86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



Cross-cousins are differentiated from parallel cousins; the children 

 of a "father's sister" being "father" and "father's sister," while the 

 children of "mother's brothers" are "sons" and "daughters." In the 

 children's generation, a female classifies her brother's and her sister's 

 sons and daughters with her own sons and daughters. A male classi- 

 fies his brother's son and daughter with his own while the sister's 

 children are "older sister," "younger sister," "older brother," and 

 "younger brother." In the grandchild generation, children of sons 

 and daughters are "grandchildren," sons of "older brother" and 

 "younger brother" are "sons" and "daughters" whUe children of 

 "older sister" and "younger sister," male speaking, are "older brother," 

 "younger brother," "older sister," and "younger sister." 



This conventional analysis does not throw much light on the 

 nature of the Hidatsa kinship system. Obviously, the system is 

 not organized on any principle of "generation" except for lineal rela- 

 tives. A clue to the basis of organization is indicated in the grouping 

 of descendants of the "father's sister" and "mother's brother," by 

 individuals of either sex of the "sister's" descendants by a male, and 

 by the rule of matrilineal descent. 



Charts 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 illustrate the Hidatsa kinship system by 



Chart 5. — Father's lineage; ego=male. 



