Bowersl HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 71 



with a Hidatsa clan group. Such has also been the case with persons 

 of other tribes settling at the villages. 



The role of the Hidatsa clan, with a few exceptions, is essentially the 

 same as that of the Mandan. It is composed of a named group of 

 relatives tracing their origin back to separate households of Charred 

 Body's village and to names subsequently given to the group during 

 their residence on the Missouri River. The clan is an outstanding 

 feature of Hidatsa social organization but it has its economic and 

 ritualistic aspects as well. It extended kinship relationships to the 

 limit of the village and the tribe, not to discount a more recent ex- 

 tension by means of "clan equating" to include the Mandan as well. 

 Based on a "sibling" relationship between clan members, one classified 

 as "brothers" and "sisters" those of one's clan. By the same prin- 

 ciple, the persons of the father's clan were "fathers" or "father's 

 sisters." These were the most important kinship extensions, since 

 they comprised an individual's important relatives. 



CLAN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 



The clan was responsible for the care of its own members. These 

 obligations were expressed in many ways. Old people and orphans 

 were cared for and often taken into the households of clan members. 

 When the wife died, the man generally left the household to live in 

 one where the females were of his clan. One would go preferably to 

 the sister's or sister's daughter's household; otherwise he would take 

 up residence with any member of his clan with whom he was well 

 acquainted. From the number of instances of change in residence of 

 old men whose wives had died and the attitude of those providing 

 care for them, I feel that they were welcomed through a sense of obliga- 

 tion. These old men were respected and welcomed members of the 

 household and played an important role in informing the younger 

 people of tribal lore and traditions. Since those attaining prominence 

 in the tribe were required to display considerable knowledge of tribal 

 traditions and mythology, particularly those defining proper conduct, 

 these old men sold their stories and received goods, horses, and honors, 

 in proportion to their knowledge in these matters. 



It was the duty of the clan to assume responsibility for the care of 

 orphans. The Hidatsa interpret an orphan to be one whose father 

 and his brothers, mother and her sisters, married sisters, and able- 

 bodied maternal grandmothers were dead. Then the clan took over 

 and provided a home. The number of such cases was quite large 

 after 1800 owing to epidemics and enemy attacks on small hunting 

 parties of both sexes. It is interesting to observe that some of the 

 most distinguished Hidatsa of the 19th century were left orphans in 

 1837 by the inroads of smallpox. Occasionally a childless couple 



