128 THE WINNEBAGO TRIBE (eith. ann. 37 



On first thought it might be imagined that the application of the 

 same name to so many people would cause great confusion. As a 

 matter of fact, however, in a village of, say, 20 families, there could 

 have been a maximum of only 40 having the same name. Taking 

 into account deaths and departures, the number was greatly dimin- 

 ished. Moreover, as in general only relations or close friends were 

 addressed in this way, strangers commonly being addressed by their 

 nicknames, the seeming danger of confusion is almost entirely obvia- 

 ted. In those cases, however, in which confusion might result a 

 nickname, or sometimes a clan name, was added to the birth name 

 when speaking of an individual. 



Naming feast. — The clan name was generally bestowed on a child 

 at a special feast held for the purpose or at any feast that happened 

 to be given within a reasonable time after its birth. The bestowal of 

 the clan name was not infrequently delayed by a father's inability 

 to gather the requisite amount of food to be presented to the old 

 man who was to select the name. Occasionally it even happened 

 that a father under such conditions permitted the relatives of his 

 wife to bestow a name on a child, which of course was a name from 

 its mother's clan. The author has personal knowledge of a case in 

 which the &st cMld of a man had a name belonging to his mother's 

 clan while the other children had names belonging to their father's 

 clan. Wlien questioned, the man said that at the time of the birth 

 of his eldest child he was too poor to pay for the honor of having his 

 child receive a name and that he had allowed his wife's relatives to 

 give it a name. When his other children were bom, however, as 

 he was in better condition financiaUy he had been able to name them 

 in the usual way. Although a child, irrespective of his individual 

 name, always belonged to his father's clan, there seemed to exist a 

 feeling that a person having a name not taken from his own clan 

 was more or less incomplete. A person possessing no clan name was 

 regarded as having low social standing. 



When a child was adopted it retained its former birth name and 

 clan name. 



Relationship terms. — The system of relationship terms used by the 

 Winnebago is as follows : ^ 



Male Terms of Address 



Tcok'a', p. and m. grandfather (direct address). 

 Hi'tcok'^, p. and m. grandfather and father-in-law. 

 K'u'nlqk'a, p. and m. grandmother (direct address). 

 Hik'arok'e, p. and m. grandmother and mother-in-law. 

 Dja'dji, father (direct address). 



'Abbreviations: p., paternal; m., maternal; br., brother; sr., sister. 



