BADIN] GENERAX, SOCIAL CUSTOMS 127 



Names. — A newborn child received a birth name immediately. 

 There were six such names for male children and six for female 

 children, which were given according to the order of birth: 

 Male Female 



1. K'u'nu. 



2. He'nu. 



3. Ha'ga. 



4. Na'r)xi. 



5. Nagxixo'nu. 



6. Naijxixonu'nink'a. 



1. Hi'nu. 



2. WiTia. 



3. Aksi'-a (generally pronounced Aksi). 



4. Hi'nugk'. 



5. A'ksigaxo'nu. 



6. A'ksigaxonu^nigk'a. 



The meanings of these names are unknown to the present Winnebago, 

 who reject the idea that they ever had any meaning apart from 

 indicating the order of birth. Origuially, of course, these names 

 had meanings, but at the present time they resemble no other Winne- 

 bago names and baffle all attempts at interpretation. This is not 

 surprising, because they represent in all probability archaic names 

 which undoubtedly have been considerably modified tlirough long- 

 continued use. The Dakota have a similar set of names but only 

 four in number. The two additional names among the Winnebago 

 indicate by their form that they have been disrived from one of the 

 other four. In this connection it is interesting to note that the 

 fifth of the male names is, as one might expect, merely the fourth 

 name of the series with the addition of a diminutive suffix, whereas 

 the fifth of the female names is the third of that series with a like 

 addition. The sixth name of each series is formed by adding another 

 diminutive suffix to the fifth name. 



A few words may not be out of place here with regard to the 

 relation of the male to the female series, and to the possible interpre- 

 tation of two of the female names. He'nu ' of the male and Hi'nu of 

 the female series, it will be noted, differ only in the first vowel. A 

 similar phenomenon is found in such relationship terms as hi'niyJc, 

 male child of elder brother, and hi''0,nuyl-' , female child of elder brother. 

 Remembermg that in those Siouan languages which distinguish 

 between female and male oral stops the difference often consists 

 merely in the change of a vowel, this difference between He'nu and 

 Hi'nu may be suggestive. The name K'u'nu may be connected with 

 k'u'niijJc, "a grandmother," in which l-'u is unquestionably the stem, 

 meaning probably "old." In the female series there is a possible re- 

 lationship between Hi'nu and Hi'nuqk', as Jc' seems to be a verv com- 

 mon ending in relationship terms. Hi'nugk' itself is identical with 

 the word for "woman" and it seems hard to imagine that it is not 

 the same, especially since it is also found as the relationship term for 

 female child of younger brother. 



> Hi'na is also the name for a man's elder sister. 



