474 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



owners, Blackens-his-Moccasin ^' who kept the Waterbuster clan 

 bundle and Stirrup who kept the Knife clan bundle. The bundle 

 never attained the same importance as the Waterbuster clan bundle 

 after the death of Stirrup as several holders died or were killed in 

 warfare until it reached Medicine Bird shortly before 1870. 



SUMMARY 



Five distinct clan bundle rites were reported for the Hidatsa: 

 (1) A Waterbuster clan bundle which was owned by this group and 

 kept by one of their most distinguished male members at Awatixa 

 village; (2) a Knife clan bundle which was similarly owned and 

 transmitted through the male clan membership of Awatixa village; 

 (3) a Shell Robe bundle which was shared by the Awatixa and 

 Mandans of the Prairie Chicken clan and kept by the Mandan 

 (Bowers, 1950) ; (4) certain Thunder rites relating to Packs Antelope 

 which were shared by the members of the Low Cap clan, one of their 

 number retaining the bundle; (5) the Creek and Earth Lodge Making 

 rites traditionally belonging to the Xura clan of Awatixa. 



The clustering of clan bundles at Awatixa raises numerous problems 

 concerning the bundle inheritance patterns for the three Hidatsa 

 village groups. The clan was not an important property-owning 

 group for the Hidatsa and Awaxawi, except for the eagle-trapping 

 lodges which also were clan-inherited with the Mandan, which raises 

 the question of the significance of clan bundles. In view of the 

 greater emphasis on clan inheritance by the Mandan, it is suggested 

 that the Awatixa borrowed this pattern from them. This behef is 

 strengthened by the traditional relations which the Awatixa and 

 Mandan have had over a very long time. In view of the fact that 

 this Hidatsa vUlage group has traditions of long residence on the 

 Missouri near the Mandan, predating the arrival of the Hidatsa- 

 River Crow and Awaxawi, it would appear that clan-inheritance of 

 sacred bundles represents an older cultural stratum. This behef is 

 further strengthened by the archeological record on the Upper 

 Missouri where the late prehistoric-early historic site of this village 

 group shows a very long period of occupation not equaled by any of 

 the other Hidatsa groups for which we have traditional or archeo- 

 logical information. 



Not only is there evidence of long and intimate contacts between 

 the Awatixa and Mandan village groups but, as in the case of the 

 Shell Robe bundle, ownership included all members of the Prairie 

 Chicken clan of Awatixa and the Mandan villages but did not include 



MFor additional information on Blackens-hls-Moccasin, see: Lewis, 1893, p. 184, and Catlln, 1841, vol. li 

 p. 186. 



