LAFLEacHE) CHILD-NAMING RITE 31 



CHILD-NAMING RITUALS 



To a self-respecting Osage husband and wife, tlie ceremonial naming 

 of their first three sons and their first three daughters is of the utmost 

 importance. The couple regard the performing of the ceremony as 

 a sacred duty to their children which must never be neglected. 



Each of these sons and daughters must be named according to the 

 rites prescribed by the ancient No^'-ho^-zhi^-ga. Until the cere- 

 monial naming the child has no place in the gentile organization, 

 and it is not even regarded as a person. 



Every one of these three sons and three daughters has a special 

 kinship t«rm which can be used only by the father, the mother, and 

 the nearest relatives. These special kinship terms, as observed in 

 their sequence, are as follows: 



Sons Daughters 



I''-gtho°'. Mi'-no". 



Ksho°'-ga. Wi'-he. 



Ka'-zhio-ga. Ci'-ge or A-5i°'-ga. 



All the sons born after the third one are Ka'-zhi°-ga, and all the 

 daughters born after the third one, Qi-ge or A-gi^'-ga. 



To each of the first six children belongs a distinctive gentile per- 

 sonal name, spoken of as: i°-gtho'" zha-zhe (I°-gtho°' name), 

 mi'-no ° zha-zhe (Mi'-no ° name), etc. These names must always be 

 ceremonially conferred upon the newly born child. All the other 

 sons and daughters are named without any formality because the 

 ceremony performed for the Ka'-zhi°-ga and the Ci'"ge serves for 

 the other children that may follow. These destinctive gentile 

 names may be designated as gentile birth names. 



BIRTH NAMES OF THE PUIVIA GENS 



The gentile birth names of the Puma gens, as given by Wa-xthi'-zhi, 

 are as follows: 



The First Three Sons 



1. Mi'-wa-ga-xe, Child-of-the-sun. This name is commemora- 

 tive of the talk that took place between the "Little Ones" and the 

 Sun when they went to him to ask for aid as they were about to come 

 to the earth, their future home. In asking for aid, the "Little Ones" 

 addressed the Sun as grandfather, and the Sun, in reply, said to 

 them: "It is true that you are my children." Hence the name, 

 Mi'-wa-ga-xe, Child-of-the-sun. The name is mentioned in the 

 Naming Ritual of the Puma gens. (See p. 41, lines 24 to 27.) 



2. I'-e-gka-wa-the, Giver-of-speech. The Sun also gave to the 

 "Little Ones" the power of expressing their thoughts by speech, 

 and the skill in arranging their words so that they can be clearly 

 understood. When a person speaks intelligently he is spoken of 



