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JJDESIGNS NEWS UPDATE 24th APRIL 2023
THE FUR TRADE
A Travois is a frame structure that was used by the plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land. There is evidence to support that travois were used in other parts of the world before the invention of the wheel.
Initially the travois was pulled by dogs. The basic dog travois consisted of two aspen or cottonwood poles, notched and lashed together at one end with buffalo sinew, with the other ends splayed apart.
Cross bars are lashed between the poles near the splayed ends, and the finished frame looks like a large letter A with extra cross bars.
The apex of the A, wrapped in buffalo skin to prevent friction burns, rests on the dog’s shoulders, whilst the splayed ends drag over the ground.
Women both built the travois and managed the dogs. Buffalo meat and firewood were typical travois loads.
Women of the tribe were responsible for painting the Parfleche storage and carrying cases. As a rule these cases were rounded or folded twice, stitched up the sides and closed by a round triangular flap over one end. Cases intended to hold sacred medicine objects and bonnets could usually be identified by the long fringes at their sides or bottom. Others without fringes were used to common household articles. Usually cases were painted only on the front side and with a geometric design.
Incapacitated or wounded men could also be transported on a travois.
The dead during a raid were retrieved if possible, but were often buried on the field in shallow graves or under rocks, the other warriors leaving whatever gifts they could to aid them in their journey to the faraway land.
Blackfoot warriors had an unique custom of covering their battlefield dead with the bodies of their enemies. This was said to pay for those who were lost.
Buffalo robes were also a common painted item, and could be quite glamorous. Often the decorative designs painted or quilled on the robe proclaimed the status of the wearer.
The typical man’s robe of a northern plains Tribes was painted or quilled with a stunning “black warbonnet” pattern which consisted of concentric circles with numerous small radiating figures each composed of two isosceles triangles and designated by the Indians as “feathers”.
In addition to what was called “the marked male robe”, every warrior of note had a “war record” robe on which he pictured his accomplishments in raiding and war.
In painting war robes, the figures are best described as naturalistic or realistic figures of warriors horses and buffalo and other animals. The style was always bold, simple , shown in profile and without background.
A man either decorated his own robe or secured the service of a more skilled painter to do it for him.
Robe painting has been called “more properly picture writing than art”, and it should be remembered that simple pictorial shorthand served marvelously to tell those who were familiar with the language of the painted figures exactly what a brave man’s claims to distinction were.
It indicted with great economy the number of horses he had stolen from enemy camps on each war party, the number of enemy weapons or other personal equipment he had taken, the number of enemy he had killed or wounded, and the number of times he had served in the responsible position of leader of a war party or as a scout.
The War shield was one of the most important pieces of the warrior’s paraphernalia.
Although it could be punctured by a direct blow, a shield struck at an angle was tough enough to deflect lances, arrows or even a smoothbore ball at mid range. It was considered a most sacred and potent possession. Its painted symbols and the items appended to it had resulted from a vision, and in its manufacture and care the warrior bestowed intense selectivity, craftsmanship and thought.
The decoration and painting of the shield was always accompanied by special ceremonies conducted by medicine men and proven warriors.
A common Sioux practice was for the warrior to sit before the holy man and recount his coups with small sticks, dropping one for each coup, while the holy man painted on designs, prayed over them and sang war songs to affix their power permanently. These services were considered to be worth as many as two fine horses.
Best wishes,
john jenkins
THE FUR TRADE
A Travois is a frame structure that was used by the plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land. There is evidence to support that travois were used in other parts of the world before the invention of the wheel.
Initially the travois was pulled by dogs. The basic dog travois consisted of two aspen or cottonwood poles, notched and lashed together at one end with buffalo sinew, with the other ends splayed apart.
Cross bars are lashed between the poles near the splayed ends, and the finished frame looks like a large letter A with extra cross bars.
The apex of the A, wrapped in buffalo skin to prevent friction burns, rests on the dog’s shoulders, whilst the splayed ends drag over the ground.
Women both built the travois and managed the dogs. Buffalo meat and firewood were typical travois loads.
Women of the tribe were responsible for painting the Parfleche storage and carrying cases. As a rule these cases were rounded or folded twice, stitched up the sides and closed by a round triangular flap over one end. Cases intended to hold sacred medicine objects and bonnets could usually be identified by the long fringes at their sides or bottom. Others without fringes were used to common household articles. Usually cases were painted only on the front side and with a geometric design.
Incapacitated or wounded men could also be transported on a travois.
The dead during a raid were retrieved if possible, but were often buried on the field in shallow graves or under rocks, the other warriors leaving whatever gifts they could to aid them in their journey to the faraway land.
Blackfoot warriors had an unique custom of covering their battlefield dead with the bodies of their enemies. This was said to pay for those who were lost.
Buffalo robes were also a common painted item, and could be quite glamorous. Often the decorative designs painted or quilled on the robe proclaimed the status of the wearer.
The typical man’s robe of a northern plains Tribes was painted or quilled with a stunning “black warbonnet” pattern which consisted of concentric circles with numerous small radiating figures each composed of two isosceles triangles and designated by the Indians as “feathers”.
In addition to what was called “the marked male robe”, every warrior of note had a “war record” robe on which he pictured his accomplishments in raiding and war.
In painting war robes, the figures are best described as naturalistic or realistic figures of warriors horses and buffalo and other animals. The style was always bold, simple , shown in profile and without background.
A man either decorated his own robe or secured the service of a more skilled painter to do it for him.
Robe painting has been called “more properly picture writing than art”, and it should be remembered that simple pictorial shorthand served marvelously to tell those who were familiar with the language of the painted figures exactly what a brave man’s claims to distinction were.
It indicted with great economy the number of horses he had stolen from enemy camps on each war party, the number of enemy weapons or other personal equipment he had taken, the number of enemy he had killed or wounded, and the number of times he had served in the responsible position of leader of a war party or as a scout.
The War shield was one of the most important pieces of the warrior’s paraphernalia.
Although it could be punctured by a direct blow, a shield struck at an angle was tough enough to deflect lances, arrows or even a smoothbore ball at mid range. It was considered a most sacred and potent possession. Its painted symbols and the items appended to it had resulted from a vision, and in its manufacture and care the warrior bestowed intense selectivity, craftsmanship and thought.
The decoration and painting of the shield was always accompanied by special ceremonies conducted by medicine men and proven warriors.
A common Sioux practice was for the warrior to sit before the holy man and recount his coups with small sticks, dropping one for each coup, while the holy man painted on designs, prayed over them and sang war songs to affix their power permanently. These services were considered to be worth as many as two fine horses.
Best wishes,
john jenkins
