WhoMe

I am looking for information, resources or individuals who can relate some information about Comanche tipis.

Specifically I am wondering how many poles they start with. The positioning of the subsequent poles in order, number of poles and any other material that distinguishes them from other tribal tipis.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

tipis

If you go to the
www.tipis-tepees-teepees.com
site, then to the Links or Web pages, you will find a site on Commanche tipis.

tipis

WhoMe

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tipis:

Thank you so much for this link! I have been enjoying it and have yet to find the Comanche site, but will. I turned on some of my colleagues to this site and they know a whole lot of people listed on the credits.

A thousand Aho's

WhoMe

hockeyfan_019

It's my understand that the Commanche are a 4-pole people, like the Crow and the Blackfeet (yea) as opposed to the 3-pole peoples like the Souix or Cheyenne.

I've read from numerous sources that a 4 pole construction has some disadvantages, like a larger pole bundle under the cover at the top, potentially allowing more rainwater between the smoke flaps, and less stability in a strong wind. The shape this way is also somewhat more "squat" with a more "round" floor plan, rather than the more "egg" shape of the Souix...

I don't have any direct experience on this yet, as I have yet to either purchase or build my own lodge, this info is just from whatever sources I have found. I have built several models, and I have found that the 3-pole is a bit easier to erect and mount the poles, but I am quite sure that my 4-pole ancesters had good reason to use the way they did, so I can only study and learn...

Here's a few links with some info:

http://members.aol.com/eaglepipe1945...e/writing.html

http://www.reesetipis.com/

hth, Tom

Gail405

I cannot relate word for word. But there is a section in the book "Warriors of the Plains" by Colin Taylor. The book describes many things important to Tipi's or Lodges.This beginning roughly Pg 23, to Pg 29. It breaks down to clasification 3 lodgepole tipis, and 4 lodgepole tipis. The number seems to me to be of around 30 poles. You may read it different. I think it does discuss Commanche tipis. The poles best being from Crow country at the time of the book. "lodge pole pine" At powows the crows often sold , traded or bartered for the sale of these better poles to other tribes. It(the book) describes many things that were appropriate regarding tipi's. It did mention by the author, that canvas had been used for construction 1 tipi. Early tipi's were numbered buffalo hides. also deer and antelope hides. Different operations for preparing the hides, Also medicine tents. Painted by the individual owner. One tribe did not normally paint their tents. In the encampment there was tipis W/ out paint and some painted. There seemed to be a ratio situation between the 2 types. If interested in digging out this info. I'd say likely the public library would have available this book W/ this info. Or could get it on inner library loan.About all I have to offer on tipi's just at this time. GES

Historian

WhoMe,
I think you would be interested in a website titled:
Domestic Architecture in the Comanche Village on Medicine Creek, Indian Territory, Winter 1872-73
It was posted by:
Thomas W. Kavanagh, Curator of Collections
Mathers Museum, Indiana University
tkavanag@indiana.edu

You can go to it by clicking on:
http://php.indiana.edu/~tkavanag/asoule.html

Here is a sample of what you will find:
Abstract
Anthropological interest in Plains Indian architecture has long focused on the periodic ritual gatherings in which social structure was symbolized in the formal arrangement of the village, the camp circle. Features of domestic architecture have received little attention. William S. Soule's series of photographs of a Comanche village on Medicine Creek, Indian Territory, in the winter of 1872 - 1873, shows a number of lodges, with associated features, and allows a two-dimensional examination of the spatial arrangement and domestic architecture of a Comanche village in the late pre-reservation period......

....Ethnographic Evidence from the Medicine Creek Village.
Soule's Medicine Creek village series allows a two - dimensional examination of the spatial arrangement and domestic architecture of a Comanche village in the late pre-reservation period.

Details of Comanche style, four-pole Tipis are clearly shown. Comanche tipis use a base of four poles, two of which frame the door, the other two extending north and south of the framework. Thus a distinguishing feature of a Comanche tipi are the two door poles extending beyond and below the main bundle; these are visible on Tipi 3 in figs. 6 and 7. The rest of the poles are laid in the crotches formed by the base framework. Of the eight tipis which can be closely examined, the arrangement of the poles is evenly divided between left- and right-hand order.

The number of poles varies. Many have a framework of 17 poles, the large Tipi 2 has 21, Tipi 7 has only 11.

There is a clear pattern in the way the hides are sewn together to form the apex of the covers: their long edges form the front overlap, with the tails providing ornaments on each side of the door [fig. 8; drawing]. Beyond these, however, few other seams are visible, and other details of sewing are not available.

Thus it is not possible to state how the smoke flaps, or 'ears' are sewn on the cover. On several tipis, the lack of visible seams makes it appear that the ears were an integral part of the apex hides, rather than sewn onto the main cover.

The ears are fitted with a pocket to receive the end of a pole, allowing adjustments of the draft for variations in the wind. Interestingly, the bottom of the ears are not clearly defined, and on none of the tipis is there an ear rope and pole as is common on modern canvas tipis. Many of the poles are drilled near the tips to allow tying into drag bundles, and several have either ties or streamers through these holes.

None of the covers are painted. But many show evidence of hard use. Almost all are smoke stained, particularly around the ears. Two have cloth strips around the bottoms, i.e. Tipi 2 and one unnumbered in the background of fig. 8; Tipi 7 has two separate covers. One of the ear poles in on Tipi 3 has been carefully spliced.

A number of tipis, particularly Tipi 8 in fig. 10, seem to be trenched to channel rainwater away from the interior. This tipi also clearly shows the use of pegs around the base, rather than stones which might leave the so-called tipi rings.....

__________________

"Be good, be kind, help each other."
"Respect the ground, respect the drum, respect each other."
(Abe Conklin, Ponca/Osage, 1926-1995)