72 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



received permission of the clan to adopt one of a different clan. These 

 children invariably joined the clan of the female caring for them. 



The clan was responsible for the behavior of its members. It was 

 the duty of older persons of the clan to instruct and supervise the 

 children as they grew up. At first this responsibility was assumed by 

 the "older brothers" of the household: one's own older brothers; the 

 mother's brothers and the mother's sisters' older sons; the maternal 

 grandmother's brothers; or any other males residing in the lodge and 

 classified as "older brother." Also included were the females of the 

 lineage residing in the same lodge. As a child grew up and moved 

 more freely about the village, it was the right as well as the duty of 

 an older person of the clan to step in and correct any child who violated 

 village rules and customs, and to lend assistance on various occasions. 

 Discipline usually took the form of a mild reminder of misdeeds. In 

 more extreme offenses — ^hitting smaller children or girls, playing in 

 lodges containing certain sacred bundles, destroying property, at- 

 tempting rape, or stealing — ^any older clan member conveniently at 

 hand could step in and inflict punishment by beating or ducking the 

 offender in the river. 



It was the duty of the clan not only to discipline its own members 

 but also to protect them from the attacks of others. When a mature 

 person violated tribal custom and caused people to talk of his mis- 

 deeds, the whole clan was shamed. People would say that the clan 

 had been negligent in its duties or he would have behaved properly. 

 Often some woman would neglect her gardens and steal from others' 

 gardens. People in the village would talk of strange tracks seen in 

 then' gardens and of stalks from which corn had been stripped. 

 Watching late at night, someone v/ould see a woman or sometimes 

 several women leave a certain lodge and go toward the gardens. 

 Knowing that the women of that household had been neglecting 

 their garden or had failed to plant a crop that year, the observer 

 would conclude that these women were out stealing. A thief's clan 

 would usually attempt to break up the stealing without the assistance 

 of the injured parties, lest the Black Mouths be called upon to investi- 

 gate the affair. Each sex tended to discipline clan members of its 

 own sex. Women of the clan would lie in wait to catch her. Seizing 

 her they would throw her down and beat her with sticks, straps, and 

 even hoe handles until she confessed her errors and promised never 

 to steal even so much as the smallest and most worthless thing again. 

 If she fought back, the punishment was likely to be extremely severe. 

 When she promised to forego stealing in the future, she was taken to 

 the lodges of her clan members and given food, clothing, and sometimes 

 even horses. Once the stealing was stopped, it was considered im- 

 proper for people of other clans to discuss the matter lest the same 



