CHAPTER III.. The Iroquois Phratry.

THE IROQUOIS PHRATRY.

Definition of a Phratry.—Kindred Gentes Reunited in a Higher Organization.—Phratry of the Iroquois Tribes.—Its Composition.—Its Uses and Functions.—Social and Religious.—Illustrations.—The Analogue of the Grecian Phratry; but in its Archaic Form.—Phratries of the Choctas.—Of the Chickasas.—Of the Mohegans.—Of the Thlinkeets.—Their Probable Universality in the Tribes of the American Aborigines. 88