THE ICTASANDA GENS.
§ 69. The meaning of "Ictasanda" is uncertain; though Say was told by Dougherty that it signifies "gray eyes." It probably has some reference to the effect of lightning on the eyes. The place of the Ictasanda is at the end of the tribal circle, after the Iñg¢e-jide, and opposite to the Wejincte. The head of the gens is Ibahanbi, son of Wanuʞige, and grandson of Wackanhi.
Taboo.—The Ictasanda people do not touch worms, snakes, toads, frogs, or any other kinds of reptiles. Hence they are sometimes called the "Wag¢ícka níkacin´ga," or Reptile people. But there are occasions when they seem to violate this custom. If worms trouble the corn after it has been planted, these people catch some of them. They pound them up with a small quantity of grains of corn that have been heated. They make a soup of the mixture and eat it, thinking that the corn will not be troubled again—at least for the remainder of that season.
§ 70. Birth names of boys.—Ibahanbi said that the first son was called Gaagig¢e-hnan, which probably refers to thunder that is passing by. The second is, The Thunder-god is Roaring as he Stands. The third, Big Shoulder. The fourth, Walking Forked-lightning. The fifth, The thunder-god Walks Roaring. The sixth, Sheet-lightning Makes a Glare inside the Lodge. The seventh, The Thunder-god that Walks After others at the close of a storm.
Birth names of girls.—The first is called The Visible (Moon) in Motion. The second, The Visible one that has Come back and is in a Horizontal attitude. The third, Zizika-wate, meaning uncertain; refers to wild turkeys. The fourth, Female (thunder?) who Roars. The fifth, She who is Ever Coming back Visibly (referring to the moon?). The sixth, White Eyed Female in the distance. The seventh, Visible ones in different places.
§ 71. Subgentes.—For marriage purposes the gens is divided into three parts, according to La Flèche and Two Crows. I. Niniba-t`an, Keepers of the Pipe, and Real Ictasanda, of which [T]e-uʞanha, [K]awaha, Wajin-anba, and Si-¢ede-jiñga are the only survivors. II. Wacetan, or Reptile people, under Ibahanbi. III. Ing¢an, Thunder people, among who are Ui¢anbe-ansa and Wanace-jiñga.
Lion divided the gens into four parts. I. Niniba-t`an, under [T]e-uʞanha. II. Real Ictasanda people, under Wajin-anba. III. Wacetan (referring to the thunder, according to Lion, but denied by Two Crows), Reptile people, under Ibahanbi. These are sometimes called Keepers of the Claws of the Wild-cat, because they bind these claws to the waist of a new-born infant, putting them on the left side. IV. The Real Thunder people are called, Those who do not touch the Clam shell, or, Keepers of the Clam shell, or, Keepers of the Clam shell and the Tooth of a Black bear. These bind a clam shell to the waist of a child belonging to this subgens, when he is forward in learning to walk. (See §§ [24], [43], [45], and [63].)
At the time that Waniʇa-waqě gave this information, March, 1880, he said that there were but two men left in the Niniba-t`an, [T]e-uʞanha, and [K]awaha. Now it appears that they have united with Wajin-anba and Si¢ede-jiñga, the survivors of the Ictasandaqti. [T]e-uʞanha, being the keeper of the Ictasanda sacred pipe, holds what was a very important office, that of being the person who has the right to fill the sacred pipes for the chiefs. (See §§ [17] and [18].) [T]e-uʞanha, does not, however, know the sacred words used on such occasions, as his father, Mahinzi, died without communicating them to him.
But some say that there is another duty devolving on this keeper. There has been a custom in the tribe not to cut the hair of children when they were small, even after they began to walk. But before a child reached the age of four years, it was necessary for it to be taken, with such other children as had not had their hair cut, to the man who filled the sacred pipes. Two or three old men of the Ictasanda gens sat together on that occasion. They sent a crier around the camp or village, saying, "You who wish to have your children's hair cut bring them." Then the father, or else the mother, would take the child, with a pair of good moccasins for the child to put on, also a present for the keeper of the sacred pipe, which might consist of a pair of moccasins, some arrows, or a dress, etc. When the parents had arrived with their children each one addressed the keeper of the pipe, saying, "Venerable man, you will please cut my child's hair," handing him the present at the same time. Then the old man would take a child, cut off one lock about the length of a finger, tie it up, and put it with the rest in a sacred buffalo hide. Then the old man put the little moccasins on the child, who had not worn any previously, and after turning him around four times he addressed him thus: "[T]ucpáha, Wakan´da ¢a`é¢i¢é-de ʞáci man¢iñ´ka si á¢ag¢é taté—Grandchild, may Wakanda pity you, and may your feet rest for a long time on the ground!" Another form of the address was this: "Wakan´da ¢a`é¢i¢e taté! Man¢iñ´ka si á¢ag¢é taté. Gúdihégan hné taté!—May Wakanda pity you! May your feet tread the ground! May you go ahead (i. e., may you live hereafter)!" At the conclusion of the ceremony the parent took the child home, and on arriving there the father cut off the rest of the child's hair, according to the style of the gens. La Flèche told the following, in 1879: "If it was desired, horns were left, and a circle of hair around the head, with one lock at each side, over the ear. Some say that they cut off more of the hair, leaving none on top and only a circle around the head." But the writer has not been able to ascertain whether this referred to any particular gens, as the Ictasanda or to the whole tribe. "It is the duty of Wajin-anba, of the Real Ictasanda, to cut the children's hair. The Keepers of the Pipe and the Real Ictasanda were distinct subgentes, each having special duties." (Frank La Flèche.)
§ 72. Names of men.—[T]e-uʞanha (Sentinel Buffalo Apart from the herd) and his brother, [K]awaha, are the only survivors of the Keepers of the Pipe. Hañga-cenu and Mahin-zi (Yellow Rock) are dead.