186 THE WINNEBAGO TEIBE [eth. ann. 37 



that, as mentioned before, were a new clan introduced now among 

 the Winnebago its position would depend exclusively upon the nature 

 of the animal associated with it. As similar reasons dictate clan 

 groupings among some of the Central Algonquian tribes, a few words 

 concerning tliis type of association will not be amiss. The groupings 

 of the f aima into a distinct number of categories is extremely common 

 in North America. Among the Winnebago, a number of other 

 Siouan, and Central Algonquian tribes, there was a fivefold classifica- 

 tion; earth animals, sky animals, empyrean animals, aquatic animals, 

 and subaquatic animals. Among the Winnebago the thunderbird 

 belongs to the empyrean; the eagle, hawk, and pigeon, to the sky; 

 the bear and wolf, to the earth; the fish, to the water; and the water- 

 spirit, below the water. This religio-mythological conception has 

 unquestionably received a certain amount of sympathetic elabora- 

 tion at the hands of shamans, and particularly at the hands of the 

 leaders of such ceremonies as the Winter Feast, the Clan Feast, and 

 the Clan Wake, as well as at the hands of those who had in their 

 keeping the clan origin myths. 



The characteristics of the thunderbird, eagle, bear, and water- 

 spirit as clan animals, and as animals connected with a division of 

 fauna, are also related to the general conception of these animals 

 per se. The eagle and hawk are birds of prey; the thunderbird is 

 generally a deity granting long life, and associated with peace, 

 although his connection with war is also common. Similarly, the 

 bear is supposed to have a "soldier" nature, and the water-spirit is 

 intimately associated with rites pertaining to crossing streams, 

 calming the sea, and ownership of water property. This correlation 

 unquestionably indicates an influence of the religio-mythological con- 

 ception of the animal upon the social gi'oup with which it is associated. 

 How far this can go is abundantly attested by the names and behavior 

 of the waijgeregi and manegi divisions. 



On the other hand, we may legitimately ask what influence the 

 two divisions had in molding the attributes of these animals, or 

 upon the behavior of the groups with which their name was asso- 

 ciated. The functions of a warrior may have determined, as they 

 certainly have accentuated, the "warrior" characteristics of the 

 eagle and hawk, nor is there any easily intelligible reason why the 

 thunderbu-d should be associated with peace. From our knowledge 

 of the social organization of other Siouan tribes, the political func- 

 tions of the clan seem to be the characteristic feature of the organiza- 

 tion, and this being the case, the possibility of associations of war- 

 like and peaceful attributes with animals may as much be ascribed 

 to the influence of the social unit as vice versa. With regard to 

 such functions as the exogamy of the two divisions or that of the 

 clans, or of the reciprocal burial relationship of the waijgeregi and 



