Welcome to our newest addition to the blog - Historical Tidbit Thursdays!
This week I want to focus on some of the death practices and burial methods, many of which are unique to the Comanche tribe.
A person's belongings were either destroyed/burned or buried with the person. Babies were buried in their cradle boards. Adults were dressed in their finest clothes and buried in the fetal position (knees tied to chest and head bent to knees). Their eyes were sealed closed with red clay and their faces painted with red or vermillion paint. A blanket was tied around their bodies.
People were buried away from camp in caves, among rock formation, in a deep river wash or hole. They were buried facing the rising sun (East).
There may be a mourning or funeral dance with lots of lamentations by the family members. Men would cut off their highly prized hair (sometimes on the left side only). The tipi and belongings of the dead person would be burned. It was common for mourning to last a year or so.
The names of the dead were avoided. You could not name a new baby after a dead person as it was bad luck.
Source:
The Comanches: Lords of the South Plains by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel; ISBN#978-0806120409
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