Clans

Before the smallpox epidemic of 1837, there were 13 Mandan clans (ó’waxate) that were divided into two groups, the East Side and the West Side.

The West Side, which was established by Lone Man, comprised six clans. The West Side clans were symbolically associated with the buffalo and represented peace.

The East Side comprised seven clans. It was symbolically associated with corn and represented war.

All thirteen clans participated in the construction of the ceremonial lodge. The East Side clans erected the east side of the lodge and placed yellow corn in each posthole. The West Side clans erected the west side of the lodge and placed small mats of buffalo hair in the central postholes of their side.

The Waxíkina clan of the West Side was in the dominant leadership position, because Lone Man, while he was living in the tribe, had announced that he belonged to the Waxíkina. The Waxíkina clan also held the rites to the Okípe’ ceremony that had been established by Lone Man.

Other clans also had rights to specific ceremonies and each clan was the custodian of a specific variety of corn.

A person was born into his/her mother’s clan. Marriage within the clan was disapproved but not unheard of.

It was the duty of the clan to assist its own members. Hunters were expected to offer meat to old people of the same clan. Old people were fed, clothed, and provided with daily necessities by younger clan members. Orphans and childless old people were likewise supported and cared for by the clan. Although a person during his/her lifetime was most intimately associated with their mother’s clan, the final rites and funeral arrangements were the responsibility of one’s father’s clan.

After the smallpox epidemic of 1837 only four clans survived: Waxíkina and Tamíísike from the West Side, and Sípushka’ (Prairie Chicken) and Xtaxtáhe (Spotted Eagle) from the East Side. These four clans survived well into the 20^th century; however, after smallpox there were simply too few people left to maintain the costly ceremonies associated with each clan. The solution to the problem was to join forces with the Hidatsa, some of whose clans were considered to be the equivalents of Mandan clans.

Thus the Mandan Prairie Chickens (Sípushka’) and Hidatsa Prairie Chickens (Ciicgá) were considered to be the same; the Mandan Tamíísike was equated with the Hidatsa Mé’chiirooga (Knife Clan); the Waxíkina clan was equated with the Hidatsa Maxóòxadi (Alkali Lodge), and the Speckled Eagles (Xtaxtáhe) were regarded as minor branch of the Prairie Chicken clan.

As of the present day, the surviving Mandan clans have become fully integrated with and indistinguishable from the Hidatsa clans. Certain individuals may still remember which Mandan clan they belong to and even possess some of the rights and medicines associated with that clan, yet, for the time being, an organization separate from the Hidatsa remains dormant.

The information in this article is based on the interviews with Dr. Edwin Benson, and the published materials by Alfred Bowers, Edward Curtis, and Raymond Wood.