SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF WINNEBAGO INDIANS. 
11 
tral Algonkin tribes, a few words concerning this type of associa- 
tion will not be amiss. The groupings of the fauna into a distinct 
number of categories is extremely common in North America. 
Among the Winnebago, a number of other Siouan, and Central 
Algonkin tribes, there was a fivefold classification : earth animals, 
sky animals, empyrean animals, aquatic animals, subaquatic 
animals. Among the Winnebago, the thunderbird belongs to 
the empyrean; the eagle, hawk, and pigeon, to the sky; the bear 
and wolf, to the earth; the fish, to the water; and the water spirit, 
below the water. This religio- mythological conception has 
unquestionably received a certain amount of sympathetic 
elaboration at the hands of shamans, and particularly at the hands 
of the leaders of such ceremonies as the Winter Feast, the Clan 
Feast, and the Clan Wake, as well as at the hands of those who 
had in their keeping the clan origin myths. 
The characteristics of the thunderbird, eagle, bear, and water 
spirit as clan animals, and as animals connected with a division 
of fauna are related to the general conception of these animals 
per se. The eagle and hawk are birds of prey; the thunderbird 
is generally a deity granting long life, and associated with peace, 
although his connexion with war is by no means uncommon. 
Similarly, the bear is supposed to have a "soldier” nature, 
and the water spirit is intimately associated with rites pertaining 
to crossing streams, calming the sea, and ownership of water 
property. This correlation unquestionably indicates an influence 
of the religio-mythological conception of the animal upon the 
social group with which it is associated. How far this can go 
is abundantly attested by the names and behaviour of the wayger - 
egi and mqnegi divisions. 
On the other hand we may legitimately ask : what influence 
have the two divisions had upon moulding the attributes of these 
animals, or upon the behaviour of the groups with which their 
name is associated ? The functions of a warrior may have 
determined, as they certainly have accentuated, the "warrior” 
characteristics of the eagle and hawk, nor is there any easily 
intelligible reason why the thunderbird should be associated 
with peace. From our knowledge of the social organization of 
other Siouan tribes, the political functions of the clan seem to be 
