James Owen Dorsey

“ In 1882 La Flèche and Two Crows declared that there are many cases of barrenness. Children are not very numerous. While some women have seven, eight, nine, or even ten children, they are exceptional cases. And when a woman gives birth to so many, they do not always reach maturity. There are women who have never borne any children, and some men have never begotten any. One woman, who is of Blackfoot origin, is the wife of James Springer, an Omaha, and she has borne him twelve children; but no other woman has had as many. ”

“ Generosity cannot be exercised toward kindred, who have a natural right to our assistance. All who wish to become great men are advised by their kindred to be kind to the poor and aged, and to invite guests to feasts. When one sees a poor man or woman, he should make presents, such as goods or a horse, to the unfortunate being. Thus can he gain the good-will of Wakanda, as well as that of his own people. When the Omahas had plenty of corn, and the Ponkas or Pawnees had very little, the former used to share their abundance with the latter. ”

“ The first proposition to go on the war-path cannot come from the chiefs, who, by virtue of their office, are bound to use all their influence in favor of peace, except under circumstances of extraordinary provocation. It is generally a young man who decides to undertake an expedition against the enemy. Having formed his plan, he speaks thus to his friend: "My friend, as I wish to go on the war-path, let us go. Let us boil the food for a feast." The friend having consented, the two are the leaders or nudan ́hañga, if they can induce others to follow them. ”

“ When favors are asked, as when the chiefs and brave men interpose to prevent the slaying of a murderer, each extends a hand with the palm towards the would be avengers, or he may extend both hands, calling the people by kinship titles, with the hope of appeasing them. If a man receives a favor and does not manifest his gratitude, they exclaim, "Wajé-¢iñge áhan!"—He does not appreciate the gift! He has no manners! They apply the same expression to the master of a tent who does not show any desire to be hospitable to a visitor. ”

“ A man cannot marry any women of his mother's gens, nor any of his maternal grandmother's subgens, nor any of the subgens of her mother, as all are his consanguinities.
A man cannot marry a woman of the subgens of the wife of his son, nephew, or grandson; nor can he marry a woman of the subgens of the husband of his daughter, niece, or granddaughter. ”

“ In the myth of the Rabbit and the Black Bears, Mactciñge, the Rabbit, threw a piece of the Black Bear chief against his grandmother, who had offended him, thereby causing her to have the catamenia. From that time women have been so affected. Among the Omahas and Ponkas the woman makes a different fire for four days, dwelling in a small lodge, apart from the rest of the household, even in cold weather. She cooks and eats alone, telling no one of her sickness, not even her husband. Grown people do not fear her, but children are caused to fear the odor which she is said to give forth. ”

“ Marriage by elopement.—Sometimes a man elopes with a woman. Her kindred have no cause for anger if the man takes the woman as his wife. Should a man get angry because his single daughter, sister, or niece had eloped, the other Omahas would talk about him, saying, "That man is angry on account of the elopement of his daughter!" They would ridicule him for his behavior. La Flèche knew of but one case, and that a recent one, in which a man showed anger on such an occasion. But if the woman had been taken from her husband by another man her kindred had a right to be angry. ”

“ When such a woman repents, and wishes to abandon her husband, her male kindred say to her, "Not so; still have him for your husband; remain with him always." Thus do they punish her for not having heeded their previous warnings. When they are satisfied with each other they always stay together; but should either one turn out bad, the other one always wishes to abandon the unworthy consort.
When parents separate, the children are sometimes taken by their mother, and sometimes by her mother or their father's mother. Should the husband be unwilling, the wife cannot take the children with her. ”

“ Here and there in the tribe are those who are stingy, and who do not show hospitality. Should an enemy appear in the lodge, and receive a mouthful of food or water, or put the pipe in his mouth, he cannot be injured by any member of the tribe, as he is bound for the time being by the ties of hospitality, and they are compelled to protect him, and send him to his home in safety. ”

“ The Mandan feast.—The following is an account of a feast given by the Mandan dancing society: "When the food has been prepared the crier or herald calls for those to come to the feast who take part in the dance. To bad men he says, 'Do not come to the feast at which I am going to eat,' and they stay away. Should the guests be slow in coming, the last one who arrives is punished. He is compelled to eat a large quantity of food, 6, 8, or 10 pounds. The others sit waiting for him to eat all that has been placed before him, and as they wait they shake the rattles of deer-claws and beat the drum. ”

“ Prostitution.—In 1879 there were only two or three women in the Omaha tribe that were known as minckeda or public women. Of late years, according to La Flèche and Two Crows, there have been many minckeda, but it was not so formerly, when the Indians were the only inhabitants. A father did not reprove his daughter if she was a minckeda. He left that to her elder brother and her mother's brother, who might strike her with sticks. Sometimes, if very angry with her, they could shoot an arrow at her, and if they killed her, nobody could complain. ”

“ If the man finds that he cannot eat all in his bowl, he looks around the circle and finds some one to whom he gives a blanket, shirt, gun, or a pair of leggings, with the rest of the food saying, 'Friend, help me (by eating this) .' Should the second man fail to eat all, he in turn must make a present to a third man, and induce him to finish the contents of the bowl. Sometimes horses are given as presents. Should a man come without an invitation, just to look on, and enter the lodge of his own accord, he must give presents to several of the guests, and depart without joining in the feast. ”

“ All arise to their feet, and thrust their bowls into the smoke. Each one tries to anticipate the rest, so the bowls are knocked against one another, making a great noise. This confusion is increased by each man crying out for himself, addressing the Wakanda, or deity of the thunder, who is supposed by some to be the god of war. ”

“ The sacred pipes, including the war pipe, the calumet pipes, the sacred pole, the sacred ʇe-san-ha, or hide of a white buffalo; the clam shell, the chiefs, the keepers of the three sacred tents, the seven keepers of the sacred pipes, the gentes, subgentes, and taboos. The following are considered of human origin: The policemen and the feasting societies. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" is a familiar saying. So feasting societies tend to promote the peace of the community, as those who eat together, or give food to one another, are bound together as friends. ”

“ Should the widow marry a stranger he might hate the children, and the kindred of the deceased husband do not wish her to take the children so far away from them. Sometimes the stepfather takes the children without their mother, if she be maleficent. Sometimes the dying husband knows that his kindred are bad, so he tells his wife to marry out of his gens. When the wife is dying she may say to her brother, "Pity your brother-in-law. Let him marry my sister." ”

“ Worship of the thunder in the spring.—When the first thunder is heard in the spring of the year the Elk people call to their servants, the Bear people, who proceed to the sacred tent of the Elk gens. When the Bear people arrive one of them opens the sacred bag, and, after removing the sacred pipe, hands it to one of the Elk men, with some of the tobacco from the elk bladder. Before the pipe is smoked it is held toward the sky, and the thunder god is addressed. ”

“ I, a female, call those males my nephews who are the sons of my brothers, and the daughters of my brothers are my nieces; but my sister's children are my children as their father is my potential or actual husband. I, a male, call my sister's son my nephew, and her daughter is my niece. I, a male or female, call all males and females my grandchildren who are the children of my sons, daughters, nephews, or nieces. I, a male or female, call all men my uncles whom my mothers call their brothers. ”

“ The retiring head chief then exhorts each new chief thus: "If you get in a bad humor Wakanda will do so to you. Do not lie lest the people speak of you as lying chiefs and refuse to obey you."
§ 290. The tribal assembly or council.—This is composed of the chiefs alone. The common people have no voice in it. When there is any very important business the young men and all the people are informed of it after the meeting of the council. When the chiefs are thus assembled, they are not always invited to a feast; but the two sacred pipes were always carried around the circle. ”

“ Over sixty years ago a Ponka married an Omaha woman, and remained with her tribe. His mother-in-law was a very bad old woman, so he killed her. No Omaha ever killed an affinity.
Murder might be punished by taking the life of the murderer, or that of one of his clansmen. When one man killed another, the kinsmen of the murdered man wished to avenge his death, but the chiefs and brave men usually interposed. Sometimes they showed one of the sacred pipes; but they always took presents, and begged the kinsmen to let the offender live. ”

“ Rights of parents and other kindred.—Parents had no right to put their children to death; nor could they force them to marry against their will. Mothers' brothers and brothers seem to have more authority than the father or mother in matters relating to a girl's welfare. They were consulted before she was bestowed in marriage, unless she eloped with her husband. A mother could punish a disobedient daughter when the latter was a child and refused to learn to work. Kindred had the right to avenge the death of one of their number. ”

“ Mode of approaching a village.—When people go to make a friendly visit to another tribe, they stop when they are a short distance from the village or camp of their hosts, say at about 100 or 200 yards from it. There they sit on the ground and wait for some one to come and invite them to the village. Generally, each visitor departs with his special friend, or with the messenger sent from the village by that friend. On some occasions, all the visitors have been invited to one lodge, but these have been very unusual. The Omahas, Ponkas, Dakotas, Pawnees, and other tribes act thus when they visit. ”

“ When there is a large party, the two nudan ́hañga-jiñ ́ga, or minor captains, bearing the sacred bags, go about a hundred yards in advance of the others. Then march the captains, and after them follow the warriors and those who are the servants of the captains. Each captain has his servant, who carries his captain's baggage and rations, waits on him, brings him food and water, and makes his couch when they camp for the night. As the day advances and the warriors become tired, they drop behind. ”

“ When a woman was strong she hoed the ground and planted the corn; but if she was delicate or 267 weak, her husband was willing to help her by hoeing with her. The woman did the work which she thought was hers to do. She always did her work of her own accord. The husband had his share of the labor, for the man was not accustomed to lead an idle life. Before the introduction of fire-arms the man had to depend on his bow and arrows for killing the buffaloes, deer, etc., and hunting was no easy task. The Indian never hunted game for sport. ”

“ The ₵egiha and other tribes have no standing armies. Unlike the Six Nations, they have no general who holds his office for life, or for a given term. They have no militia, ready to be called into the field by the government. On the contrary, military service is voluntary in all cases, from the private to the commanders, and the war party is usually disbanded as soon as home is reached. They had no wars of long duration; in fact, wars between one Indian tribe and another scarcely ever occurred ”

“ There is no military class or gens among the Omahas, though the Ponka ₵ixida gens, and part of the Nika [p] aᴐna gens are said to be warriors. Among the Omahas, both the captains and warriors must be taken from the class of cenujiñga, as the chiefs are afraid to undertake the work of the captains. The chiefs, being the civil and religious leaders of the people, cannot serve as captains or even as subordinate officers of a war party. ”