Bowers] HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 141 



matter was discussed with the prospective husband. Once the 

 proposition was agreed to by the females of the two households, the 

 man's older brothers were instructed to go to him and break the 

 news that his people wanted him to marry the girl. The older brothers 

 were selected since one was expected to obey them and because they 

 would be assisting in supplying the horses and goods for the wedding. 

 When the initiative was with the girl's people, they would indicate 

 the number of horses that they would put up. They selected the 

 day for the wedding, took the horses and food to the husband's lodge 

 and returned for the presents given by the husband's relatives. A 

 few days after the ceremony, the wife's brothers took a horse, gun, 

 or other things used by a man in hunting and invited him to move 

 over to their mother's lodge. 



Frequently a man was poor and had few relatives to assist him in 

 completing the marriage ceremony, particularly when he belonged to 

 a small clan. Several informants referred to the marriage of Two 

 Shields whose close relatives had all died years before. He had lived 

 from lodge to lodge while a young boy. When he was old enough to 

 go out hunting, he would volunteer to go along at every opportunity. 

 There was a household that had four daughters. They had been 

 brought up well by their people and never ran around with the boys; 

 instead, they had the reputation of being good workers and kind to 

 the old people. Their parents talked of marrying two of them to 

 Two Shields. Informants were not sure why Two Shields could not 

 have the other two daughters as well but they thought that the 

 household wanted at least two sons-in-law to help them. When the 

 matter was discussed with Two Shields, it was agreed that he must 

 not ask for the other sisters or have an affair with them. 



Concerning this marriage Crows Heart said: 



Two Shields was not good looking; sometimes he acted queer and did not seem 

 too bright; he didn't take much interest in rituals and sometimes he did not even 

 seem to respect those things; sometimes he would steal and once his clansmen 

 beat him for taking things. But he was a good hunter and liked to go out hunting. 

 It seemed that even though he was not too bright, he did understand the habits 

 of the wild animals. 



When the people heard that Tucks In wanted to marry his daughters to Two 

 Shields they said, "We think you are foolish to give your daughters to that man," 

 and Tucks In replied, "You people do not know it but I want to eat meat; that 

 is why I want to give my daughters to that man. I know he dees foolish thmgs 

 and does not care about the holy things but he is nevertheless a good hunter." 



So Tucks In and his wife gave two of their best bufifalo horses to Two Shields 

 and he married the two girls and came to Tucks In's lodge to live. Since Two 

 Shields was an orphan and had no regular lodge he did not put up anything. 

 Tucks In had two sons and they would go out hunting and bring in all the meat 

 that the household could use. The family treated him well for he was a great 

 help in getting meat and they did not want to lose him. It was a%ood place to 



