Comanche Indians: history, culture, and society

Comanche Indians a derivative of the Eastern Shoshoni, lived on the Southern Great Plains of the U.S. during the 1800-1900s. The name "Comanche," is believed to come from the Spanish "interpretation" of their Ute name "Kohmahts," meaning: those who are against us, or want to fight us. The Comanche People call themselves "Numunuh," which means: The People. Early explorers knew them as "Padouca"; their Siouan name (ComancheIndian.com n.d.).

The Comanche historical range included present-day Eastern New Mexico, Southern Colorado, Southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of Texas. There is really no way to have an accurate count but it is thought that there might once have been as many as 20,000 Comanche.

History

The Comanche broke off from the Shoshone Indians who lived near the upper Platte River in what is now Wyoming. They appeared as a separate group just before 1700. It was at this same time in history that the Comanche discovered the miracles of the horse. This acquisition gave them much greater mobility, especially in their constant search for the best hunting grounds. They are considered the first Indians to make such comprehensive use of the horse.

The mustang was the first Comanche pony. Stray horses were called mustang. Stolen from southwestern Spanish towns, the pony became crossed with other breeds over time. By the end of the 1800s the mustang bore little resemblance to that original mustang pony.

Comanche provided horses to many tribes, including those with whom they fought. They would even break them first. It is no exaggeration to say that they absconded with about every horse in New Mexico and northern Mexico. They also took most of the available supply in Texas. Needless to say, the lives of the nomadic Plains tribes were transformed by the horse. There is no doubt that the horse permitted the various Indian tribes to stop the Spanish from establishing colonies in the Southwest and halted white pioneering and settling for two hundred years.

After breaking off from the Shoshone, the tribes' path carried them to the central plains.

Then the Comanche tracked south into a vast area which extended from central Texas to the Arkansas River. Due to the profusion of hundreds of thousands of buffalo, along with the addition of more Shoshone migrants, and the adoption of captured peoples of other tribes, the Comanche tribe grew quickly.

The tribe, for reasons we're not sure of, never did form a cohesive group. Rather, they divided into up to fifteen separate "bands." They were not very cooperative bands either. History tells us they fought and bickered among themselves probably just as often they could get together and cooperate.

The Comanche name, unfortunately, but due to their own behavior, has become tantamount with the cliched image of the "wild Indian." Besides becoming the biggest horse thieves in history, they also attacked rival tribes, took their women and children, and sold them to the Spanish as 'servants.' They graduated from taking all the horses in two states to stealing tens of thousands of head of cattle from Texas herds to sell in New Mexico.

Relationship with Settlers

The Comanche had an uncertain, rather vague, relationship with the Europeans and Americans who attempted to settle their territory. Though valued as trading partners, they were dreaded for their attacks on the settlements. And, the Comanche fought almost continually. At one time or another they battled virtually every other Indian tribe living anywhere close to them, and sometimes those that were not so close.

While the Comanche managed to maintain their independence and even increase their territory, by the mid-nineteenth century they faced annihilation because of a wave of epidemics introduced by white settlers. Outbreaks of smallpox (1817, 1848) and cholera (1849) took a major toll on the Comanche, whose population dropped from an estimated 20,000 in mid-century to just a few thousand by the 1870s (Kavanagh 1999)

Comanche Culture -- Social Order

A small group of distinguished chiefs acted as advisors to the group as a whole. There was no single leader or chief. The members of the smaller group might include the peace chief, the council members, and the war chief.

By general agreement one of the older men with experience to be able to advise the others was selected as the peace chief of the tribe. There was no ceremony or ritual performed.

As to everyday and war decisions, the council made those as a group. Where to hunt, whether to ally with other bands or tribes, or if they should go to war were all the types of choices this council made. The meetings were open for any member to speak, but it was normally the elders who made the decisions and did most of the serious talking.

In the same manner, a war chief was selected in times of conflict with other bands or tribes.

This was a very select position because the warrior's lives depended on his decisions. First, he had to have proven his courage in battle. Even more difficult, he had to hold the respect of every other warrior in the band. Once chosen, he was chief only during battle. After the war was finished, he no longer held any power to make decisions.

Raising Children

The Comanche's most valuable possession was their children. They were almost never punished -- by the parents. But, if really needed, perhaps a relative or older sibling might be requested to discipline them. Or, according to their culture, the "boogey man" would visit -- an older person with a blanket over themselves to scare the errant child. Once in a great while, the parents threatened to have Pia Mupitsi (Big Cannibal Owl) come at night and eat them if they didn't straighten up.

Both boys and girls learned by watching and listening to their elders. The boys learned to ride a horse almost before they could walk, and usually received their first bow and arrows around the age of five. Most boys were taught to ride and shoot by their grandfathers since their fathers were usually hunting or on raids. It was up to the grandparents to teach the young ones the tribe's history, legends and traditions.

Just after she could get up and walk, an infant girl would tag along with her mother and pretend she was doing the daily tasks of cooking and cutting and sewing clothing. The younger females would become very devoted to their mother's sisters, and would be given a doll on which they could practice making clothing.

The boys tended to bond strongly and cooperate with the other boys by playing together in a group. This made them more self-reliant as they learned to hunt birds, and to track game quietly and skillfully. Eventually they would go some distance from camp to look for bigger game to kill.

Boys were held in high regard not only because they were the warriors, but also due to the fact that many died at a young age in battle. His first buffalo hunt usually occurred about the time a boy reached manhood, and if he made a kill, he would be an honored hunter. In that case his father would have a feast to celebrate. Once he had made that first kill on a buffalo hunt, he was permitted to go to battle. At about fifteen or so, he would "make medicine" by going on a "vision rite of passage." After this, he was prepared to become a real warrior. His father would give him two good horses -- one for battle, and one for the trail.

Food

For meat, the Comanche ate buffalo, bison, elk, black bears, pronghorn antelope, and deer. When game was scarce the men hunted wild mustangs, sometimes eating their own ponies. In later years the Comanche raided Texas ranches and stole longhorn cattle. They did not eat fish or fowl, unless starving, when they would eat virtually any creature they could catch, including armadillos, skunks, rats, lizards, frogs, and grasshoppers (Kavanagh 1999).

The women also gathered wild fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, roots, and tubers -- including plums, grapes, juniper berries, persimmons, mulberries, acorns, pecans, wild onions, radishes, and the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. The Comanche also acquired maize, dried pumpkin, and tobacco through trade and raids.

Comanche children ate pemmican, but this was primarily a tasty, high-energy food reserved for war parties. Carried in a parfleche 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 (Kavanagh 1999).

Dwellings

The Comanche lived in a climate that was mostly flat and usually dry. The Cimarron, Pecos, Brazos, or Red River were usually nearby but the water was normally dirty. So, they would set up their village next to a stream that led into one of the rivers where the water was clearer and potable.

Comanche tipis were normally cone-shaped with buffalo hides sewn together and covering a frame of tree branches, perhaps willow, stripped and bent. Once the buffalo hides had been cleaned and stripped, and dried in the sun, the thick hair was stripped off and the hides were made supple through a process of soaking, and rubbing with various substances. They were then smoked over a fire to give them their color.

Each tipi had a hole dug in the center for a fire both for warmth and for cooking in bad or cold weather. During hot days the hides could be rolled up from the bottom to allow more air flow. The tipi was extremely useful, practical, and mobile for the Comanche since they moved around. It is said that the women, working in groups, could set them up or take them down very quickly. The entire Comanche band could be packed and on a buffalo hunt within fifteen minutes.

Clothing

Comanche clothing was simple and easy to wear. Men wore a leather belt with a breechclout -- a long piece of buckskin that was brought up between the legs and looped over and under the belt at the front and back. Loose-fitting deerskin leggings were worn down to the moccasins, and tied to the belt. The moccasins had soles made from thick, tough buffalo hide with soft deerskin uppers. The Comanche men wore nothing on the upper body except in the winter, when they wore warm, heavy robes made from buffalo hides (or occasionally, bear, wolf, or coyote skins) with knee-length buffalo-hide boots (Koch 1990).