dobset.] XE-SINDE AND XA-dA GENTES. 245 



THE XA-dA OR DEER-HEAD GENS. 



§ 63. The place of this geus in the tribal circle is after that of the 

 Xe-siude. The chief of the gens is Sinde-xa n xa u . 



Taboo. — The members of this gens cannot touch the skin of any ani- 

 mal of the deer family; they cannot use moccasins of deer-skin ; nor 

 can they use the fat of the deer for hair-oil, as the other Omahas can 

 do ; but they can eat the flesh of the deer. 



Subgentes.— La Fleche and Two Crows recognized three divisions of 

 the geus for marriage purposes, and said that the Keepers of the Sacred 

 Pipe were " uj[a n ha jinga," a little apart from the rest. Wani4a-waqe, 

 who is himself the keeper of the Sacred Pipe of this gens, gave four 

 subgentes. These sat in the gentile circle in the following order : On 

 the first or left side of the " fire-place" were the Niniba t'a a , Keepers of 

 the Pipe, and Jinga-gahige's subgens. On the other side were the 

 Thunder people and the real Deer people. The Keepers of the Pipe and 

 Jinga-gahige's subgens seem to form one of the three divisions recog- 

 nized by La Fleche. Wanija-waqg said that his own subgens were 

 Eagle people, and that they had a special taboo, being forbidden to 

 touch verdigris (see ;aa n ze gens), charcoal, and the skin of the wildcat. 

 He said that the members of the second subgens could not touch char- 

 coal, in addition to the general taboo of the gens. But La Fleche and 

 Two Crows said that none of the xa-da could touch charcoal. 



The head of the ISTiniba t'a n took the name Wani^a-waqg, The Animal 

 that excels others, or Lion, after a visit to the East ; but his real Omaha 

 name is Disobedient, < ja^i n -gahige is the head of the Thunder sub- 

 gens, and Sinde-xa n xa n , of the Deer subgens. 



§ 64. Birth-names for boys. — Lion said that the following were some 

 of the Eagle birth-names of his subgens (see Inke-sabg birth-names, 

 §32): The thunder-god makes the sound u }ide" as he walks. Eagle 

 who is a chief (keeping a Sacred Pipe). Eagle that excels. White 

 Eagle (Golden Eagle). Akida gahige, Chief who Watches over some- 

 thing (being the keeper of a Sacred Pipe). 



He gave the following as the Deer birth-names: He who Wags his 

 Tail. The Black Hair on the Abdomeu of a Buck. Horns like pha- 

 langes. Deer Paws the Ground, making parallel or diverging indenta- 

 tions. Deer in the distance Shows its Tail White Suddenly. Little 

 Hoof of a deer. Dark Chin of a deer. 



§ 65. Ceremony on the fifth day after a birth.— According to Lion, there 

 is a peculiar ceremony observed in his gens when an infant is named. 

 All the members of the gens assemble on the fifth clay after the birth 

 of a child. Those belonging to the subgens of the infant cannot eat 

 anything cooked for the feast, but the men of the other subgentes are 

 at liberty to partake of the food. The infant is placed within the gen- 

 tile circle and the privileged decoration is made on the face of the child 



