The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people"
) are a
Native American tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
from the
Southern Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, step ...
of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the
federally recognized
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
Comanche Nation, headquartered in
Lawton, Oklahoma
Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...
.
The
Comanche language
Comanche (, endonym ) is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Comanche people, who split from the Shoshone people soon after the Comanche had acquired horses around 1705. The Comanche language and the Shoshoni language are therefore quite similar ...
is a
Numic
Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Plains. The word Numic com ...
language of the
Uto-Aztecan
Uto-Aztecan, Uto-Aztekan or (rarely in English) Uto-Nahuatl is a family of indigenous languages of the Americas, consisting of over thirty languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found almost entirely in the Western United States and Mexico. The na ...
family. Originally, it was a
Shoshoni
The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:
* Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming
* Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho
* Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah
* Goshute: western Utah, easter ...
dialect, but diverged and became a separate language. The Comanche were once part of the
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:
* Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming
* Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho
* Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah
* Goshute: western Utah, easter ...
people of the
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Comanche lived in most of present-day northwestern
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and adjacent areas in eastern
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, southeastern
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, southwestern
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, and western
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. Spanish colonists and later Mexicans called their historical territory ''
Comanchería
The Comancheria or Comanchería (Comanche: Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ, 'Comanche land') was a region of New Mexico, west Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860s. Historian Pekka Hämäläinen has argued that the Comancheria ...
''.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Comanche practiced a
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
ic
horse culture
A horse culture is a tribal group or community whose day-to-day life revolves around the herding and breeding of horses. Beginning with the domestication of the horse on the steppes of Eurasia, the horse transformed each society that adopted its ...
and hunted, particularly bison. They traded with neighboring Native American peoples, and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
,
French, and American colonists and settlers.
As European Americans encroached on their territory, the Comanche waged war on and raided their settlements, as well as those of neighboring Native American tribes. They took captives from other tribes during warfare, using them as
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, selling them to the Spanish and (later)
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
settlers, or adopting them into their tribe.
[ Thousands of captives from raids on Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers assimilated into Comanche society. At their peak, the Comanche language was the ]lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of the Great Plains region.
Decimated by European diseases, warfare, and encroachment by Europeans on Comanchería, most Comanche were forced to live on reservations in Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
by the late 1870s.[
In the 21st century, the Comanche Nation has 17,000 members, around 7,000 of whom reside in tribal jurisdictional areas around Lawton, ]Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost .
The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
, and the surrounding areas of southwestern Oklahoma.[ The Comanche Homecoming Annual Dance takes place in mid-July in ]Walters, Oklahoma
Walters is a town in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,551 at the 2010 census. The city, nestled between twin creeks, is the county seat of Cotton County. The city's motto is "Small town; Big heart."
History
The lan ...
.
Name
The Comanche's autonym
Autonym may refer to:
* Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym
* Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name
See also
* Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...
is ''nʉmʉnʉʉ'', meaning "the human beings" or "the people". The earliest known use of the term "Comanche" dates to 1706, when the Comanche were reported by Spanish officials to be preparing to attack far-outlying Pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
settlements in southern Colorado. The Spanish adopted the Ute
Ute or UTE may refer to:
* Ute (band), an Australian jazz group
* Ute (given name)
* ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus
* Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles
* Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...
name for the people: ''kɨmantsi'' (enemy), and transliterated it into their own language phonetics. Before 1740, French explorers from the east sometimes used the name ''Padouca'' for the Comanche; it was already used for the Plains Apache
The Plains Apache are a small Southern Athabaskan group who live on the Southern Plains of North America, in close association with the linguistically unrelated Kiowa Tribe. Today, they are centered in Southwestern Oklahoma and Northern Texas an ...
.
Government
The Comanche Nation is headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. Their tribal jurisdictional area
Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area is a statistical entity identified and delineated by federally recognized American Indian tribes in Oklahoma as part of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Census and ongoing American Community Survey.
Many of these ...
is located in Caddo
The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language.
The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...
, Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
, Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
, Greer, Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Q ...
, Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...
, Tillman
Tillman is a surname and given name of English origin and an Americanized spelling of Tillmann. Other variants of the name include Tilman and Dillman. Notable people with the name Tillmann include:
Surname
* Albert Tillman (1928–2004), Amer ...
and Harmon counties. Their current Tribal Chairman is Mark Woommavovah. The tribe requires enrolled members to have at least 1/8 blood quantum level (equivalent to one great-grandparent).[
]
Economic development
The tribe operates its own housing authority and issues tribal vehicle tags
Several Native American tribes within the United States register motor vehicles and issue license plates to those vehicles.
The legal status of these plates varies by tribe, with some being recognized by the federal government and others not. Som ...
. They have their own Department of Higher Education, primarily awarding scholarships and financial aid for members' college educations. They own 10 tribal smoke shops and four casinos:[
# Comanche Nation Casino in Lawton
# Red River Casino in ]Devol, Oklahoma
Devol is a town in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 151 at the 2010 census, an increase of 0.7 percent from 150 at the 2000 census.CensusViewer:Devol, Oklahoma Populatio The town is named for J. Fiske Devol, who owned th ...
# Comanche Spur Casino in Elgin, Oklahoma
Elgin is a city in northeastern Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,156 at the 2010 census, a 78 percent increase from 1,210 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton met ...
# Comanche Star Casino in Walters, Oklahoma
Walters is a town in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,551 at the 2010 census. The city, nestled between twin creeks, is the county seat of Cotton County. The city's motto is "Small town; Big heart."
History
The lan ...
.
Cultural institutions
The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe (Native American), tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people t ...
in Lawton, Oklahoma, has permanent and changing exhibitions on Comanche history and culture. It opened to the public in 2007.
In 2002, the tribe founded the Comanche Nation College
Comanche Nation College was a two-year, open admissions, American Indian tribal college. It was located in Lawton, Oklahoma, the capital of the Comanche Nation. The school was chartered in 2002 by the Comanche Nation Business Committee. , a two-year tribal college
In the United States, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a category of higher education, minority-serving institutions defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Un ...
in Lawton. It closed in 2017 because of problems with accreditation and funding.
Each July, Comanche gather from across the United States to celebrate their heritage and culture in Walters at the annual Comanche Homecoming powwow
A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...
. The Comanche Nation Fair takes place every September. The Comanche Little Ponies host two annual dances—one over New Year's Eve and one in May.
History
Formation
The Proto-Comanche movement to the Plains was part of the larger phenomenon known as the “Shoshonean Expansion” in which that language family spread across the Great Basin and across the mountains into Wyoming. The Kotsoteka (‘Bison Eaters’) were probably among the first. Other groups followed. Contact with the Shoshones of Wyoming was maintained until the 1830s when it was broken by the advancing Cheyennes and Arapahoes.
After the Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Popay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than prese ...
of 1680, various Plains peoples acquired horses, but it was probably some time before they were very numerous.
As late as 1725, Comanches were described as using large dogs rather than horses to carry their bison hide "campaign tents".[Kavanagh 66]
The horse became a key element in the emergence of a distinctive Comanche culture. It was of such strategic importance that some scholars suggested that the Comanche broke away from the Shoshone and moved south to search for additional sources of horses among the settlers of New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
to the south (rather than search for new herds of buffalo.) The Comanche have the longest documented existence as horse-mounted Plains peoples; they had horses when the Cheyennes still lived in earth lodges.
The Comanche supplied horses and mules to all comers. As early as 1795, Comanche were selling horses to Anglo-American traders [Kavanagh 63] and by the mid-19th century, Comanche-supplied horses were flowing into St. Louis via other Indian middlemen (Seminole, Osage, Shawnee).
Their original migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
took them to the southern Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
, into a sweep of territory extending from the Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
to central Texas. The earliest references to them in the Spanish records date from 1706, when reports reached Santa Fe that Utes and Comanches were about to attack. In the Comanche advance, the Apaches were driven off the Plains. By the end of the 18th century the struggle between Comanches and Apaches had assumed legendary proportions: in 1784, in recounting the history of the southern Plains, Texas governor Domingo Cabello y Robles
Domingo Cabello y Robles (1725 -?) was a Spanish military officer who served as the governor of Nicaragua (1764–1776), Texas (1778 and 1786) and Cuba (1789–1790). His legislation in Texas was widely criticized.
Early years
Domingo Cabello y Ro ...
recorded that some 60 years earlier (i.e., ca. 1724) the Apaches had been routed from the southern Plains in a nine-day battle at La Gran Sierra del Fierro ‘The Great Mountain of Iron’, somewhere northwest of Texas. There is, however, no other record, documentary or legendary, of such a fight.
They were formidable warriors who developed strategies for using traditional weapons for fighting on horseback. Warfare was a major part of Comanche life. Comanche raids into Mexico traditionally took place during the full moon, when the Comanche could see to ride at night. This led to the term "Comanche Moon", during which the Comanche raided for horses, captives, and weapons. Comanche raids, especially in the 1840s, reached hundreds of miles deep into Mexico devastating northern parts of the country.
Divisions
Kavanagh has defined four levels of social-political integration in traditional pre-reservation Comanche society:
*Patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
and patrilocal
In social anthropology, patrilocal residence or patrilocality, also known as virilocal residence or virilocality, are terms referring to the social system in which a married couple resides with or near the husband's parents. The concept of locat ...
nuclear family
*Extended family group (nʉmʉnahkahni – "the people who live together in a household", no size limits, but kinship recognition was limited to relatives two generations above or three below)
*Residential local group or 'band', comprised one or more nʉmʉnahkahni, one of which formed its core. The band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
*Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
was the primary social unit of the Comanche. A typical band might number several hundred people. It was a family group, centered around a group of men, all of whom were relatives, sons, brothers or cousins. Since marriage with a known relative was forbidden, wives came from another group, and sisters left to join their husbands. The central man in that group was their grandfather, father, or uncle. He was called 'paraivo', 'chief'. After his death, one of the other men took his place; if none were available, the band members might drift apart to other groups where they might have relatives and/or establish new relations by marrying an existing member. There was no separate term for or status of 'peace chief' or 'war chief'; any man leading a war party was a 'war chief'.
*Division (sometimes called tribe, Spanish ''nación'', ''rama'' – "branch", comprising several local groups linked by kinship, sodalities (political, medicine, and military) and common interest in hunting, gathering, war, peace, trade).
In contrast to the neighboring Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
and Arapaho
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
to the north, there was never a single Comanche political unit or "Nation" recognized by all Comanches. Rather the divisions; the most "tribe-like" units, acted independently, pursuing their own economic and political goals.
Before the 1750s, the Spanish identified three Comanche Naciones (divisions): Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi), Yaparʉhka (Yamparika), and Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka).
After the Mescalero Apache, Jicarilla Apache and Lipan Apache had been largely displaced from the Southern Plains by the Comanche and allied tribes in the 1780s, the Spanish began to divide the now dominant Comanche into two geographical groups, which only partially corresponded to the former three Naciónes. The Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) ('Buffalo Eaters'), which had moved southeast in the 1750s and 1760s to the Southern Plains in Texas, were called Cuchanec Orientales ("Eastern Cuchanec/Kotsoteka") or Eastern Comanche, while those Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) that remained in the northwest and west, together with Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi - 'Timber/Forest People') (and sometimes Yaparʉhka (Yamparika)), which had moved southward to the North Canadian River, were called Cuchanec Occidentales ("Western Cuchanec/Kotsoteka") or Western Comanche. The "Western Comanche" lived in the region of the upper Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, and Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
Rivers, and the Llano Estacado
The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
. The "Eastern Comanche" lived on the Edwards Plateau
The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region at the crossroads of Central Texas, Central, South Texas, South, and West Texas. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the ...
and the Texas plains of the upper Brazos and Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
Rivers, and east to the Cross Timbers
The term Cross Timbers, also known as Ecoregion 29, Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains, is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas. Made up of a mix of prairie ...
.
They were probably the ancestors of the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka - 'Honey Eaters').
Over time, these divisions were altered in various ways, primarily due to changes in political resources. As noted above, the Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) were probably the first proto-Comanche group to separate from the Eastern Shoshones.
The name Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi) vanished from history in the early 19th century, probably merging into the other divisions, they are likely the forerunners of the Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni), Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada), and the Hʉpenʉʉ (Hois) local group of the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka). Due to pressure by southwards moving Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...
and Plains Apache (Naishan) raiders, many Yaparʉhka (Yamparika) moved southeast, joining the "Eastern Comanche" and becoming known as the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit). Many Kiowa and Plains Apache moved to northern Comancheria and became later closely associated with the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika).
In the mid 19th century, other powerful divisions arose, such as the Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni) ('wanderers', literally 'go someplace and return'), and the Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada) ('Antelope Eaters'). The latter originally some local groups of the Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) from the Cimarron River Valley as well as descendants of some Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi), which had pulled both southwards.
The northernmost Comanche division was the Yaparʉhka (Yapai Nʉʉ or Yamparika — ‘(Yap)Root-Eaters’). As the last band to move onto the Plains, they retained much of their Eastern Shoshone tradition.
The power and success of the Comanche attracted bands of neighboring peoples who joined them and became part of Comanche society; an Arapaho group became known as Saria Tʉhka (Chariticas, Sata Teichas - 'Dog Eaters') band, an Eastern Shoshone group as Pohoi (Pohoee - 'wild sage') band, and a Plains Apache group as Tasipenanʉʉ band.
The Texans and Americans divided the Comanche into five large dominant bands - the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika), Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka), Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni), Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka) and Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada), which in turn were divided by geographical terms into first three (later four) regional groupings: Northern Comanche, Middle Comanche, Southern Comanche, Eastern Comanche, and later Western Comanche. However, these terms generally do not correspond to the Native language terms.
The "Northern Comanche" label encompassed the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika) between the Arkansas River and Canadian River and the prominent and powerful Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) who roamed the high plains of Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles between Red and Canadian River, the famous Palo Duro Canyon offered them and their horse herds of protection from strong winter storms as well as from enemies, because the two bands dominated and ranged in the northern Comancheria.
The "Middle Comanche" label encompassed the aggressive Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni) ("wanderers", "those who turn back") between the headwaters of the Red River and the Colorado River in the south and the Western Cross Timbers in the east, their preferred range were on the Brazos River headwaters and its tributaries, the Pease River offered protection from storms and enemies. With them shared two smaller bands the same tribal areas: the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit) ("Those Living Downstream") and Tanimʉʉ (Tanima, Dahaʉi, Tevawish) ("Liver Eaters"). All three bands together were known as "Middle Comanche" because they lived "in the middle" of the Comancheria.
The "Southern Comanche" label encompassed the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka) ("Honey Eaters"), the southernmost, largest, and best known band among whites as they lived near the first Spanish and Texan settlements; their tribal areas extended from the upper reaches of the rivers in central Texas and Colorado River southward, including much of the Edwards Plateau, and eastward to the Western Cross Timbers; because they dominated the southern Comancheria they were called "Southern Comanche".
The "Western Comanche" label encompassed the Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada) ('Antelope Eaters'), which is the last to develop as an independent band in the 19th century. They lived on the hot, low-shadow desert plateaus of Llano Estacado in eastern New Mexico and found shelter in Tule Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon in northwestern Texas. They were the only band that never signed a contract with the Texans or Americans, and they were the last to give up the resistance. Because of their relative isolation from the other bands on the westernmost edge of the Comancheria, they were called the "Western Comanche".
There has been, and continues to be, much confusion in the presentation of Comanche group names. Groups on all levels of organization, families, nʉmʉnahkahni, bands, and divisions, were given names, but many 'band lists' do not distinguish these levels. In addition, there could be alternate names and nicknames. The spelling differences between Spanish and English add to the confusion.
Some of the Comanche group names
* Yaparʉhka or Yamparika (also ''Yapai Nʉʉ'' — ‘ (Yap)Root-Eaters’; One of its local groups may have been called ''Widyʉ Nʉʉ / Widyʉ / Widyʉ Yapa'' — ‘Awl People’; after the death of a man named 'Awl' they changed their name to ''Tʉtsahkʉnanʉʉ'' or ''Ditsahkanah'' — ‘Sewing People’ itchahkaynah Other Yapai local groups included:
** Ketahtoh or Ketatore (‘Don't Wear Shoes’, also called ''Napwat Tʉ'' — ‘Wearing No Shoes’)
** Motso (′Bearded Ones′, derived from ''motso'' — ‘Beard’)
** Pibianigwai (‘Loud Talkers’, ‘Loud Askers’)
** Sʉhmʉhtʉhka (‘Eat Everything’)
** Wahkoh (‘Shell Ornament’)
** Waw'ai or Wohoi (also ''Waaih'' – ′Lots of Maggots on the Penis′, also called ''Nahmahe'enah'' – ′Somehow being (sexual) together′, ′to have sex′, called by other groups, because they preferred to marry endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
and chose their partners from their own local group; this was viewed critically by other Comanche people)
* Hʉpenʉʉ or Jupe (‘Timber People’ because they lived in more wooded areas in the Central Plains north of the Arkansas River. Also spelled Hois.
* Kʉhtsʉtʉʉka or Kotsoteka (‘ Buffalo-Eaters’, spelled in Spanish as ''Cuchanec'')
* Kwaarʉnʉʉ or Kwahadi/Quohada (''Kwahare'' — ‘Antelope-Eaters’; nicknamed ''Kwahihʉʉki'' — ‘Sunshades on Their Backs’, because they lived on desert plains of the Llano Estacado
The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
in eastern New Mexico, westernmost Comanche Band). One of their local groups was nicknamed '' Parʉhʉya'' ('Elk', literally‘Water Horse’).
* Nokoninʉʉ or Nokoni (‘Movers’, ‘Returners’); allegedly, after the death of chief Peta Nocona
Peta Nocona (''circa'' 1820–1864), son to Iron Jacket, was a chief of the Comanche Kwahadi division. He married Cynthia Ann Parker, who had been taken as a captive in a raid and was adopted into the tribe by Tabby-nocca's family. Among their ch ...
they called themselves ''Noyʉhkanʉʉ'' — ‘Not Staying in one place’, and/or''Tʉtsʉ Noyʉkanʉʉ / Detsanayʉka'' — ‘Bad Campers’, ‘Poor Wanderer’.
** Tahnahwah or Tenawa (also ''Tenahwit'' — ‘Those Who Live Downstream’,
** Tanimʉʉ or Tanima (also called ''Dahaʉi'' or ''Tevawish'' — ‘Liver-Eaters’,
* Penatʉka Nʉʉ or Penateka (other variants: ''Pihnaatʉka'', ''Penanʉʉ'' — ‘Honey-Eaters’;
Some names given by others include:
* WahaToya (literally 'Two Mountains'); (given as Foothills in Cloud People - those who live near Walsenburg, CO)
* Toyanʉmʉnʉ (′Foothills People′ - those who lived near Las Vegas, NM)
Unassignable names include:
* Tayʉʉwit / Teyʉwit (‘Hospitable Ones’)
* Kʉvahrahtpaht (‘Steep Climbers’)
* Taykahpwai / Tekapwai (‘No Meat’)
* Pagatsʉ (''Pa'káh'tsa'' — ‘Head of the Stream’, also called ''Pahnaixte'' — ‘Those Who Live Upstream’)
* Mʉtsahne or Motsai (‘Undercut Bank’)
Old Shoshone names
* Pekwi Tʉhka (‘Fish-Eaters’)
* Pohoi / Pohoee (‘Wild Sage’)
Other names, which may or may not refer to Comanche groups include:
* Hani Nʉmʉ (''Hai'ne'na'ʉne'' — ‘Corn Eating People’) Wichitas.
* It'chit'a'bʉd'ah (''Utsu'itʉ'' — ‘Cold People’, i.e. ‘Northern People’, probably another name for the ''Yaparʉhka'' or one of their local groups - because they lived to the north)
* Itehtah'o (‘Burnt Meat’, nicknamed by other Comanche, because they threw their surplus of meat out in the spring, where it dried and became black, looking like burnt meat)
* Naʉ'niem (''No'na'ʉm'' — ‘Ridge People’
Modern Local Groups
* Ohnonʉʉ (also ''Ohnʉnʉnʉʉ'' or ''Onahʉnʉnʉʉ'', 'Salt People' or 'Salt Creek people') live in Caddo County in the vicinity of Cyril, Oklahoma
Cyril is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,059 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Cyril is located in southeastern Caddo County at (34.897969, -98.202843). U.S. Route 277 passes through the town, leading northeast ...
; mostly descendants of the Nokoni Pianavowit.
* Wianʉʉ (''Wianʉ'', ''Wia'ne'' — ‘Hill Wearing Away’), live east of Walters, Oklahoma
Walters is a town in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,551 at the 2010 census. The city, nestled between twin creeks, is the county seat of Cotton County. The city's motto is "Small town; Big heart."
History
The lan ...
, descendants of Waysee.
Comanche Wars
The Comanche fought a number of conflicts against Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and later Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
and American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
armies. These were both expeditionary, as with the raids into Mexico, and defensive
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indust ...
. The Comanche were noted as fierce warriors who fought vigorously for their homeland of Comancheria
The Comancheria or Comanchería (Comanche: Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ, 'Comanche land') was a region of New Mexico, west Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860s. Historian Pekka Hämäläinen has argued that the Comancheria ...
. However, the massive population of the settlers from the east and the diseases they brought led to pressure and decline of Comanche power and the cessation of their major presence in the southern Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
.
Relationship with settlers
The Comanche maintained an ambiguous relationship with Europeans and later settlers attempting to colonize their territory. The Comanche were valued as trading partners since 1786 via the Comanchero
The Comancheros were a group of 18th- and 19th-century traders based in northern and central New Mexico. They made their living by trading with the nomadic Great Plains Indian tribes in northeastern New Mexico, West Texas, and other parts of the ...
s of New Mexico, but were feared for their raids against settlers in Texas. Similarly, they were, at one time or another, at war with virtually every other Native American group living on the South Plains, leaving opportunities for political maneuvering by European colonial powers and the United States. At one point, Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...
, president of the newly created Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
, almost succeeded in reaching a peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
with the Comanche in the 1844 Treaty of Tehuacana Creek
The Treaty of Tehuacana Creek (or the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Commerce) was signed at Tehuacana Creek on October 9, 1844 between representatives from the Republic of Texas and various Native American tribes. The tribes involved in the sig ...
. His efforts were thwarted in 1845 when the Texas legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...
refused to create an official boundary between Texas and the Comancheria.
While the Comanche managed to maintain their independence and increase their territory, by the mid-19th century, they faced annihilation because of a wave of epidemics due to Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
n diseases to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
and measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
. Outbreaks of smallpox (1817, 1848) and cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
(1849) took a major toll on the Comanche, whose population dropped from an estimated 20,000 in the late 18th century to just a few thousand by the 1870s.
The US began efforts in the late 1860s to move the Comanche into reservations, with the Treaty of Medicine Lodge
The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the Federal government of the United States and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by rel ...
(1867), which offered churches, schools, and annuities in return for a vast tract of land totaling over . The government promised to stop the buffalo hunters, who were decimating the great herds of the Plains, provided that the Comanche, along with the Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
s, Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...
s, Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
, and Arapaho
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
s, move to a reservation totaling less than of land. However, the government did not prevent the slaughtering of the herds. The Comanche under Quenatosavit White Eagle (later called Isa-tai
Isatai'i ( Comanche ''isa'' 'wolf or coyote' + ''tai'i'' 'vagina'), Isatai, or Eschiti (c.1840 – 1916) was a Comanche warrior and medicine man of the Kwaharʉ band. Originally named Kwihnai Tosabitʉ (White Eagle), after the debacle at Adobe W ...
"Coyote's Vagina") retaliated by attacking a group of hunters in the Texas Panhandle in the Second Battle of Adobe Walls
The Second Battle of Adobe Walls was fought on June 27, 1874, between Comanche forces and a group of 28 Texan bison hunters defending the settlement of Adobe Walls, in what is now Hutchinson County, Texas. "Adobe Walls was scarcely more than a ...
(1874). The attack was a disaster for the Comanche, and the US army was called in during the Red River War
The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874 to displace the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains, and forcibly relocate the tribes to reservatio ...
to drive the remaining Comanche in the area into the reservation, culminating in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon was a military confrontation and a significant United States victory during the Red River War. The battle occurred on September 28, 1874, when several U.S. Army regiments under Ranald S. Mackenzie attacked a large ...
. Within just 10 years, the buffalo were on the verge of extinction, effectively ending the Comanche way of life as hunters. In May 1875, the last free band of Comanches, led by the Quahada warrior Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...
, surrendered and moved to the Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost .
The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
reservation in Oklahoma. The last independent Kiowa and Kiowa Apache had also surrendered.
The 1890 Census showed 1,598 Comanche at the Fort Sill reservation, which they shared with 1,140 Kiowa and 326 Kiowa Apache.
Cherokee Commission
The Agreement with the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache signed with the Cherokee Commission
The Cherokee Commission, was a three-person bi-partisan body created by President Benjamin Harrison to operate under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, as empowered by Section 14 of the Indian Appropriations Act of March 2, 1889. Sec ...
October 6–21, 1892, further reduced their reservation to at a cost of $1.25 per acre ($308.88/km2), with an allotment of per person per tribe to be held in trust. New allotments were made in 1906 to all children born after the agreement, and the remaining land was opened to white settlement. With this new arrangement, the era of the Comanche reservation came to an abrupt end.
Meusebach–Comanche treaty
The Peneteka band agreed to a peace treaty with the German Immigration Company under John O. Meusebach. This treaty was not affiliated with any level of government. Meusebach brokered the treaty to settle the lands on the Fisher-Miller Land Grant, from which were formed the 10 counties of Concho
Concha and Concho means "shell" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. The word can also refer to:
Places
* Concho, Arizona, a frontier town now functioning as a retirement community in Apache County
* Concho, Oklahoma
* Concho County, Texas
* ...
, Kimble, Llano, Mason
Mason may refer to:
Occupations
* Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces
* Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
, McCulloch
McCulloch is a Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway.
Notable people with the surname include:
*Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician
*Alan McLeod McCulloch ( ...
, Menard
Menard may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Menard River, a tributary of the Wawagosic River in Quebec, Canada
United States
* Menard County, Illinois
** Menard, Illinois
* Menard County, Texas
** Menard, Texas
* Menard–Hodges site, archaeological s ...
, Schleicher, San Saba, Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
, and Tom Green
Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...
. In contrast to many treaties of its day, this treaty was very brief and simple, with all parties agreeing to a mutual cooperation and a sharing of the land. The treaty was agreed to at a meeting in San Saba County, and signed by all parties on May 9, 1847 in Fredericksburg, Texas
Fredericksburg (german: Friedrichsberg) is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, this city had a population of 10,530.
Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. O ...
. The treaty was very specifically between the Peneteka band and the German Immigration Company. No other band or tribe was involved. The German Immigration Company was dissolved by Meusebach himself shortly after it had served its purpose. By 1875, the Comanches had been relocated to reservations. Five years later, artist Friedrich Richard Petri
Friedrich Richard Petri (1824–1857) was a German-born Texas painter whose works recorded life in the original German immigrant settlements, and portrayed Native American tribes in family settings.
Early life
Friedrich Richard Petri was born on ...
and his family moved to the settlement of Pedernales, near Fredericksburg. Petri's sketches and watercolors gave witness to the friendly relationships between the Germans and various local Native American tribes.
Fort Martin Scott treaty
In 1850, another treaty was signed in San Saba, between the United States government and a number of local tribes, among which were the Comanches. This treaty was named for the nearest military fort, which was Fort Martin Scott
Fort Martin Scott is a restored United States Army outpost near Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, United States, that was active from December 5, 1848, until April, 1853. It was part of a line of frontier forts established to protect trav ...
. The treaty was never officially ratified by any level of government and was binding only on the part of the Native Americans.
Captive Herman Lehmann
One of the most famous captives in Texas was a German boy named Herman Lehmann
Herman Lehmann (June 5, 1859 – February 2, 1932) was captured as a child by Native Americans. He lived first among the Apache and then the Comanche but eventually returned to his family later in life. The phenomenon of a white child raised by I ...
. He had been kidnapped by the Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
s, only to escape and be rescued by the Comanches. Lehmann became the adoptive son of Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...
. On August 26, 1901, Quanah Parker provided a legal affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
verifying Lehmann's life as his adopted son 1877–1878. On May 29, 1908, the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
authorized the United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
to allot Lehmann, as an adopted member of the Comanche nation, 160 acres of Oklahoma land, near Grandfield.
Recent history
Entering the Western economy was a challenge for the Comanche in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many tribal members were defrauded of whatever remained of their land and possessions. Appointed paramount chief by the United States government, Chief Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...
campaigned vigorously for better deals for his people, meeting with Washington politicians frequently; and helped manage land for the tribe.
Parker became wealthy as a cattleman. He also campaigned for the Comanches' permission to practice the Native American Church
The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The re ...
religious rites, such as the usage of peyote
The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to gl ...
, which was condemned by European Americans.
Before the first Oklahoma legislature, Quanah testified:
I do not think this legislature should interfere with a man's religion, also these people should be allowed to retain this health restorer. These healthy gentleman before you use peyote and those that do not use it are not so healthy.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, many Comanche left the traditional tribal lands in Oklahoma to seek jobs and more opportunities in the cities of California and the Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
. About half of the Comanche population still lives in Oklahoma, centered on the town of Lawton.
Recently, an 80-minute 1920 silent film was "rediscovered", titled '' The Daughter of Dawn.'' It features a cast of more than 300 Comanche and Kiowa.
Culture
Childbirth
If a woman went into labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
while the band was in camp, she was moved to a tipi
A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan languages, Siouan, and in use in Dakot ...
, or a brush lodge if it was summer. One or more of the older women assisted as midwives
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; con ...
. Men were not allowed inside the tipi during or immediately after the delivery.
First, the midwives softened the earthen floor
An earthen floor, also called an adobe floor, is a floor made of dirt, raw earth, or other unworked ground materials. It is usually constructed, in modern times, with a mixture of sand, finely chopped straw and clay, mixed to a thickened consiste ...
of the tipi and dug two holes. One of the holes was for heating water and the other for the afterbirth. One or two stakes were driven into the ground near the expectant mother's bedding for her to grip during the pain of labor. After the birth, the midwives hung the umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or ''funiculus umbilicalis'') is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiologic ...
on a hackberry tree. The people believed that if the umbilical cord was not disturbed before it rotted, the baby would live a long and prosperous life.
The newborn was swaddled and remained with its mother in the tipi for a few days. The baby was placed in a cradleboard
Cradleboards (, se, gietkka, sms, ǩiõtkâm, smn, kietkâm, sje, gietkam) are traditional protective baby-carriers used by many indigenous cultures in North America and throughout northern Scandinavia amongst the Sámi. There are a variety ...
, and the mother went back to work. She could easily carry the cradleboard on her back, or prop it against a tree where the baby could watch her while she collected seeds or roots. Cradleboards consisted of a flat board to which a basket was attached. The latter was made from rawhide straps, or a leather sheath that laced up the front. With soft, dry moss as a diaper, the young one was safely tucked into the leather pocket. During cold weather, the baby was wrapped in blankets, and then placed in the cradleboard. The baby remained in the cradleboard for about ten months; then it was allowed to crawl around.[Wallace and Hoebel (1952) p.120]
Both girls and boys were welcomed into the band, but boys were favored. If the baby was a boy, one of the midwives informed the father or grandfather, "It's your close friend". Families might paint a flap on the tipi to tell the rest of the tribe that they had been strengthened with another warrior. Sometimes a man named his child, but mostly the father asked a medicine man
A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...
(or another man of distinction) to do so. He did this in the hope of his child living a long and productive life. During the public naming ceremony, the medicine man lit his pipe and offered smoke to the heavens, earth, and each of the four directions. He prayed that the child would remain happy and healthy. He then lifted the child to symbolize its growing up and announced the child's name four times. He held the child a little higher each time he said the name. It was believed that the child's name foretold its future; even a weak or sick child could grow up to be a great warrior, hunter, and raider if given a name suggesting courage and strength. Boys were often named after their grandfather, uncle, or other relative. Girls were usually named after one of their father's relatives, but the name was selected by the mother. As children grew up they also acquired nicknames at different points in their lives, to express some aspect of their lives.
Children
The Comanche looked on their children as their most precious gift. Children were rarely punished. Sometimes, though, an older sister or other relative was called upon to discipline a child, or the parents arranged for a boogey man to scare the child. Occasionally, old people donned sheets and frightened disobedient boys and girls. Children were also told about Big Maneater Owl (''Pia Mupitsi''), who lived in a cave on the south side of the Wichita Mountains
The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the principal relief system in the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, being the result of a failed continental rift. The mountains are a northwest-southea ...
and ate bad children at night.
Children learned from example, by observing and listening to their parents and others in the band. As soon as she was old enough to walk, a girl followed her mother about the camp and played at the daily tasks of cooking and making clothing. She was also very close to her mother's sisters, who were called not aunt but ''pia'', meaning mother. She was given a little deerskin doll, which she took with her everywhere. She learned to make all the clothing for the doll.
A boy identified not only with his father but with his father's family, as well as with the bravest warriors in the band. He learned to ride a horse before he could walk. By the time he was four or five, he was expected to be able to skillfully handle a horse. When he was five or six, he was given a small bow and arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
s. Often, a boy was taught to ride and shoot by his grandfather, since his father and other warriors were on raids and hunts. His grandfather also taught him about his own boyhood and the history and legends of the Comanche.
As the boy grew older, he joined the other boys to hunt birds. He eventually ranged farther from camp looking for better game to kill. Encouraged to be skillful hunters, boys learned the signs of the prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
as they learned to patiently and quietly stalk game. They became more self-reliant, yet, by playing together as a group, also formed the bonds and cooperative spirit that they would need when they hunted and raided.
Boys were highly respected because they would become warriors and might die young in battle. As he approached manhood, a boy went on his first buffalo hunt. If he made a kill, his father honored him with a feast. Only after he had proven himself on a buffalo hunt was a young man allowed to go to war.
When he was ready to become a warrior, at about age 15 or 16, a young man first "made his medicine" by going on a vision quest
A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is usually only undertaken by young males entering adulthood.
Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English- ...
(a rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
). Following this quest, his father gave him a good horse to ride into battle and another mount for the trail. If he had proved himself as a warrior, a Give Away Dance might be held in his honor. As drummers faced east, the honored boy and other young men danced. His parents, along with his other relatives and the people in the band, threw presents at his feet – especially blankets and horses symbolized by sticks. Anyone might snatch one of the gifts for themselves, although those with many possessions refrained; they did not want to appear greedy. People often gave away all their belongings during these dances, providing for others in the band, but leaving themselves with nothing.[Wallace and Hoebel (1952) pp.126–132]
Girls learned to gather berries, nuts, and roots. They carried water and collected wood, and at about 12 years old learned to cook meals, make tipis, sew clothing, prepare hides, and perform other tasks essential to becoming a wife and mother. They were then considered ready to be married.[Wallace and Hoebel (1952) pp.124, 125]
Death
During the 19th century, the traditional Comanche burial custom was to wrap the deceased's body in a blanket and place it on a horse, behind a rider, who would then ride in search of an appropriate burial place, such as a secure cave. After entombment, the rider covered the body with stones and returned to camp, where the mourners burned all the deceased's possessions. The primary mourner slashed his arms to express his grief. The Quahada band followed this custom longer than other bands and buried their relatives in the Wichita Mountains
The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the principal relief system in the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, being the result of a failed continental rift. The mountains are a northwest-southea ...
. Christian missionaries persuaded Comanche people to bury their dead in coffins in graveyards, which is the practice today.
Transportation and habitation
When they lived with the Shoshone, the Comanche mainly used dog-drawn travois
A travois (; Canadian French, from French , a frame for restraining horses; also obsolete travoy or travoise) is a historical frame structure that was used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Aboriginals of North America, to drag loads ov ...
for transportation. Later, they acquired horses from other tribes, such as the Pueblo, and from the Spaniards. Because horses are faster, easier to control and stronger, this helped with hunting, warfare and moving camp. Larger dwellings were made due to the ability to pull and carry more belongings. Being herbivores, horses were also easier to feed than dogs, since meat was a valuable resource. The horse was of the utmost value to the Comanche. A Comanche man's wealth was measured by the size of his horse herd. Horses were prime targets to steal during raids; often raids were conducted specifically to capture horses. Often horse herds numbering in the hundreds were stolen by Comanche during raids against other Indian nations, Spanish, Mexicans, and later from the ranches of Texans. Horses were used for warfare with the Comanche being considered to be among the finest light cavalry and mounted warriors in history.
The Comanche covered their tipis with buffalo hides sewn together. To prepare the hides, women spread them on the ground, scraped off the fat and flesh with blades of bone or antler, and dried them in the sun. Then the women scraped off the thick hair and soaked the hides in water. After several days, they vigorously rubbed them in a mixture of fat, brains and liver to soften them. They softened them further by rinsing and working back and forth over a rawhide thong. Finally, they were smoked over a fire, which gave them a tan color. To finish the tipi covering, women laid the tanned hides side by side and stitched them together. As many as 22 hides could be used, but 14 was the average. The sewn cover was tied to a pole and raised, wrapped around the cone-shaped frame, and pinned with pencil-sized wooden skewers. Two wing-shaped flaps at the top of the tipi were turned back to make an opening, which could be adjusted to keep out moisture and held pockets of insulating air. With a fire pit in the center of the earthen floor, the tipis stayed warm in winter. In summer, the bottom edges of the tipis could be rolled up to let in a breeze. Cooking was done outside during hot weather. Tipis were very practical homes for nomads. Working together, women could quickly set them up or take them down. An entire Comanche band could be packed and chasing a buffalo herd within about 20 minutes. The women did most food processing and preparation.
Food
The Comanche were initially hunter-gatherers
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
. When they lived in the Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
, during their migration to the Great Plains, both men and women shared responsibility for gathering and providing food. When the Comanche reached the plains, hunting predominated. Hunting was considered a male activity and was a principal source of prestige. For meat, the Comanche hunted buffalo, elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
, black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
, pronghorn
The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...
, and deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
. When game was scarce, the men hunted wild mustangs, and sometimes ate their own ponies. In later years the Comanche raided Texas ranches and stole longhorn cattle. They did not eat fish or fowl, unless starving.
Women prepared and cooked bison meat and other game. Women also gathered wild fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, roots and tubers, including plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
s, grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
s, juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
berries, persimmon
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...
s, mulberries
''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
, acorn
The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally
two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...
s, pecan
The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
s, wild onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
s, radish
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an Eating, edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman Empire, Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, be ...
es, and tuna, the fruit of the prickly pear cactus
''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...
. The Comanche also acquired maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
, dried pumpkin
A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...
, and tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
through trade and raids. They roasted meat over a fire or boiled it. To boil fresh or dried meat and vegetables, women dug a pit in the ground, which they lined with animal skins or buffalo stomach and filled with water to make a kind of cooking pot. They placed heated stones in the water until it boiled and had cooked their stew. After Spanish contact, Comanche traded for copper pots and iron kettles, which made cooking easier.
Women used berries and nuts, as well as honey and tallow
Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...
, to flavor buffalo meat. They stored the tallow in intestine casings or rawhide pouches called ''oyóotû¿''. They especially liked to make a sweet mush of buffalo marrow mixed with crushed mesquite beans.
The Comanches sometimes ate raw meat, especially raw liver flavored with gall
Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...
. They also drank the milk from the slashed udders of buffalo, deer, and elk. Among their delicacies was the curdled milk from the stomachs of suckling buffalo calves. They also enjoyed buffalo tripe, or stomachs.
Comanche generally ate a light meal breakfast and a large dinner. They ate during the day when they were hungry or when it was convenient. Like other Plains Indians
Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...
, the Comanche were very hospitable. They prepared meals whenever a visitor arrived in camp, which led to outsiders' belief that the Comanches ate at all hours of the day or night. Many families offered thanks as they sat down to eat their meals.
Comanche children ate pemmican
Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenous ...
, but this was primarily a tasty, high-energy food reserved for war parties. Carried in a parfleche
A parfleche is a Native American rawhide container that is embellished by painting, incising, or both.
Envelope-shaped parfleches have historically been used to contain items such household tools or foods, such as dried meat or pemmican. They w ...
pouch, pemmican was eaten only when the men did not have time to hunt. Similarly, in camp, people ate pemmican only when other food was scarce. Traders ate pemmican sliced and dipped in honey, which they called Indian bread.
Clothing
Comanche clothing was simple and easy to wear. Men wore a leather belt with a breechcloth — a long piece of buckskin brought up between the legs and looped over and under the belt at the front and back, and loose-fitting deerskin leggings. Moccasins
A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel o ...
had soles made from thick, tough buffalo hide with soft deerskin uppers. Men wore nothing on the upper body, except in winter when they wore heavy robes of buffalo hide (or occasionally, bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
, wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
, or coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
skins) with knee-length buffalo-hide boots. Young boys usually went naked except in cold weather. By age 8 or 9, they wore adult clothing. In the 19th century, men had replaced the buckskin breechcloths by woven cloth, and wore loose-fitting buckskin shirts. Women wore long deerskin dresses with a flared skirt and wide, long sleeves, with buckskin fringes on the sleeves and hem. Beads and pieces of metal were attached in geometric patterns. Women wore buckskin moccasins with buffalo soles. Women decorated their shirts, leggings and moccasins with fringes of deer-skin, animal fur, and human hair. They also decorated their shirts and leggings with patterns and shapes of beads and scraps of material. In winter they, too, wore warm buffalo robes and tall, fur-lined buffalo-hide boots. Unlike boys, girls old enough to walk were dressed in breechcloths. By age 12 or 13, they wore women's clothing.
Hair and headgear
Comanche people took pride in their hair, which was worn long. They arranged it with porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
quill brushes, greased it and parted it in the center from the forehead to the back of the neck. They painted the scalp along the parting with yellow, red, or white clay (or other colors). They wore their hair in two long braids tied with leather thongs or colored cloth, and sometimes wrapped with beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
fur. They also braided a strand of hair from the top of their head. This slender braid, called a scalp lock, was decorated with colored scraps of cloth and beads, and a single feather. Comanche men rarely wore anything on their heads. Only after they moved onto a reservation late in the 19th century did men begin to wear the typical Plains headdress
Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...
. In severe cold, they might wear a brimless, woolly buffalo hide hat. At war, some warriors wore a headdress of buffalo scalp. Warriors cut away most of the hide and flesh from a buffalo head, leaving only a portion of the woolly head and the horns. This type of hat was worn only by the Comanche. Women did not let their hair grow as long as the men did. Young women might wear their hair long and braided, but women parted their hair in the middle and kept it short. Like the men, they painted their scalp along the parting with bright paint.
Body decoration
Comanche men usually had pierced ears with hanging earrings made of pieces of shell or loops of brass or silver wire. A female relative would pierce the outer edge of the ear with six or eight holes. The men also tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...
ed his face, arms, and chest with geometric designs, and painted his face and body. Traditionally they used paints made of berry juice and the colored clays of the Comancheria. Later, traders supplied them with vermilion (red pigment) and bright grease paints. Men wore bands of leather and strips of metal on their arms. Except for black, which was the color for war, there was no standard color or pattern for face and body painting: it was a matter of individual preference. For example, one man might paint one side of his face white and the other side red; another might paint one side of his body green and the other side with green and black stripes. One Comanche might always paint himself in a particular way, while another might change the colors and designs when so inclined. Some designs had special meaning to the individual, and special colors and designs might have been revealed in a dream. Women might also tattoo their face or arms. They were fond of painting their bodies and were free to do so as they pleased. It was popular for women to paint the insides of their ears a bright red and paint great orange and red circles on their cheeks. They usually painted red and yellow around their lips.
Art and material culture
Because of their frequent traveling, Comanche had to make sure that their household goods and other possessions were unbreakable. They did not use pottery that could easily be broken on long journeys. Weaving, wood carving, and metal working were unknown. Instead, they depended on buffalo for most of their tools, household goods, and weapons. They made nearly 200 different utilitarian items from the horns, hide, and bones.
Removing the lining of the inner stomach, women made the paunch into a water bag. The lining was stretched over four sticks and filled with water to make a pot for cooking soups and stews. With wood scarce on the plains, women relied on buffalo chips (dried dung) as fuel for cooking and heat.
Stiff rawhide was fashioned into saddles, stirrups and cinches, knife cases, buckets, and moccasin soles. Rawhide was also made into rattles and drums. Strips of rawhide were twisted into sturdy ropes. Scraped to resemble white parchment, rawhide skins were folded to make parfleches in which food, clothing, and other personal belongings were kept. Women also tanned hides to make soft and supple buckskin, which was used for tipi covers, warm robes, blankets, cloths, and moccasins. They used buckskin for bedding, cradles, dolls, bags, pouches, quivers, and gun cases.
Sinew
A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...
was used for bowstrings and sewing thread. Hooves were turned into glue and rattles. Horns were shaped into cups, spoons, and ladles, while the tail made a whip, fly-swatter, or a tipi decoration. Men made tools, scrapers, needles, pipes and children's toys from the bones. But men concentrated on making bows and arrows, lances, and shields. The thick neck skin of an old bull was ideal for war shields that deflected arrows as well as bullets. Since they spent most of each day on horseback, they also fashioned leather into saddles, stirrups, and other equipment for their mounts. Buffalo hair was used to fill saddle pads and was used in rope and halters.
Language
The language spoken by the Comanche people
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in Law ...
, ''Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
'' (''Numu tekwapu''), is a Numic language
Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Plains. The word Numic com ...
of the Uto-Aztecan language group. It is closely related to the language of the Shoshone, from which the Comanche diverged around 1700. The two languages remain closely related, but a few low-level sound changes inhibit mutual intelligibility. The earliest records of Comanche from 1786 clearly show a dialect of Shoshone, but by the beginning of the 20th century, these sound changes had modified the way Comanche sounded in subtle, but profound, ways. Although efforts are now being made to ensure survival of the language, most of its speakers are elderly, and less than 1% of the Comanches can speak it.
In the late 19th century, many Comanche children were placed in boarding schools with children from different tribes. The children were taught English and discouraged from speaking their native language. Anecdotally, enforcement of speaking English was severe.
Quanah Parker learned and spoke English and was adamant that his own children do the same. The second generation then grew up speaking English, because it was believed that it was better for them not to know Comanche.[Hämäläinen (2008), p.171]
Comanches were among the Native Americans who were first utilized as Code Talkers by the U.S. Army during World War I.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, a group of 17 young men, referred to as "The Comanche Code Talkers
A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is now usually associated with United States service members during the world wars who used their k ...
", were trained and used by the U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
to send messages conveying sensitive information that could not be deciphered by the Germans.
Notable Comanches
Historic Comanche people
These are notable Comanche people from the 18th and 19th centuries, prior to allotment.
* Amorous Man (Pahayoko) (late 1780s–c. 1860), Penateka chief
* Black Horse
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and it is not uncommon to mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black.
True black horses have dark brown eyes, black skin, a ...
(died ca. 1900), second chief of the Quahadi band
*Buffalo Hump
Buffalo Hump (Comanche language, Comanche ''Potsʉnakwahipʉ'' "Buffalo Bull's Back") (born c. 1800 — died post 1861 / ante 1867) was a War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians. He came to prominence after the Council House Figh ...
(Potsʉnakwahipʉ) (c. 1800-c. 1865/1870), war chief and later head chief of the Penateka division
* Carne Muerto, Tehcap (1832—1860s), Quahadi war chief
* Tavibo Naritgant, Cuerno Verde
Cuerno Verde (died September 3, 1779) is the Spanish name for Tavibo Naritgant, a leader of the Comanche, likely of the Kotsoteka Comanche, in the late 18th century.
Life
Cuerno Verde ("Green Horn" in English), is the Spanish name given to Tavi ...
(died 1779), war chief
* Horseback
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
(Tʉhʉyakwahipʉ) (c. 1805/1810-c. 1888), chief of the Nokoni band
* Iron Jacket
Iron Jacket (Puhihwitsikwasʉ) (born c. late 1780s or early 1790sdied 1858) was a Native American War Chief and Chief of the Comanche Indians. Fehrenbach, T.R. ''"Comanches, The Destruction of a People''
Iron Jacket was a Comanche chieftain and ...
(Puhihwikwasu'u) (c. 1790-1858), war chief and later head chief of the Quahadi band; father of Peta Nocona
* Isatai
Isatai'i (Comanche ''isa'' 'wolf or coyote' + ''tai'i'' 'vagina'), Isatai, or Eschiti (c.1840 – 1916) was a Comanche warrior and medicine man of the Kwaharʉ band. Originally named Kwihnai Tosabitʉ (White Eagle), after the debacle at Adobe Wal ...
(c. 1840–c. 1890), warrior and medicine man of the Quahadi
* Mow-way (Shaking Hand, Pushing-in-the-Middle) (c. 1825-1886), Kotsoteka chief
* Old Owl
Old Owl (Comanche, ''Mupitsukupʉ'') (c. late 1780s – 1849) was a Native American Civil Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians.
Early life
Nothing is known of his youth or early years. Older than the two war chiefs, Old Owl was a ...
( Mupitsukupʉ) (late 1780s–1849), Penateka chief
* Peta Nocona
Peta Nocona (''circa'' 1820–1864), son to Iron Jacket, was a chief of the Comanche Kwahadi division. He married Cynthia Ann Parker, who had been taken as a captive in a raid and was adopted into the tribe by Tabby-nocca's family. Among their ch ...
(Lone Wanderer) (c. 1820 – c. 1864), chief of the Quahadi division; father of Quanah Parker
* Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...
(c. 1845–1911), Quahadi chief, a founder of Native American Church
The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The re ...
and rancher
* White Parker (1887–1956), son of Quanah Parker and Methodist missionary
* Piaru-ekaruhkapu (Big Red Meat
Big Red Meat ( Comanche Piarʉ Ekarʉhkapʉ – big red-meat, big red-food; c. 1820/1825 – January 1, 1875) was a Nokoni Comanche chief and a leader of Native American resistance against White invasion during the second half of the 19th centu ...
) (ca. 1820/1825-1875), Nokoni chief
* Sanapia (1895–1984), medicine woman
* Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to:
* Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States
* Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas
* Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...
(c. 1800-c. 1849), war chief of the Penateka Band
* Spirit Talker
Mukwoorʉ (based on Comanche ''mukua'' "spirit") (Spirit Talker) (d. March 19, 1840) was a 19th-century Penateka Comanche Chief and medicine man in Central Texas. His nephews were the two cousins Buffalo Hump and Yellow Wolf, both very import ...
( Mukwooru) (c. 1780-1840), Penateka chief and medicine man
* Ten Bears
Ten Bears (Comanche ''Pawʉʉrasʉmʉnurʉ''Anglicized as Parua-wasamen and Parry-wah-say-mer in treaties and older documents.) (ca. 1790-November 23, 1872) was the principal chief of the Yamparika or "Root Eater" division of the Comanche from ca ...
(Pawʉʉrasʉmʉnunʉ) (c. 1790–1872), chief of the Ketahto band and later of the entire Yamparika division
* Tosawi
Tosahwi (c. 1805/10 – c.1878/80), meaning White Knife, was a Penateka Comanche chief. He was deemed "cooperative" by William Babcock Hazen.
Young man: warrior and war chief
In January 1846, along with Amorous Man, Old Owl, Buffalo Hump, Yello ...
(White Knife) (c. 1805/1810-c. 1878/1880), chief of the Penateka band
* Yellow Wolf (Isa-viah) (c. 1800/1805 - 1854), war chief of the Penateka division
Comanche Nation citizens
These are 20th- and 21st-century citizens of the Comanche Nation.
* Charon Asetoyer (born 1951), activist and women's health advocate
* Blackbear Bosin
Blackbear Bosin (June 5, 1921 – August 9, 1980) was a self-taught Comanche/Kiowa sculptor, painter, and commercial artist. He is also known by his Kiowa name, Tsate Kongia, which means "black bear."
Bosin gained notoriety for his surreal and d ...
(1921–1980), Comanche/Kiowa sculptor and painter
* Charles Chibitty
Charles Joyce Chibitty (November 20, 1921 – July 20, 2005) was a Native American and United States Army code talker in World War II, who helped transmit coded messages in the Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ) language on the battlefield as a radio operat ...
(1921–2005), World War II Comanche code talker
* Karita Coffey, Tsat-Tah Mo-oh Kahn (born 1947), ceramic artist, professor, sculptor
* Marie C. Cox (1920-2005), founder of the North American Indian Women's Association The North American Indian Women's Association (NAIWA) is a non-profit educational and service association, which seeks to promote intertribal communications, betterment of home, family life and community, betterment of health and education, awarenes ...
and foster care reform advocate
* Jesse Ed Davis
Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...
(1944-1988), guitarist and recording artist
* LaDonna Harris
LaDonna Vita Tabbytite Harris (born February 26, 1931) is a Comanche Native American social activist and politician from Oklahoma.Fluharty, SterlingHarris, LaDonna Vita Tabbytite profile 'mOklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma His ...
(born 1931), political activist and founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity
* Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino (1909–2005), educator, activist, sister of Morris Tabbyyetchy.
* Doc Tate Nevaquaya
Joyce Lee "Doc" Tate Nevaquaya (July 3, 1932 – March 5, 1996) was a Comanche flute player and painter from Apache, Oklahoma.
He is known for his contribution to the Native American flute music. His efforts in learning how to make Comanche flut ...
(1932–1996), Flatstyle painter, Native American flautist, NEA fellow
* Sonny Nevaquaya
Sonny Nevaquaya was a Comanche flute player and maker from Oklahoma. He began his professional career in 1993 when he recorded an album entitled ''Spirit of the Flute''. His second album, ''Viva Kokopelli'' was released in 1996. He has also rel ...
(d. 2019), Native American flute
The Native American flute is a flute that is held in front of the player, has open finger holes,
and has two chambers: one for collecting the breath of the player and a second chamber which creates sound.
The player breathes into one end of the ...
-player
* Diane O'Leary (1939–2013), artist, nurse
* Lotsee Patterson
Lotsee Patterson (formerly Lotsee Smith; b. 1931) is a Comanche librarian, educator, and founder of the American Indian Library Association. She has written numerous articles on collection development, tribal libraries and Native American Librarian ...
(born 1931), librarian, educator, and founder of the American Indian Library Association
* Paul Chaat Smith
Paul Chaat Smith ( Comanche) is an author and an associate curator at the National Museum of the American Indian.Berry, Carol"Paul Chaat Smith and His Pal Irony Offer a Dose of Indian Reality."''Indian Country Today.'' 12 Dec 2011. Accessed 26 Feb ...
, Comanche/Choctaw author, curator
* Morris Tabbyyetchy, WWII Comanche Code Talker.
* George Tahdooahnippah (born 1978), professional boxer and NABC super middleweight champion
* Emma Tenayuca (1916-1999), 1930s labor leader
* Josephine Wapp
Josephine Myers-Wapp (February 10, 1912 – October 26, 2014) was a Comanche weaver and educator. After completing her education at the Haskell Institute, she attended Santa Fe Indian School, studying weaving, dancing, and cultural arts. After her ...
(1912–2014), professor, regalia maker, textile artist
* David Yeagley (1951–2014), classical composer, political writer
See also
*Quanah Parker Star House
The Quanah Parker Star House, with stars painted on its roof, is located in the city of Cache, Oklahoma, Cache, county of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places ...
References
Sources
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* Nye, Wilbur Sturtevant. ''Carbine and Lance: The Story of Old Fort Sill'', University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1983
* Leckie, William H.. ''The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West'', University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1967
* Fowler, Arlen L.. ''The Black Infantry in the West, 1869-1891'', University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1996
Further reading
* Republished as
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External links
Comanche Nation
– official website
The Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee
Comanche Lodge
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Comanche
Plains tribes
Native American tribes in Texas
Native American tribes in Oklahoma
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
Native American history of Texas
Texas–Indian Wars
Native American tribes in Colorado
Native American tribes in New Mexico