206 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



birds. Since even talking of the society was believed to bring cold 

 weather, women were reluctant even to think of the society or to 

 hum its songs during the growing season lest frosts come and destroy 

 their crops. Even as late as 1932, Calf Women and Scattercorn, 

 representing the Hidatsa and Mandan societies respectively, who 

 had entered the society as representatives of the buffalo calf left 

 with the tribe, were reluctant to relate the myth or discuss the society 

 with me during the month of August lest frosts destroy their gardens. 

 The actual sale of the society occurred in the late fall after the 

 village had gone into winter camp. The purchasing group first 

 made their intentions known to the older group; a sale price was 

 agreed upon; and a date for the commencement of the instructions 

 and meetings was set. In the meantime, each older woman selected 

 from among the buying group those whom she addressed as ''daughter" 

 and for whom she prepared the clothing and other society para- 

 phernalia. One could select as many as four "daughters," but ordin- 

 arily fewer were selected. The women built a sweat lodge frame 

 at their meeting place and the purchasing group provided five or 

 six robes for the covering. Each buyer gave a wooden bowl and 

 robes to the individual from whom instructions, paraphernalia, and 

 rights were obtained. The buying group selected one of their number 

 to take the white robe and to occupy the leading position during the 

 dances. She was one whose husband had an important role in other 

 buffalo-calling rites. The child representing the buffalo calf of the 

 origin myth was a girl 2 to 9 years of age. It was her duty to stand 

 in the center of the line when dancing, with the hair of her tiny robe 

 on the outside. A woman standing at the end of the line wore the 

 robe of a summer buffalo and was known as Summer Buffalo. A 

 woman standing next to the child wore her robe with the hairside 

 out and attended to the incense as waiter for the group. All the 

 other members wore robes with the skin side out. The special officers 

 were females who either possessed buffalo bundles in their own right 

 or were married to men with such rights. The child representative 

 likewise came of a household possessing buffalo-calling rights. For 

 the Mandan, Scattercorn was selected for this office because her father 

 was the Hoita in the Okipa and possessed one of the sacred turtle 

 drums used in that ceremony. When the last Hidatsa group pur- 

 chased the White Buffalo Cow society. Calf Woman was selected by 

 the older Hidatsa women because her father lived in the Mandan 

 ceremonial lodge with his Mandan wives and was custodian of the 

 buffalo masks worn by the Mandan during their Okipa performances. 

 In the purchase of this society, the Hidatsa adopted many features 

 of the Mandan ceremonial system. The male singers for the Mandan 

 were men who possessed ceremonial rights in the Okipa. The Hi- 



