 
  ; 
  the 
  keeper 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  Sacred 
  Tribal 
  Pipes; 
  

   the 
  keeper 
  of 
  the 
  ritual 
  used 
  when 
  filling 
  them 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  keeper 
  of 
  the 
  

   Sacred 
  Tent 
  of 
  War. 
  None 
  of 
  these 
  five 
  keepers 
  had 
  a 
  voice 
  hi 
  the 
  

   decisions 
  of 
  the 
  council, 
  the 
  responsibility 
  of 
  deciding 
  devolving 
  solely 
  

   on 
  the 
  Seven 
  Chiefs 
  who 
  composed 
  the 
  council 
  proper. 
  

  

  At 
  council 
  meetings 
  the 
  men 
  sat 
  in 
  a 
  semicircle. 
  The 
  two 
  chiefs 
  

   who 
  could 
  count 
  the 
  greatest 
  number 
  of 
  wathi 
  n 
  'eihe 
  were 
  called 
  

   Ni'kagahi 
  u'zhu 
  (u'zhu 
  "principal"); 
  these 
  chiefs 
  sat 
  side 
  by 
  side 
  

   back 
  of 
  the 
  fireplace, 
  facing 
  the 
  east 
  and 
  the 
  entrance 
  of 
  the 
  lodge. 
  

   They 
  represented 
  the 
  two 
  halves 
  of 
  the 
  hu'thuga, 
  the 
  one 
  who 
  sat 
  on 
  

   the 
  right 
  (toward 
  the 
  south) 
  representing 
  the 
  Ho 
  n 
  'gashenu, 
  the 
  one 
  

   who 
  sat 
  on 
  the 
  left 
  (toward 
  the 
  north), 
  the 
  I 
  n 
  shta'cu 
  n 
  da. 
  The 
  other 
  

   members 
  sat 
  hi 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  their 
  "counts" 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  

   principal 
  chiefs, 
  the 
  highest 
  next 
  to 
  those 
  chiefs 
  and 
  so 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  end 
  

   of 
  the 
  line. 
  The 
  position 
  assigned 
  each 
  member 
  on 
  entrance 
  into 
  the 
  

   council 
  remained 
  unchanged 
  until 
  a 
  death 
  or 
  resignation 
  took 
  place. 
  

   In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  a 
  vacancy 
  hi 
  the 
  u'zhu, 
  the 
  place 
  was 
  taken 
  by 
  whoever 
  

   could 
  count 
  the 
  most 
  wathi 
  n 
  'ethe; 
  he 
  might 
  be 
  an 
  old 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  

   council 
  or 
  a 
  new 
  man 
  from 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  Ni'kagahi 
  xu'de. 
  Any 
  

   vacancy 
  occurring 
  was 
  likely 
  to 
  cause 
  a 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  places 
  of 
  the 
  

   members, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  "count" 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  member, 
  but 
  the 
  

   place 
  and 
  position 
  of 
  u'zhu 
  were 
  affected 
  only 
  by 
  death 
  or 
  resignation. 
  

   Anu'zhu 
  held 
  his 
  rank 
  against 
  all 
  claimants. 
  

  

  The 
  manner 
  of 
  deliberating 
  and 
  coming 
  to 
  a 
  decision 
  in 
  the 
  Council 
  

   of 
  Seven 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  A 
  question 
  or 
  plan 
  of 
  operation 
  

   was 
  presented 
  by 
  a 
  member; 
  it 
  was 
  then 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  chief 
  sitting 
  

   next, 
  who 
  took 
  it 
  under 
  consideration 
  and 
  then 
  passed 
  it 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  

   next 
  person 
  and 
  so 
  on 
  around 
  the 
  circle 
  until 
  it 
  reached 
  the 
  man 
  who 
  

   first 
  presented 
  it. 
  The 
  matter 
  would 
  pass 
  again 
  ami 
  again 
  around 
  

   the 
  circle 
  until 
  all 
  came 
  to 
  agreement. 
  All 
  day 
  was 
  frequently 
  spent 
  

   hi 
  deliberation. 
  No 
  one 
  person 
  would 
  dare 
  to 
  take 
  the 
  responsibility 
  

   of 
  the 
  act. 
  All 
  must 
  accept 
  it 
  and 
  then 
  carry 
  it 
  through 
  as 
  one 
  man. 
  

   This 
  unity 
  of 
  decision 
  was 
  regarded 
  as 
  having 
  a 
  supernatural 
  power 
  

   and 
  authority. 
  Old 
  men 
  explained 
  to 
  the 
  writers 
  that 
  the 
  members 
  

   of 
  the 
  council 
  had 
  been 
  made 
  chiefs 
  by 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Tribal 
  Pipes, 
  which 
  

   were 
  from 
  Wako 
  n 
  'da; 
  therefore, 
  ''when 
  the 
  chiefs 
  had 
  deliberated 
  on 
  

   a 
  matter 
  and 
  had 
  smoked, 
  the 
  decision 
  was 
  as 
  the 
  word 
  of 
  Wako 
  n 
  'da." 
  

   The 
  ceremonial 
  manner 
  of 
  smoking 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Pipes 
  was 
  as 
  follows: 
  

   After 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  coiuicd 
  were 
  in 
  their 
  places 
  the 
  keeper 
  of 
  

   the 
  Sacred 
  Pipes 
  laid 
  them 
  before 
  the 
  two 
  principal 
  chiefs, 
  who 
  called 
  

  

  