52 THE OSAGE TRIBE Ieth. ann. 86 



various forms of life belonging to it, together with the dry land and 

 its many kinds of animals, the tribe was further divided into gentcs 

 and subgentes. Each gens or subgens had its own mythical life- 

 story, its life-symbol or set of life-symbols, its sacerdotal functions, 

 and a definite part or parts to perform in the great tribal rites, all 

 of which are composite in character. As a rule a subgens is that 

 part of a gens segregated for the purpose of choosing therefrom a 

 priestly messenger called Sho'-ka — an office necessary for communi- 

 cating with the other gentes in a ceremonial and authoritative manner. 

 The names of the gentes of the two great divisions, in their sequen- 

 tial order, was obtained from several men, but none of the lists 

 agreed in every particular, due, possibly, to the fact that each gens 

 had its own way of telling of the rites. Some of the men said: "We 

 tell the same story, but each one tells it in a little different way," 

 meaning that each gens had its own version of the mythical story. 

 The list obtained by Miss Alice C. Fletcher in 1896 from Chief Sho°'- 

 to^-pa-be (pi. 2), better known as "Black-dog," of the Eagle gens, is 

 the nearest approach to a complete list and is here given. 



Gentes of the Ho'"-ga Great Division 



wa-zha'-zhe subdivision 



1. Wa-zha'-zhe pka; White Wa-zha'-zhe. Refers to its gentile life- 



symbol, the mussel with its shell. 



I^-gtho^'-ga Ni Mo^-tse; Puma-in-the-Water. Sho'-ka. 



2. Ke'-k'i°; Carrier-of-the-Turtle. 



Ba-k'a Zho-i-ga-the; Cotton-tree People. Sho'-ka. 



3. Mi-ke'-the-stse-dse; Cat-taU {TypJia latifoUa). 



Ka'-xe-wa-hu-pa; Youngest brother. Sho'-ka. (See foot- 

 note, p. 278.) 



4. Wa'-tse-tsi; Star-that-came-to-Earth. 



Xu-tha' Pa-90° Zho-i-ga-the; Bald Eagle People. Sho'-ka. 



5. O-pu'-ga-xe; They-who-make-Clear-the-Way. 



Mo^-sho'-dse-mo^-i" ; Travelers-in-the-Mist. Sho'-ka. 



6. Ta-tha'-xi°; Deer's Lungs, or Ta-fi^'-dse-pka; White-tailed-Deer. 



Wa-dsu'-ta-zhi°-ga; Small-Animals. Sho'-ka. 



7. Ho I-ni-ka-shi-ga; Fish-People. 



E-no"' Mi^-dse-to" ; Exclusive-Owners-of-the-Bow. Refers to 

 its office of making the ceremonial bow and arrows that 

 symboUze night and day. Sho'-ka. 



C Ho^'-gaU-ta-nC-dsi; The-Isolated-Ho°-ga. The Earth. 

 Mo^'-hi^-fi; Flint- Arrow-Point. Sho'-ka. 



1. Wa-pa'-be-to°; They-Who-Own-the-Black-Bear. 

 Wa'-pa-be-pka; The- White-Bear. Sho'-ka. 



