136 BULLETIN OF THE 



tongues. The members of the Real Hanga sub-gens keep the sacred 

 lodge made of the skin of a white buffalo. This lodge regulates 

 the buffalo hunt. These people can eat the sacred buffalo meat, 

 forbidden to the first sub-gens ; but they are not allowed to eat the 

 tongues. 



The members of the Bear sub-gens assist the Elk people in the 

 worship of the Thunder-God. 



The Raccoon section of this sub-gens is called Khu'ka, because 

 its members are the singers for those who dance. 



The Eagle people keep the sacred buffalo skull, and fill the seven 

 sacred pipes for the chiefs. 



The Pipe sub-gens of the Black-shoulder gens, being Eagle people, 

 are entitled to use Eagle birth-names, as well as the Buffalo birth- 

 names of the gens. So the Pipe sub-gens of the Deer-head people 

 have Eagle birth-names, as well as the Deer birth-names of the gens 



The Bird people have a curious custom. When the birds eat the 

 corn before harvest, the men of this sub-gens, go into the field and 

 roast several ears of corn, and chew the grains, which they spit 

 out all around them. They imagine that such a procedure deters 

 the birds from making further inroads upon the crop. 



When there is a fog, the Turtle people draw the figure of a turtle 

 on the ground. They place at its head, tail, and at each of its feet, 

 pieces of tobacco, which they cover with small pieces of a red 

 breech-cloth. This, they say, causes the fog to disappear very 

 quickly. 



The following are sections and sub-sections of sub-gentes. 



Those of the Bear are : 1. Black bear ; 2. Raccoon or the singers ; 

 3. Grizzly bear ; and 4. Porcupine. 



The Bird sub-gens is divided into, 1. Hawk; 2. Blackbird; 3. 

 Thunder ; 4. Owl and Magpie. 



The Blackbird sub-sections are: 1. Red-wings ; 2. Yellow-heads ; 

 3. Red-heads ; and 4. White-heads. 



The Thunder sub-sections are : 1. Gray blackbird ; 2. Meadow- 

 lark ; 3. Prairie-chicken ; and 4. Swallow. 



The Owl sub-sections are ; 1. Great Owl ; 2. Small Owl ; 3. Mag- 

 pie; and one whose name has not been given mf.. 



It has been suggested that the ten secondary divisions of the 

 Omahas are tribes, and that what I have termed sub-gentes are the 

 real gentes. But this is inconsistent with the Indian terminology. 



