140 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



The man would inform his household of the number of horses that the 

 girl's family wanted and his mother's sisters and brothers would meet 

 and decide which horses to give. The man's sister would take the 

 horses to the other lodge beforehand and leave them. Meanwhile, 

 food was being prepared for the wedding feast. When the horses 

 arrived, the girl's mother would invite her male relatives and their 

 families to come for the feast. The sister's older brothers and mother's 

 brothers present at the feast were given the horses brought from the 

 young man's household; they then gave an equal number of their 

 own horses to the girl's mother who, on the day of the wedding feast, 

 took them to her son-in-law's household, tied them up, and left. 



The groom's relatives, the household and those whom he classified 

 as "brothers" living in other lodges, came to the groom's lodge at the 

 appointed time. The women from the other household, including the 

 bride, came to the groom's lodge with all of the food needed for the 

 feast and the horses given by the wife's household. The bride re- 

 mained and all of her household left. A robe was placed on the floor 

 for the marrying couple to sit on. At this point the groom was ex- 

 pected to appear bashful so that his brothers could tease him. The 

 husband's relatives passed around food and then began presenting 

 the bride with goods which were to go to her mother's household. At 

 the same time the bride gave the horses to her husband's people. 

 When the exchange of goods was completed, word was sent by the 

 bride to the other household who sent female members over to take 

 the things away. This completed the ceremony. 



In this instance, the initiative being with the husband and his 

 relatives, residence was patrilocal. Few families were willing to 

 relinquish their females, however, and it was customary to prepare a 

 separate section of the lodge for the son-in-law and his family, after 

 which a horse and other property were taken to his household with a 

 request that he bring his wife back to her own household. If the wife's 

 sisters and their husband or husbands were already occupying the 

 lodge with their wives' older relatives, it was not uncommon to permit 

 a younger daughter to take up residence with the husband's people. 

 An ambitious man generally did not like to live in a lodge with his 

 wife's sisters and their husbands unless the two men belonged to the 

 same clan. 



Marriage was as frequently initiated by the woman's household. 

 People who had raised their daughters well would look for an am- 

 bitious young man who was a good hunter and warrior, showed 

 great interest in rituals, and was good-natured and kind, to become 

 their daughter's husband. When a marriage was planned by the 

 woman's household, the older women of the lodge would go to the 

 females of the other lodge and get their approval even before the 



