Bowers] HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 39 



out by archeological evidence in the three villages at the Knife, Fort 

 Clark Station, Bagnall, Gaines, Mile Post 128, Upper Sanger, and 

 other traditional sites, although the surface evidence at Upper 

 Hidatsa site 35 suggests a small area not occupied by lodges. The 

 still distinguishable large open circle described by Kurz (1937), 

 Boiler (1868), and Matthews (1877) at Fishhook Village, suggests the 

 village arrangement of a dozen or more Mandan sites found between 

 the mouth of the Knife and Cannonball Rivers, some of which were 

 occupied as early as the 15th century. The open-circle area had 

 never been considered a sacred phenomenon by the Hidatsa as it was 

 by the Mandan; even today there is no religious taboo against 

 describing it although the writer sometimes encountered this in his 

 work with the Mandan. Nevertheless, it was a convenient place to 

 assemble on social and ceremonial occasions. Although the Hidatsa 

 never performed tribal rites at the sacred cedar, as did the Mandan 

 on all ceremonial occasions, the Mandan ceremonial lodge situated 

 adjacent to the open circle to the north and facing the sacred cedar 

 became increasingly popular with the Hidatsa. Because of its great 

 size, the performance of ritualistic feasts formerly held in any large 

 earth lodge were often held in this lodge. 



The council continued to be the principal policy-making body. 

 Any chief could call a council meeting merely by preparing a feast 

 for its members. The village was occupied only during the summer 

 period while the gardens were being cared for; the population would 

 leave in late fall for the eagle-trapping camps and winter villages 

 when the danger of massed attacks against them lessened. At first 

 the population tended to retain its identity according to the four 

 original village groups from which it was derived. The council was 

 selected from the population at large without regard to original 

 village origin, the only qualifications being that one was in the age- 

 group above that of Black Mouths and had distinguished himself 

 in warfare or had participated in recognized ceremonial and social 

 activities. Until the Nuptadi Mandan joined the earlier population 

 at Fishhook, one large Black Mouth society functioned to preserve 

 order until the population went into winter camps. The society 

 then broke up into separate camp segments based on their original 

 village ties. 



Unless enemies were numerous, it was customary even as late as 

 the 1860's for the Hidatsa to go into three separate winter camps 

 and the Mandan into a fourth some distance away. In some in- 

 stances the camps were many miles apart, at other times only a few 

 hundred yards apart; nevertheless this breaking up into separate 

 camps, however close they were, was a device for expressing each 

 group's feeling of "separateness." There were intergroup gambling 



