﻿356 
  

  

  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  

  

  I 
  Kill. 
  ANN. 
  

  

  The 
  woman's 
  leggings 
  bore 
  the 
  same 
  name 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  men. 
  

   They 
  were 
  shorter 
  and 
  were 
  fastened 
  by 
  a 
  garter 
  at 
  the 
  knee 
  

   and 
  tied 
  at 
  the 
  bottom 
  with 
  the 
  moccasin 
  string. 
  In 
  later 
  times 
  

   the 
  tunic 
  became 
  shorter 
  and 
  was 
  worn 
  over 
  a 
  scant 
  skirt 
  laid 
  in 
  

   plaits 
  at 
  the 
  hips 
  and 
  plain 
  in 
  front 
  and 
  behind. 
  (Fig. 
  SI.) 
  This 
  skirt 
  

   was 
  held 
  in 
  place 
  by 
  the 
  belt 
  which 
  was 
  bound 
  about 
  the 
  waist. 
  The 
  

   skirt 
  was 
  called 
  wate' 
  , 
  a 
  term 
  now 
  applied 
  to 
  a 
  dress. 
  Calico 
  has 
  

   taken 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  skin 
  as 
  the 
  material 
  for 
  a 
  woman's 
  clothing 
  but 
  her 
  

   gala 
  dress 
  consists 
  of 
  a 
  skirt 
  of 
  strouding, 
  or 
  cloth, 
  sometimes 
  em- 
  

   broidered 
  with 
  ribbon 
  work 
  on 
  the 
  

   front, 
  and 
  a 
  short 
  sack. 
  

  

  THE 
  WAI 
  N 
  ' 
  OR 
  ROBE 
  

  

  The 
  one 
  article 
  of 
  clothing 
  that 
  has 
  

   played 
  an 
  important 
  part 
  in 
  the 
  dress 
  

   of 
  the 
  people 
  is 
  the 
  wai 
  n 
  ', 
  or 
  robe. 
  

   The 
  same 
  word 
  is 
  now 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  

   blanket. 
  The 
  robe 
  is 
  probably 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  oldest 
  types 
  of 
  garment. 
  The 
  

   manner 
  of 
  fashioning 
  and 
  of 
  wearing 
  

   the 
  robe 
  has 
  acquired 
  during 
  the 
  cen- 
  

   turies 
  a 
  ceremonial 
  and 
  a 
  personal 
  

   significance 
  that 
  does 
  not 
  belong 
  to 
  

   any 
  other 
  garment, 
  although 
  this 
  is 
  

   shared 
  in 
  a 
  degree 
  by 
  the 
  moccasin. 
  

   (PI. 
  51, 
  a, 
  Peabody 
  Museum 
  no. 
  

   51842; 
  pi. 
  51, 
  b, 
  Peabody 
  Museum 
  

   no. 
  27579.) 
  These 
  two, 
  the 
  robe 
  

   and 
  the 
  moccasin, 
  may 
  be 
  considered 
  

   primal 
  articles 
  of 
  clothing 
  and 
  they 
  

   deserve 
  special 
  consideration 
  as 
  re- 
  

   vealing 
  the 
  native 
  ideas 
  and 
  their 
  ex- 
  

   pression. 
  Looking 
  at 
  the 
  significance 
  

   of 
  the 
  garment 
  in 
  the 
  light 
  of 
  religious 
  

   observances, 
  social 
  usages, 
  and 
  indi- 
  

   vidual 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha, 
  this 
  significance 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  per- 
  

   sonal 
  and 
  a 
  social 
  aspect. 
  

  

  Personal 
  Significance 
  

  

  («) 
  As 
  distinguishing 
  a 
  man 
  from 
  the 
  horde. 
  In 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Legend 
  

   already 
  referred 
  to, 
  which 
  recounted 
  the 
  epochal 
  events 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  

   of 
  the 
  people, 
  it 
  is 
  said: 
  "As 
  the 
  people 
  came 
  forth 
  from 
  the 
  water 
  

   they 
  were 
  naked 
  and 
  shame 
  they 
  knew 
  not. 
  But 
  as 
  the 
  days 
  passed 
  

   they 
  desired 
  covering 
  and 
  took 
  the 
  fiber 
  of 
  weeds 
  and 
  grass 
  and 
  

   wove 
  it 
  about 
  their 
  loins." 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  interpretation 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  I 
  31. 
  \\ 
  : 
  mans 
  costume. 
  

  

  