SOCIOLOGY OF THE KIOWA
ABSENCE OF THE CLAN SYSTEM
The clan system does not exist among the Kiowa, and there is no evidence that they have ever had it. This may be a surprise to those disciples of Morgan who have assumed that because the system is found among the eastern tribes and certain tribes of the southwest and extreme northwest it is therefore universal and a necessary factor in tribal development. It is by no means universal, and it is doubtful if it exists among the Athapascan tribes of British America, the tribes of the Columbia region, Oregon, or California, or any of the recognized Shoshonean stock with the exception of the Hopi. The Cheyenne and Sioux of the plains seem to know as little of it as do the Kiowa. Clark, in his "Indian Sign Language," says: "I cannot help feeling that Mr Morgan's careful study of the form of government of the Iroquois league colored his writings in regard to all other Indians. Certain it is that no trace now exists of such organization among many of the plains tribes." In another place he states that among the majority of the plains tribes, and perhaps the western Indians generally, judging from their laws of inheritance and marriage customs, the system never did exist (Clark, 5). Gatschet, in his great work on the Klamath language, declares that the Klamath Indians of Oregon are absolutely ignorant of the clan system, while Hale, in the "Iroquois Book of Rites," takes the ground that the system is simply an artificial invention, adopted for convenience and spreading from various local centers. In support of the idea that it is artificial rather than natural he points out the fact that it is not found among the Polynesian tribes, who are on about the same plane of development as our Indians (Hale, 1). In the United States the clan system seems to be found more particularly among the agricultural tribes.
LOCAL DIVISIONS
Before they were confined to the reservation the Kiowa were grouped into two general local divisions, known, respectively, as T'ó-k`íñähyup, "cold men" (i.e., men of the cold, or northern, country), and Gwáhalégo, from the Comanche name Kwáhadi or Kwáhari. These terms were practically equivalent to "northern" and "southern," the former ranging chiefly along Arkansas river and the Kansas frontier, while the latter, as the name indicates, associated more with the Kwáhadi Comanche of the region of the Staked plain. As they were merely temporary local designations and not proper band or gentile names, they have now ceased to be of any practical importance.
SUBTRIBES
The Kiowa have six recognized divisions or subtribes, including the Apache, who form a component part of the Kiowa tribal circle. The extinct K'úato formerly made a seventh, but their position in the circle is now forgotten. These divisions are not clans or gentes (social) based on marriage regulations, but subtribes (political), each division having had originally its own chief, subordinate to the recognized head chief of the tribe, with certain peculiarities of dialect and sometimes its special "medicine" or religious ceremonial. They may have been in the beginning distinct cognate tribes, with the exception of the Apache, which confederated at a later period for mutual assistance. The Comanche, although now allied with the Kiowa, have no part in their tribal organization or ceremonies.
THE CAMP CIRCLE
The names of the bands and their order in the camp circle on the occasion of all tribal gatherings are as follows:
1. K`at'a, "Biters," i. e., Arikara. This is the largest and most important division, occupying the first place in the camp circle, immediately south of the door or entrance. To it belonged Dohásän, the great chief who ruled the Kiowa for more than thirty years. To his family was assigned the hereditary duty of furnishing the buffalo for each annual sun dance. At present the K`at'a may be said to constitute the aristocracy of the tribe. The name is said not to indicate an admixture of Ree or Arikara blood, but simply a more intimate trading association with that tribe in early days. As this association was comparatively modern, the word may be a substitute for another name discarded, in accordance with a Kiowa custom, in consequence of the death of some noted individual of the same name. They are sometimes called Gâ´i-K`at'a, "Kiowa K`at'a," to distinguish them from the Arikara proper.
2. Ko gúi, "Elk." This band took the lead in war ceremonials. A`dáte, whose camp was surprised and destroyed by the Osage in 1833, was its chief. Set-t'aiñte and the first Big-bow also belonged to this band.
3. Gâ´-igwû, "Kiowa proper." This may have been the original nucleus of the Kiowa tribe, as the name would seem to imply. Although not numerous, they are held in much respect, are the keepers of the taíme, and have charge of the K`ado Dó, or priestly tipi, at the sun-dance ceremony. The western side of the circle properly belongs to them, but in consequence of their small number individuals of other bands sometimes camp with them.
4. Kiñep, "Big Shields." To them belonged the gadómbitsóñhi image or idol, now lost, which was exposed in front of the taíme image at the annual sun dance.
5. Semät, "Thieves," i. e., Apache. Although a distinct tribe, they have formed an integral part of the Kiowa tribal circle from the earliest traditionary period.
6. Koñtä´lyui, "Black Boys," or Síndiyúi, "Sindi's children." No reason is assigned for either of these names, which are about equally common, Sindi is the great mythic hero of the Kiowa. They are a small band, and occupy the last place in the circle.
7. K'úato "Pulling Up." These were exterminated by the Dakota about 1780, as already related. They spoke a peculiar dialect of Kiowa. It is not now known what position they occupied in the tribal circle.
Clark mentions four of these divisions, under the names of Elk (Kogúi), Shield (Kiñep), Cut-Off (K`at'a), and Black (Koñtälyui), and adds, "some claim five, the Apache Kiowa band" (Clark, 20).
Fig. 55—The Kiowa camp circle.
MILITARY ORGANIZATION—YÄ`´PÄHE WARRIORS
The Kiowa have an elaborate military organization, now fast becoming obsolete, known as Yä´pähe, "Warriors." A similar organization is found among most of the prairie tribes, and is commonly known to the whites as the Dog-soldier society, from an imperfect rendering of the name of one of the principal bands. The Kiowa organization consists of six orders, each having its own dance, songs, insignia, and duties. The members were first enrolled as boys among the "Rabbits," and were afterward promoted, according to merit or the necessities of war, in regular progression, to higher ranks. Only the bravest few, however, ever attained the highest order, that of the Kâ-itséñko. Almost every able-bodied man was enrolled. The orders, beginning with the lowest, are as follows:
1. Polä´ñyup or Tsä´ñyui, "Rabbits." Boys above the age of eight or ten years, who were drilled in their future duties as warriors by certain old men. The step of their dance is intended to imitate the jumping of a rabbit.
2. Ädaltóyui or Téñbeyu´i, "Young (wild) Sheep."
3. Tseñtä´nmo, "Horse Head-dresses." (?)
4. Toñkóñko, "Black Legs."
5. T'äñpéko, "Skunkberry People" or Tséñ-â'dalka-i, "Crazy Horses."
6. Kâ´-itsénko, "Real or Principal Dogs (?)." These were the picked men of the warriors and were limited to ten in number. According to the myth, their founder saw in a vision a body of warriors dressed and painted after the manner of the order, accompanied by a dog, which sang the song of the Kâ´-itséñko and commanded him, "You are a dog; make a noise like a dog and sing a dog song." Their peculiar insignia and obligations will be described in another place (see the [calendar, summer 1846].)
Clark gives the names of the Kiowa orders as follows, omitting the Poläñyup: Raven Soldiers or Black Leggings (Toñkoñko); Sheep (Ädaltóyui); Feather Head (Tseñtä´nmo); Horse (Kâ-itséñko); War-club (T'äñpéko). He adds, "The Kiowa Apache have only three bands, viz: 1st, Big Horse; 2d, Raven; 3d, Swift Fox" (Clark, 6).
At home the Yä`pähe acted as camp police and leaders in the tribal ceremonies; abroad they were the warriors and conductors of the hunt. Battey gives an illustration of the system as he once saw it in practical operation:
Being determined that none of their thoughtless young men should go raiding in Texas and thereby bring trouble upon the tribe, the Kiowas, immediately after the whole tribe got together on Pecon creek, organized a military system, under the control of the war chiefs, which was immediately put into operation. By this a strong guard of their soldiers were continually watching day and night while in camp to prevent any such enterprise from being undertaken. In moving from place to place these soldiers marched on each side of the main body, while a front guard went before and a rear guard behind, thus preventing any from straggling.
Their buffalo hunts were conducted in the same military order. The soldiers, going out first, surrounded a tract of country in which were a large herd of buffalo, and no one might chase a buffalo past this ring guard on pain of having his horse shot by the soldiers. Within the ring hundreds of men on horseback were chasing and shooting the huge creatures with revolvers or bows and arrows until each had killed as many as his female attendants could skin and take care of (Battey, 14).
HERALDIC SYSTEM
In connection with their military and social organization the Kiowa and Apache have a system of heraldry, which finds tangible expression in the painting and ornamentation of their shields and tipis. There were formerly about fifty shield patterns used in the two tribes, and all the warriors carrying shields of the same pattern constituted a close brotherhood, with similar war cries, body paint, and ceremonial taboos and regulations. Every prominent family also had its heraldic tipi, which occupied its fixed place in the tribal camp circle. Special taboos and rules belonged to the tipi as to the shield, and the right of hereditary descent was as nicely regulated as property ownership among the whites. This system of heraldry will form the subject of a future monograph.
NAME SYSTEM
Their system of personal names is also interesting. All the names have meaning and are as much a part of the owner as his hand or his foot. Children are usually named soon after birth by one of the grandparents or other relative not the parent; the name is commonly suggested by some passing incident, but may be hereditary, or intended to commemorate the warlike deed of some ancestor. In this way a girl may bear a war name bestowed by her grandfather to preserve the recollection of his own achievement. There are no ordinal names as among the eastern Sioux, no clan names as among the Shawnee, and no names which indicate the band of the individual. Young men as they grow up usually assume dream names, in obedience to visions, and these are sometimes superseded in later life by names acquired on the warpath, the hunt, or in council. Frequently an aged warrior, who feels that his day is near its close, formally gives his name to some young man who seems to him to merit the honor; the older man then assumes a new name, or more frequently lives out his remaining years without a name, being referred to and addressed simply as "old man." Sometimes the old warrior, having outlived the need of a name and not regarding any younger man as worthy to bear it, deliberately "throws it away" and is henceforth nameless. Should he die without having bestowed his name upon a successor, the name dies with him and can not be revived. The name of the dead is never spoken in the presence of the relatives, and upon the death of any member of a family all the others take new names—a custom noted by Raleigh's colonists on Roanoke island more than three centuries ago. Moreover, all words suggesting the name of the dead person are dropped from the language for a term of years, and other words, conveying the same idea, are substituted. The same custom exists among the Comanche and perhaps among other tribes.
MARRIAGE
Marriage among the Kiowa, as among the plains tribes generally, is a simple affair, with none of the elaborate ceremonials found among the Hopi and other sedentary Indians. About all that is necessary is that the maiden of the young man's choice shall be willing, and, this having been ascertained by the lover, he sends some friend as a mediator to her parents to make an offer of ponies or other property to compensate them for the loss of their daughter. If both sides come to an agreement, the match is made, and the young couple, with the assistance of their friends, set up housekeeping on their own account. Compulsion is no more brought to bear upon the girl than in civilized communities; the brother of the girl has as much to do with the decision of the case as her parents, and continues to claim a sort of guardianship over her even after her marriage. The marriageable age is about fourteen for girls and sixteen for boys. In general the husband goes to live among his wife's people instead of taking her to his own camp. The father seems to exercise more control over his children than among tribes having the clan system and mother right. There appears to be no fixed rule of inheritance, but shield, tipi, and band name usually descend in the male line. The husband avoids the mother-in-law, but not to the same extent as among other plains tribes. Polygamy is allowed, but is not frequent, only a few of the Kiowa now having two wives, and none more than that number. In the old times it was more common, in consequence of the surplus of women resulting from the killing off of the men in their constant wars. The father of T'ebodal is famous for having had ten wives; Quanah, the present head chief of the Comanche, has six. It was common to marry sisters of the same family, and according to tribal custom, which had analogy among the ancient Hebrews, the man who married the eldest daughter had first claim upon her sisters.
Fig. 56—Mäñyi-tén or Woman-heart, a typical Kiowa.
Divorce is easy and without ceremony, but not so common as might be supposed, there being many couples that have lived faithfully together for nearly half a century. Adultery is punished by taking or destroying the property of the guilty man. The woman is simply "thrown away" by her husband, although in theory her life is forfeited. In former times he might kill her or cut off her nose, as was done also among the neighboring tribes, but this latter custom is now only a memory.
TRIBAL GOVERNMENT
The tribal government was formerly committed to the care of a head chief and the chiefs of the several bands, together with the war chiefs, who had control in military affairs. Women had no voice in the government. From the evidences of tradition and the statements of old men, the chiefs in former times, before tribal customs were demoralized by the advent of the conquering race, must have exercised almost despotic powers and were feared as well as respected by their people. Their last great chief was Dohásän, who died in 1866, since which time no one has had the unquestioned allegiance of the whole tribe. The present officially recognized head chief is Lone-wolf, the adopted son of the hostile leader of the same name in the last outbreak. The elder Lone-wolf formally bestowed his own name upon the younger man in 1879, thus publicly recognizing him as his successor. Camp and ceremonial regulations were enforced and their violation punished by the Yä'´pähe, acting under direction of the war chiefs. Personal grievances were avenged by the injured party or by his nearest relatives, without interference by the tribe.
CHARACTER
In character the Kiowa are below the standard. Having been intimately associated with them for some years, the author would be better pleased to make a different showing, but truth compels the statement. Tribal traits are strongly marked among Indians. The Sioux are direct and manly, the Cheyenne high-spirited and keenly sensitive, the Arapaho generous and accommodating, the Comanche practical and businesslike, but the Kiowa, with some honorable exceptions, are deficient in all these qualities. They have the savage virtue of bravery, as they have abundantly proven, but as a people they have less of honor, gratitude, and general reliability than perhaps any other tribe of the plains. The large infusion of captive blood, chiefly Mexican, must undoubtedly have influenced the tribal character, but whether for good or evil the student of heredity must determine.
Fig. 57—Gaápiatáñ (alias Haitsĭki) or Feathered-lance, a typical Kiowa.
The report of Captain Alvord, already quoted at length, affords a good insight into Kiowa character. Gregg in 1844 described them as "one of the most savage tribes that infest the western prairies" (Gregg, 7). Captain (afterward General) John Pope ten years later called them deceitful and unreliable and "absolutely destitute of most of the chivalrous characteristics which distinguish the Comanche brave." General Pope in 1870 denounced them as being altogether the worst Indians the government had to deal with, having been for twenty-five years past "the most faithless, cruel, and unreliable of all the Indians of the plains." About the same time General Sheridan expressed his lasting regret that he did not hang Set-t'aiñte and Lone-wolf and punish the whole tribe when he first met them. The Quaker Battey, a good friend of theirs, describes them as "the most fierce and desperately bloodthirsty tribe of the Indian Territory"—a people who had hitherto resisted all attempts to bring them into friendly relations with the government or to a knowledge of civilization, still continuing to commit depredations upon the white settlements, stealing horses and mules, murdering men and women and carrying their children into captivity. He says it would probably be difficult to find in the whole tribe a man whose hands had not been imbrued in blood. Clark states that in personal appearance, intelligence, and tenacity of purpose he considers them inferior to the Comanche (Pacific, 1; War, 5; Battey, 16; Clark, 8).