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THE HIDATSA
Our chief authority for the names of the Hidatsa gentes is Morgan's "Ancient Society." Dr Washington Matthews could have furnished a corrected list from his own notes had they not unfortunately been destroyed by fire. All that can now be done is to give Morgan's list, using his system of spelling:
1. Knife, Mit-che-roʹ-ka.
2. Water, Min-ne päʹ-ta.
3. Lodge, Bä-ho-häʹ-ta.
4. Prairie chicken, Seech-ka-be-rnh-päʹ-ka (Tsi-tskaʹ do-ḣpaʹ-ka of Matthews; Tsi-tskaʹ dc̷o-qpaʹ-ka in the Bureau alphabet).
5. Hill people, E-tish-shoʹ-ka.
6. Unknown animal, Aḣ-nali-ḣa-näʹ-me-te.
7. Bonnet, E-kuʹ-pä-be-ka.
The Hidatsa have been studied by Prince Maximilian (1833), Hayden, and Matthews, the work of the last writer1 being the latest one treating of them; and from it the following is taken:
Marriage among the Hidatsa is usually made formal by the distribution of gifts on the part of the man to the woman's kindred. Afterward presents of equal value are commonly returned by the wife's relations, if they have the means of so doing and are satisfied with the conduct of the husband. Some travelers have represented that the "marriage by purchase" among the Indians is a mere sale of the woman to the highest bidder, whose slave she becomes. Matthews regards this a misrepresentation so far as it concerns the Hidatsa, the wedding gift being a pledge to the parents for the proper treatment of their daughter, as well as an evidence of the wealth of the suitor and his kindred. Matthews has known many cases where large marriage presents were refused from one person, and gifts of much less value accepted from another, simply because the girl showed a preference for the poorer lover. Marriages by elopement are considered undignified, and different terms are applied to a marriage by elopement and one by parental consent. Polygamy is practiced, but usually with certain restrictions. The husband of the eldest of several sisters has a claim to each of the others as she grows up, and in most cases the man takes such a potential wife unless she form another attachment. A man usually marries his brother's widow, unless she object, and he may adopt the orphans as his own children. Divorce is easily effected, but is rare among the better class of people in the tribe. The unions of such people often last for life; but among persons of a different character divorces are common. Their social discipline is not very severe. Punishments by law, administered by the
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"soldier band," are only for serious offenses against the regulations of the camp. He who simply violates social customs in the tribe often subjects himself to no worse punishment than an occasional sneer or taunting remark; but for grave transgressions he may lose the regard of his friends. With the Hidatsa, as with other western tribes, it is improper for a man to hold a direct conversation with his mother-in-law; but this custom seems to be falling into disuse.
The kinship system of the Hidatsa does not differ materially from that of any of the cognate tribes. When they wish to distinguish between the actual father and a father's real or potential brothers, or between the actual mother and the mother's real or potential sisters, they use the adjective ka’ti (kaɥtci), real, true, after the kinship term when the actual parent is meant.
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