INKE-SABE SUBGENTES AND TABOOS. 



231 



In 1878 La Fleche also gave the divisions and taboos of the Inke-sab6 

 as follows: "1. Ninibat'a 11 ; 2. Wata n zi-jide ^atajl; 3. j,e-h6 sab8 

 it'aji; 4. jLe-^ze^ataji;" but he did not state whether these were distinct 

 subgentes. The j^e-he-sabiS it'aji, Those who touch not black horns 

 (of buffaloes), appear to be the same as the xe-^eze fatajl, i. e., the 

 Wafigije. The following is their camping order : In the tribal circle, 

 the Wa^igije camp next to the Hanga gens, of which the Wacabe people 

 are the neighbors of the Waf igije, having almost the same taboo. The 

 other Inke-sabg people camp next to the Weji n cte gens. But in the 

 gentile "council-fire" a different order is observed; the first becomes 

 last, the Waf igije having their seats 

 on the left of the fire and the doon 

 and the others on the right. 



The Wa^igije cannot eat buffalo 

 tongues, and they are not allowed 

 to touch a buffalo head. (See §§ 

 37, 49, and 59.) The name of their 

 subgens is that of the hooped rope, 

 with which the game of " ja^i n - 

 jahe"is played. Gahige told the 

 following, which is doubted by La 

 Fleche and Two Crows : "One day, 

 when the principal man of the 

 Wa^igije was fasting and praying 

 to the sun-god, he saw the ghost of 

 a buffalo, visible from the flank up, 

 arising out of a spring. Since then the members of his subgens have 

 abstained from buffalo tongues and heads." 



Gahige's subgens, the Wata n zi jide f atajl, do not eat red corn. They 

 were the first to find the red corn, but they were afraid of it, and would 

 not eat it. Should they eat it now, they would have running sores all 

 around their mouths. Another tradition is that the first man of this 

 subgens emerged from the water with an ear of red corn in his hand. 



The leki^e are, or were, the Criers, who went around the tribal circle 

 proclaiming the decisions of the chiefs, etc. 



Prior to 1878, Wacuce, Gahige's brother, was the keeper of the two 

 sacred pipes. At his death, in that year, his young son succeeded him 

 as keeper ; but, as he was very young, he went to the house of his 

 father's brother, Gahige, who subsequently kept the pipes himself. 



§ 32. Gahige said that his subgens had a series of Eagle birth-names, 

 as well as the Buffalo birth-names common to the whole gens. This 

 was owing to the possession of the sacred pipes. While these names 

 may have denoted the order of birth some time ago, they arc now be- 

 stowed without regard to that, according to La Fleche and Two Crows. 



Buffalo birth-names. — The first son was called "He who stirs up or 

 muddies the water by jumping in it," referring to a buffalo that lies 



Fig. 16. — The Inke-sabc Gentile Assembly. A. — 

 The Wa^igije, or Waqiibe g£xo aka, under Duba- 

 ma^i". B. — The Wata°zi-jide (-atajl ; the Ieki(J«, 

 and the Naq^e-it'abajl. These were under Gahige. 



