Bowers] HIDATSA SOClAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 431 



tions of the various bundle lines, all were created by a very wise old 

 woman — Village-Old- Worn an — who created the females of the species 

 in very early times. According to present-day tradition, she created 

 the female wolf woman who, in turn, assisted Strong Jaw and his 

 daughter when the latter performed the rites after returning safely to 

 the village. On the basis of these supernatural experiences, Hidatsa 

 women established these sacred bundles. 



Traditionally, there was one Wolf Bundle for each of the seven 

 clans prior to the epidemic of 1837. Of these, only two bundles sur- 

 vived; one held by Yellow Head of the Maxoxati clan of Hidatsa vil- 

 lage, and the other held by Yellow Husk of the Prairie Chicken clan 

 of Awatixa village. This distribution provided one bundle for each 

 moiety. 



It is diflBcult to reconcile the traditional late estabhshment of these 

 bundle rites with the widespread references to the role of Wolf Woman 

 in the other ceremonies. The site on the Little Missouri referred to 

 in the myth is obviously of recent occupation. The Hidatsa date the 

 site as after the introduction of horses and near the end of the period 

 of contacts with the Shoshonean peoples to the west. Warfare with 

 this group was being actively pursued in 1804 (Lewis, 1893). It 

 seems unlikely that these bundle rites should have been first instituted 

 about 1800, spread within the Hidatsa and Awatixa villages to each 

 clan in a matter of a few years, and died out to two bundle lines, aU 

 within a matter of less than 40 years. If the Hidatsa had preserved 

 the belief that each clan should have a bundle and ceremonial rights, 

 enough females should have survived to preserve the bundle lines. 

 Bundles were regularly inherited from persons long dead. A more 

 logical interpretation of the data would be that the moiety bundles 

 met the new ceremonial requirements for participation in the Sunset 

 Wolf rites and that the incidents of a historic event — the destruction 

 of Strong Jaw's village — took precedence over the earlier Wolf sacred 

 myths and beliefs referred to in the other bundle complexes. 



The rites were of major bundle status since each contained a buffalo 

 skull — the badge of major status — and the presence of sweetgrass 

 and the robe in the bundle related the bundle and the rites to those 

 of the Holy Women. One having repeated dreams about the wolves 

 customarily went to a "wolf woman" of the same clan (or moiety) 

 to request permission to give a feast to her bundle. Essentially the 

 same sequence was followed as when making offerings to other bundles 

 concerned with calling the buffaloes or bringing rain. A date was set 

 for the feast, people with related bundles attended, each giver was 

 "blessed" and promised success in his various undertakings, and each 

 received some object for his sacred bundle. 



