Certain symbols were thought to protect the owner and his family. The designs painted onto a tipi were obtained through dreams or visions, usually after a period of fasting and being alone with nature. Because of this, each design became the exclusive property of its owner and there could be no duplicates. It was believed that anyone who tried to copy designs not obtained through visions or dreams would suffer a penalty of sickness or even death.
If a tipi became worn out, the designs could be copied onto the owner's new tipi, but the original tipi had to be sacrificed to the sun by sinking it beneath the water in a lake. The achievements of the tribe or the owner of a tipi would often be painted onto the hide as decoration. Of course, this type of decoration did not require a vision or dream. It could be anything, such as a successful horse-stealing raid, a fight that the owner won, or a successful buffalo hunt.
Theowner invited a group of people of good reputation for honesty and industry tohis lodge and gave them a smoke. They then proceeded to help him finish thepainting. They used a buffalo tail or a handful of long buffalo hair to apply thepaint to the larger masses. The paint was mixed with hot water only, and rubbedonto the cover with considerable pressure.
When the painting was finished and the new lodge erected, all the ornaments thathung on the old lodge were transferred to the new one by the owner. Then heinvited the owners of other painted lodges in the camp to join him inside his newlodge.
There they prayed for the lodge and finally helped the owner make apurification sweat-lodge outside. The ceremony of transferring the sacred symbolsfrom the old to the new lodge was then ended. The old, worn painted cover was disposed of either by taking it to a lake,spreading it out and weighting it with stones so that it would sink; or byspreading it out on the plains and weighting it with stones. In the firstinstance the old cover was given as an offering to the water spirits; in thesecond instance, as an offering to the sun.
The legends telling of the origins of particular Blackfeet painted tipisgenerally place these actions in the dim and dateless past, although a few tellof painted lodges dreamed by warriors while on horse raids during the historicperiod.
My older informants during the 's regarded the Snake and Bear tipisas the oldest painted tipis among their people because an account of theiracquisition appears in the well-known and often-told story of the adventures ofthe mythological culture hero, Blood Clot.
They also thought the Yellow and theBlack Buffalo painted lodges were very old ones. Evidence of the existence of bear, buffalo, and bird painted tipis among theBlackfeet as early as the first decade of the 19th century appears in the journalof Alexander Henry, who traded with all of the Blackfeet tribes in the valley ofthe Saskatchewan River in He wrote then, "Their tents are large and clean.
The devices generally used in painting them are taken from beasts and birds; thebuffalo and the bear are frequently delineated, but in a rude and uncouthmanner. He observed, "Paintedtents, adorned with figures, are very seldom seen, and only a few chiefs possessthem. It is doubtful if more than ten per cent ofthe tipis in their great Sun Dance camps were painted.
Yet the painted onesattracted particular attention so that they were remembered. During the firstdecade of this century, Clark Wissler's Blackfeet informants, whose memories maywell have reached back to or earlier, recalled some 57 painted lodges amongthe several Blackfeet tribes-the Piegan in the United States, and the NorthPiegan, Blood and Blackfoot divisions in Southern Alberta.
The earliest illustration of a Blackfeet painted tipi I have seen is a coloreddrawing executed by a Blackfeet Indian for Father Nicholas Point in , whenPoint was serving as the first Christian missionary among the Blackfeet Indiansin present-day Montana. This drawing obviously was intended to portray a snakepainted lodge. The method of rendering the snakes with upraised heads facing eastand elongated bodies composed of alternating rectangles of color, zig-zaggingaround the tipi cover was employed in painting Blackfeet snake tipis of the's as well as those of a century earlier.
However, the early Indian artist'splacement of two snakes, one above the other on the same side of the tipi musthave reflected his desire to inform the viewer that there were two snakes paintedon that tipi.
Probably in the 's, as well as a century later, there was onesnake on each side of the tipi: a male on the South and a female on the north. This Indian drawing of the 's also clearly reveals a pattern of painteddesign layout that was still employed on many Blackfeet painted tipis a centurylater.
The conical surface was divided into three zones of unequal height. Abanded area at the bottom two or more feet in height is painted red to representthe earth. How did Raven Steal Crow's Potlatch? Inland Plateau People - About 10, years ago, different tribes of Indians settled in the Northwest Inland Plateau region of the United States and Canada, located between two huge mountain ranges - the Rockies and the Cascades. Each village was independent, and each had a democratic system of government.
They were deeply religious and believed spirits could be found everything - in both living and non-living things. Meet the Nez Perce. California Indians - The Far West was a land of great diversity. They are within sight of each other. Tribes living in what would become California were as different as their landscape. How did these early people stop ghosts from entering their homes?
Why was the shaman so powerful? What is a finger mask? Play games! See and hear an old Inuit myth! Enter the mystical world of the people who lived in the far north in olden times. Dream Catchers. Free Lesson Plans and Units. Suggested Classroom Activities and Projects. Free Games and More. See also: European Explorers in the New World.
Have a great year! If you're looking for beautiful handmade gifts this season, try my daughter's shop on Etsy We have an artist in the family! Some villages would have a larger tipi reserved as the dwelling of the chief. Others would have a large tipi acting as a community lodge or gathering space. Some villages would also have special tents reserved for spiritual leaders, or healers.
The size of villages could vary greatly, from just a few tipis gather together, to an encampment of over , such as the one encountered at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Today, tipis have become an important symbol of the lives and cultures of indigenous peoples. Many are constructed for artistic and educational purposes and can be used to teach others about the importance and symbolism in these structures. However, tipis are still put to practical use today.
For ceremonial purposes, or for large gatherings, people belonging to various native American tribes will use tipis as their dwelling for the duration of the event. Some modern hunters will still use a tipi as a hunting lodge, because it is so practical and portable. There have also been some grassroots movements among indigenous peoples to rediscover their ancestral roots, and to experience life as their ancestors did.
Many museums and parks have authentic tipis on display which the public can visit to learn more about the history of the structures and the people who lived in them. Join Now! The History Behind Teepee Dwellings. When and Where Were Tipis Used? Photo From: Pxhere. Tipi Construction. Photo From: Commons. Life Inside a Tipi.
Tipi Villages.
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