Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/408

 388 The Origin of Totem Nmnes and Beliefs.

American " genfes" are not merely totem-names, they answer, with literal precision, to our folklore village sobri- quets, when tliese are not names of plants or animals. The late Rev. James Owen Dorsey left, at his death, a paper on " The Siouan Sociology." ^ Among the '^ gentes'^ (old totem kindreds with male descent) he noted the '^ genfes" of a tribe, " The Mysterious Lake Tribe." There were, in 1880, seven ^' gentes." Three names were derived from localities. One name meant " Breakers of (exoga- mous) Law." One was " Not encumbered with much bag- gage." One was " Rogues " (" Bad Nation.") These three last names are derisive nicknames. The seventh name was " Eats no Geese," obviously a totemic survival. Of the Wahpeton tribe all the seven ^' genfcs^^ derived their names from localities. Of the Sisseton tribe, the twelve names of '^ gentes" were either nicknames (one^ "a name of derision ") or derived from localities. Of the Yankton '' gentes," five names out of seven were nicknames, mostly derisive, the sixth was "Bad Nation" (Rogues), the seventh was a totem name, " Wild Cat." Of the Hun- patina (seven "^^«/^j- ") three names were totemic (Drift- ing Goose, Dogs, Eat no Buffalo Cows), the others were nicknames, such as " Eat the Scrapings of Hides." Of the Sitcanxu, there were thirteen ^' gentes.^' Six or seven of their titles were nicknames, three were totemic, the others were dubious, such as " Smellers of Fish." The Itaziptec had seven " gentes" ] of their names all were nicknames, including " Eat dried venison from the hind quarter." Of the Minikooju, there were nine '^ gcntcs." Eight names w'ere nicknames, including " Dung Eaters." One seems totemic, "Eat No Dogs." Of five Asiniboin "gentes " the names were nicknames from the habits or localities of the communities. One was " Girls' Band," that is " Girls."

Now compare parish sobriquets in Western England.'"' In this list of parish or village nicknames twenty-one are

' Report of American Bureau of Ethnology, 1S93-94, p. 213 ^/ scq. ' Thirteenth Report of the Committee of Devonshire Folklore, Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, 1S95, xxvii., pp. 61-74.