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The Comanche Indians were once part of the northern Shoshone tribe of Wyoming, but split off from them and migrated to their modern location in the Southern Plains. By the time Europeans encountered them, the Comanches were primarily living in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Most Comanche people today live in Oklahoma.
Comanche women were in charge of the home. Besides cooking and cleaning, a Comanche woman built her family's house and dragged the heavy posts with her whenever the tribe moved. Houses belonged to the women in the Comanche tribe. Comanche men were hunters and sometimes went to war to defend their families. Nearly all Comanche chiefs and warriors were men. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine.
The Comanches lived in buffalo-hide houses called tipis (or teepees). Since the Comanches moved frequently to follow the buffalo herds, a tipi was carefully designed to set up and break down quickly, like a modern tent. An entire Comanche village could be packed up and ready to move within an hour.
Comanche women wore long deerskin dresses, and the men wore buckskin war shirts and breechcloths with leather leggings. The Comanches wore moccasins on their feet, and in cold weather, they wore long buffalo-hide robes. A Comanche lady's dress or warrior's shirt was fringed and painted with tribal designs. Later, Comanche people adapted European costume such as cloth vests and colorful blanket robes.
Comanche Village
"Portrait of Quanah Parker." Westward Expansion, Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey. Student Resources In Context
The traditional style of Comanche headdress was a cap with eagle feathers and ermine tails trailing behind it. In the 1800's, though, some Comanche Indian men preferred to wear the long feather headdress of the northern Plains tribes. Traditionally, Comanche people only cut their hair when they were in mourning. Comanche men usually wore their hair in two braids, which they sometimes wrapped in fur. Comanche women usually wore their hair loose, and sometimes painted the center parts red. The Comanches also painted their faces for special occasions. They used different patterns for war paint, religious ceremonies, and festive decoration. Both men and women sometimes wore tribal tattoos on their chests.
The Comanches used dogs pulling travois (a kind of drag sled) to help them carry their belongings. Once Europeans brought horses to America, the Comanches quickly became known as expert riders and could travel much more quickly than before.
The Comanche staple food was buffalo. Comanche men usually hunted the buffalo by driving them off cliffs or stalking them with bow and arrow. As they acquired horses, the Comanche tribe began to pursue the buffalo herds for communal hunts, moving their villages often as the buffalo migrated. In addition to buffalo meat, the Comanche Indians ate small game like rabbits, fished in the lakes and rivers, and gathered nuts, berries, and wild potatoes.
Comanche hunters used bows and arrows. In war, Comanche men fired their bows or fought with long spears and buffalo-hide shields.
The Comanches traded regularly with other tribes of the Great Plains and the Southwest. They particularly liked to trade horses, and Comanche traders were responsible for the rapid spread of horses throughout Western America. Some of their favorite trading partners were the Wichita and Osage. These tribes usually communicated using the Plains Sign Language. The Comanches also fought wars with other tribes. Plains Indian tribes treated war differently than European countries did. They didn't fight over territory but instead to prove their courage, and so Plains Indian war parties rarely fought to the death or destroyed each other's villages. Instead, their war customs included counting coup (touching an opponent in battle without harming him), stealing an enemy's weapon or horse, or forcing the other tribe's warriors to retreat.
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