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The Iowa

The Iowa camping circle was divided into two half-circles, occupied by two
phratries of four gentes each. The first phratry regulated the hunt and
other tribal affairs during the autumn and winter; the second phratry took
the lead during the spring and summer. The author is indebted to the late
Reverend William Hamilton for a list of the Iowa gentes, obtained in 1880
during a visit to the tribe. Since then the author has recorded the
following list of gentes and subgentes, with the aid of a delegation of
the Iowa who visited Washington:

First phratry

Gentes Subgentes
1. Tu'-nan-p'in, Black 1. Ta'po-cka, a large
bear. Tohin and Ci{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}re black bear with a white
wonane were chiefs of spot on the chest.
this gens in 1880. Tohin 2. Pun'-xa cka, a black
kept the sacred pipe. bear with a red nose;
literally, Nose White.
3. Mun-tci'-nye, Young
black bear, a short black
bear.
4. Ki'-ro-ko'-qo-tce, a
small reddish black bear,
motherless; it has little
hair and runs swiftly.
2. Mi-tci'-ra-tce, Wolf. 1. Cun'-tan cka,
Ma'-hin was a chief of White-wolf.
this gens. 2. Cun'-tan ce-we,
Black-wolf.
3. Cun'-tan qo'-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e,
Gray-wolf.
4. Ma-nyi'-ka-qci',
Coyote.
3. Tce'-xi-ta, Eagle and 1. Na' tci-tce', i.e.
Thunder-being gens. Qra'-qtci, Real or Golden
eagle.
2. Qra' hun'-e, Ancestral
or Gray eagle.
3. Qra' {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}re'-ye,
Spotted-eagle.
4. Qra' pa can;
Bald-eagle.
4. Qo'-ta-tci, Elk; now 1. Un'-pe-xa qan'-ye,
extinct. The Elk gens Big-elk.
funished the soldiers or 2. Un'-pe-xa yin'-e,
policemen. Young-elk (?).
3. Un'-pe-xa {~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}{~COMBINING ACUTE ACCENT~}re'-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e
yin'-e,
Elk-somewhat-long.
4. Ho'-ma yin'-e, Young
elk (?). The difference
between Un'pexa and Homa
is unknown. The former
may be the archaic name
for elk.
5. Pa'-qca, Beaver. 1. Ra-we' qan'ye,
Probably the archaic Big-Beaver.
name, as beaver is now 2. Ra-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}{~COMBINING ACUTE ACCENT~}ro'-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e, meaning
ra-we. The survivors of unknown.
this gens have joined the 3. Ra-we' yin'-e,
Pa-ca or Beaver gens of Young-beaver.
the Oto tribe. 4. Ni'wan-ci'-ke,
Water-person.

Second phratry

6. Ru'-tce, Pigeon 1. Min-ke' qan'-ye,
Big-raccoon.
2. Min-ke'yin'-e,
Young-raccoon
3. Ru'-tce yin'-e,
Young-pigeon.
4. Oo'-ke,
Prairie-chicken, grouse.
7. A'-ru-qwa, Buffalo 1. Tce-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}o qan'-ye,
Big-buffalo-bull.
2. Tce-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}o yin'-o,
Young-buffalo-bull.
3. Tce-p'o'-cke yin'-e,
Young-buffalo-bull-that-is-distended
(?).
4. Tce-yin'-ye,
Buffalo-calf.
8. Wa-kan', Snake. An 1. Wa-kan' {~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}{~COMBINING ACUTE ACCENT~}i, Yellow-snake, i.e.,
extinct gens. Rattlesnake.
2. Wa-kan'-qtci, Real-snake, (named
after a species shorter than the
rattlesnake).
3. Ce'-ke yin'-e, Small or young
ceke, the copperhead snake (?).
4. Wa-kan' qo'-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e, Gray-snake (a
long snake, which the Omaha call
swift blue snake).
9. Man'-ko-ke, Owl. The names of the subgentes have been
Extinct. forgotten.

An account of the mythical origin of each Iowa gens, first recorded by the
Reverend William Hamilton, has been published in the Journal of American
Folk-lore.(7)

The visiting and marriage customs of the Iowa did not differ from those of
the cognate tribes, nor did their management of the children differ from
that of the Dakota, the Omaha, and others.

Murder was often punished with death, by the nearest of kin or by some
friend of the murdered person. Sometimes, however, the murderer made
presents to the avengers of blood, and was permitted to live.

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Previous: The Osage

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The Iowa