Personal names relating to any of the life symbols of a gens serve to keep the members informed of their place in the gentile and tribal organization. For example: Men who were given such names as Ho-çoⁿ´, White-fish; To´-ho-ho-e, Blue-fish; and Ho´-ḳi-e-çi, Wriggling-fish, know that they are members of the Ho´-i-ni-ḳa-shi-ga, Fish-people, gens whose life symbol is the Fish, and that the place of their gens is in the Wa-zha´-zhe, the first of the two subdivisions of the Hoⁿ´-ga great tribal division which symbolizes the earth. The Wa-zha´-zhe subdivision typifies the water portion of the earth.
Those who were given such names as O´-poⁿ-ṭoⁿ-ga, Great-elk; Moⁿ´-thiⁿ-ḳa-ga-xe, Maker-of-the-land; and Moⁿ-zhoⁿ´-ga-xe, Maker of-the-earth, know that they are members of the Elk gens whose life symbol is the male elk (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 165, lines 274 to 354) and that the place of their gens is with the Hoⁿ´-ga, the second of the two subdivisions of the Hoⁿ´-ga great tribal division which symbolizes the earth. The Hoⁿ´-ga subdivision typifies the land portion of the earth.
Men who bear the names P̣i-çi´, Acorn; U-bu´-dse, Profusion; and Noⁿ-bu´-dse, Profusion (by the treading of the eagles on the branches of the red oak tree) know that they are members of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge (Peacemaker) gens, that the life symbol of their gens is the red oak tree, the emblem of fruitfulness, and that the place of their gens in the tribal organization is with the Ṭsi´-zhu, the second of the two great tribal divisions which symbolizes the sky, including the sun, moon and stars that move therein. (See 36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 281, lines 111 to 120.)
Fig. 5.—Totemic cut of the Omaha boys’ hair. No. 1 is typical of the head and tail of the elk. No. 2 symbolizes the head, tail, and horns of the buffalo. No. 2a—the children of this subgens and those of the Ni-ni´-ba-toⁿ subgens of other gentes have their hair cut alike; the locks on each side of the bared crown indicate the horns of the buffalo. No. 3 represents the line of the buffalo’s back as seen against the sky. No. 4b stands for the head of the bear. No. 4c figures the head, tail, and body of small birds. No. 4d, the bare head, represents the shell of the turtle; and the tufts, the head, feet, and tail of the animal. No. 4e pictures the head, wings, and tail of the eagle. No. 5 symbolizes the four points of the compass connected by cross lines; the central tuft points to the zenith. No. 6 represents the shaggy side of the wolf. No. 7 indicates the horns and tail of the buffalo. No. 8 stands for the head and tail of the deer. No. 9 shows the head, tail, and knobs of the growing horn of the buffalo calf. No. 10 symbolizes reptile teeth. The children of this gens sometimes have the hair shaved off so as to represent the hairless body of snakes.
The Gentile Hair Cut of Children
Another custom, akin to the taking of personal gentile names, was originated by the ancient Noⁿ´-hoⁿ-zhiⁿ-ga, that of the adoption by each of the various gentes of the tribe of a particular style of hair cut for the young children to typify one of the life symbols of the gens. (Fig. 5.) The style adopted by the Hoⁿ´-ga gens of the Hoⁿ´-ga tribal subdivision for their children was that of cutting nearly all the hair of the head close to the skin, leaving an unbroken fringe along the entire edge. (Fig. 6.) The story of its adoption is best told in the wi´-gi-e of the gens, a paraphrase of which is here given:
THE WI´-GI-E
The Hoⁿ´-ga, a people who possess seven fireplaces, spake to one another,
Saying: O, younger brothers,
The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies.
Then to the Hoⁿ´-ga A-hiu-ṭoⁿ (Winged Hoⁿ´-ga) they spake,
Saying: O, elder brother! and stood in mute appeal.
In quick response the Winged Hoⁿ´-ga set forth in haste
To a deep and miry marsh,
To the Little Rock who sitteth firmly upon the earth.
Close to the Little Rock he stood and spake,
Saving: O, Grandfather!
Our little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies.
The Little Rock spake in quick response:
I am a person of whom the little ones may well make their bodies.
Thereupon the Winged Hoⁿ´-ga hastened back to his brothers to whom he spake,
Saying: O, younger brothers, a Little Rock sits yonder.
Then, with heads bent thitherward,
The younger brothers set forth in haste
To the Little Rock who sitteth firmly upon the earth, in the marsh.
Around him they gathered, close to him they stood as they spake
To the Little Rock sitting with algae floating about him, like locks of hair blowing in the wind. (Fig. 6.)
O, Grandfather! they said to him,
Our little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies.
The Little Rock made reply:
I am a person who is difficult to be overcome by death.
When your little ones make of me their bodies,
They shall always be difficult to overcome by death.
Behold the locks that float about the edges of my head.
When the little ones reach old age,
Their locks shall float about the edges of their heads.
The little ones shall always live to see their locks grown scant with age.
The younger brothers spake, saying: Close to the God of Day who sitteth in the heavens,
We shall place the Little Rock.[3]
When our little ones make of the Little Rock their bodies,
Of the God of Day also
Our little ones shall make their bodies.
The four days,
The four great divisions of the days (the four stages of life),
The little ones shall always reach and enter,
They shall always live to see old age.
This style of hair cut is called ḳonⁿ´-ha-u-thi-stse (ḳoⁿ´-ha, along the edge; u-thi-stse, a line left uncut), meaning an unbroken line of hair left uncut along the entire edge.