CHAPTER IV. 

 THE KINSHIP SYSTEM AND MARRIAGE LAWS. 



CLASSES OF KINSHIP. 



§ 73. Joseph La Fleche and Two Crows recognize four classes of kin- 

 ship: 



1. Consanguineous or blood kinship, which includes not only the gens 

 of the father, but also those of the mother and grandmothers. 



2. Marriage kinship, including all the affinities of the consort, as well 

 as those of the son's wife or daughter's husband. 



3. Weawa" kinship, connected with the Calumet dance. (See § 126.) 



4. Inter-gentile kinship, existing between contiguous gentes. This 

 last is not regarded as a bar to intermarriage, e. g., the Weji n cte and 

 lnke sab6 gentes are related ; and the Weji n cte man whose tent is at the 

 end of his gentile area in the tribal circle is considered as a very near 

 kinsman by the Iuke-sabe" man whose tent is next to his. In like manner, 

 the Iuke-sabe Wa^igijeman who camps next to the Hanga gens is a brother 

 of his nearest Hanga neighbor. The last man in the Haiiga area is the 

 brother of the first (fatada (Wasabe-hit'aji), who acts as Qujja for the 

 Hanga. The last (patada ;$re-'i u man is brother of the first 5ja n ze man, 

 and so on around the circle. 



Two other classes of relationship were given to the writer by mem- 

 bers of three tribes, Omahas, Ponkas, and Missouris, but Joseph La 

 Fleche and Two Crows never heard of them. The writer gives author- 

 ities for each statement. 



5. Nikie kinship. " Nikie " means "Something handed down from 

 a mythical ancestor," or "An ancient custom." Nikie kinship refers to 

 kinship based on descent from the same or a similar mythical ancestor. 

 For example, Big Elk, of the Omaha Weji"cte or Elk gens, told the 

 writer thai lie was related to the Kansas Elk gens, and that a Weji n cte 

 man called a Kansas Elk man " My younger brother," the Kansas man 

 calling the Weji n cte " My elder brother." 



Ictaf.abi, an lnke sabe, and Ckatce-yin'e, of the Missouri tribe, said 

 that the Omaha Weji n cte calls the Oto Hotatci (Elk gens) "Elder 

 brother." But Big Elk did not know about this. He said, however, 

 that his gens was related to the Pouka Nijpidaona, a deer and elk gens. 



Icta^abi said that Omaha liike-sabg, his own gens, calls the Ponka 

 (|)ixida "Grandchild"; but others say that this is owing to intermar- 

 riage. Ictafabi also said that Ihke-sabg calls the Ponka Wajaje " El- 

 der brother" ; but some say that this is owing to intermarriage. Gahige, 

 252 



