238 THE WIXXEBAGO TRIBE [eth. ANN. 37 



The Wolf Clan 

 introdiction 



Three versions of the origin myth of this chin vrere obtained. The 

 second is the most interesting, for it gives the popuhir account of 

 descent from the clan animal-ancestor, although it claims that he, 

 in turn, was created bv Earthmaker. One other important char- 

 acteristic is the statement that the original clan ancestor married a 

 hiunan being and that from them the present members of the clan 

 trace their descent. A similar type of descent is mentioned in a 

 number of myths that can best be interpreted as village origin myths. 

 The ownership of war bundles has also at times been linked up with 

 descent from some spirit. 



Very little is known at the present time about the functions of the 

 Wolf clan. It is quite clear, however, that the clan once possessed 

 powers of considerable importance. From the fact that the Wolf 

 people are still occasional!}' called "minor soldiers" and that they 

 are so closely linked with the Bear clansmen it is likely that their 

 functions were similar in nature to those of the Bear people. They 

 probably assisted the latter. 



Water was sacred to the Wolf clan as it also was to the Water- 

 spirit clan. A person was not allowed to tell a Wolf clansman that 

 he looked like a wolf nor allowed to sit on a log in a Wolf clan lodge. 

 If a man kills a Wolf clansman accidentally and then sits on the log 

 in a Wolf lodge, he has to be freed. 



According to one informant, the Wolf clan at one time possessed 

 four sticks, which they would use and with which they kept time while 

 the drum was beaten. 



According to one informant, the Wolf clansmen were the only 

 people who were allowed to intermarry. 



The Wolf clansmen give a feast when a Bear child is born, to show 

 respect for their friend. They give the child a name of their own clan. 



The Wolf feast is held in the spring of the year, when the ice melts 

 from the creeks and everything begins to grow. At the feast the 

 clan origin myth is told and the members of the other clans are 

 allowed to hear it. The food used is boiled rice. 



ORIGIN MYTHS 



FIRST VERSION (tOLD BY A MEMBER OF THE CLAS) 



In the beginning the Wolf clan people came from the water. 

 Therefore their bodies are of water — i. e., their sacred possession is 

 water. There were four male wolves and four female wolves, and 

 as they came up from the sea and swam toward the shore, one after 

 the other, they caused waves to go before them. Therefore one of 



