32 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



than the close grouping of lodges according to nearness of kin. The 

 village was, however, divided into four "wards," each under the super- 

 natural protection of a prominent man selected for his part in the 

 ceremonies conducted for the gods of the direction which he repre- 

 sented. These four men, known as "protectors of the people," were 

 esteemed ceremonial leaders and occupied a status position equal with 

 that of the two village chiefs and other select members of the village 

 council distinguished either for their knowledge of sacred lore or for 

 distinction in warfare. Although the dual chieftainship of the Man- 

 dan and the other Hidatsa groups prevailed, the distinction between 

 war and village chiefs was less evident due to the greater prestige of 

 the Waterbuster and Knife clan bundles. The entire population was 

 organized by the age-grading of both men and women. The Black 

 Mouths served as police and enforced the regulations of the council 

 composed of older men. 



The Hidatsa-proper and Awaxawi village organizations differed from 

 that of the Awatixa in many ways. Both groups traditionally arrived 

 rather recently on the Missouri. Since that time the Awaxawi were 

 in intimate and continuous contacts with the Mandan, particularly 

 those at Painted Woods. According to traditions, the Awaxawi came 

 to the Missouri as a small agricultural group and settled in the Painted 

 Woods region. They represent the most diverse dialectic group and 

 were believed by Lewis and Clark to be a distinct tribe (Lewis, 1893, 

 p. 196). During their short residence on the Missouri, they have been 

 on friendly terms Avith the Mandan with whom they cooperated in the 

 performance of tribal rites and, before reaching the Missouri, with 

 village groups of agricultural Cheyennes near the headwaters of the 

 Red River. In spite of dialectic differences and their greater emphasis 

 on agriculture, they more closely resemble the Hidatsa-proper cul- 

 turally than either the Mandan or Awatixa. Hidatsa and Awaxawi 

 clans apparently did not own ceremonial bundles; ^ all inheritance was 

 from "father" to "son." Authority was vested in a council of head 

 men who had attained eminence by the performance of rites or suc- 

 cesses in warfare. The top leadership of the council was represented 

 by the owner of the Earthnaming bundle, who organized the rites 

 relating to the various buffalo-calling ceremonies which defined village 

 hunting territorial rights, and the principal war leader. Thus the 

 socioceremonial and the war-making activities of the village were 

 symbolically separate as represented by two head men. Tradition- 

 ally, the top leaders of the ceremonial activities are said to have held 

 precedence over the war leaders. In recent years, due to the increased 

 war activities of the tribe in its struggle for survival, the war leader 



• One exception— the notched sticks for the Tylng-the-Pots ceremony. 



