Native Americans, who knows the answer? (1 Viewer)

[Francis]

These horns intrigue me...
Cheyenne, Crow, or Sioux?
Which society?
Could an expert shed some light on this?

 

[mestell]

This is a Pronghorn Antelope headdress. For one example, The pronghorn antelope horned headdress is a symbol of the Crazy Dog military society of the Cheyenne.
Mike

 

[Dragoon]

Two of the paintings you've posted were by Frank McCarthy whose work was more Hollywood than history. - I know of no warrior society that historically used pronghorn antelope horns in their society headdress.

 

[Francis]

According to Mike's expert opinion, we are looking at a Cheyenne warrior from the "Crazy Dogs" society.

The Crazy Dogs are a branch of the parent society of bowstrings but are often considered a separate society...

This society, born from the fusion of the Warrior Dogs and the Wolf Warriors, is found among the Northern Cheyenne. This is therefore a must-have that John Jenkins, I hope, will have to create for his prolific Cheyenne series, whose sketches have certainly not gone unnoticed! Fingers crossed!

 

[Francis]

Thanks to Mike's information, I was able to do some more in-depth research which allowed me to confirm the historical existence of these warrior headdresses... But it's true that depictions of these warriors wearing these antelope horns are rare... If anyone has any paintings to show us on this subject, please don't hesitate!


As Mike implies, it wasn't only the Cheyenne who used Pronghorn horns, but also the Sioux and Comanches as decorative elements in their hairstyles to add an aesthetic and symbolic touch...