Culture

Karankawa ceremonialism centered around gatherings known as "mitotes," which were held for a variety of purposes, each involving different activities. The ceremonies often included dances and competitive games demonstrating weapons skills or physical prowess. Wrestling was so popular among Karankawas that neighboring tribes referred to them as the "Wrestlers."

Karankawas were known for their distinctive physical appearance. The men, described as tall and muscular, wore deerskin breechclouts or nothing at all. They painted and tattooed their bodies, and were known to pierce the lower lip with small pieces of cane. They often smeared their bodies with a mixture of dirt and alligator or shark grease to ward off mosquitoes. Women also painted and tattooed their bodies and wore skirts of Spanish moss or animal skin that reached to the knees. The social and political organization of the Karankawas was determined by their nomadic lifestyle. They traveled in small bands of thirty to forty people headed by a chief. Those bands often subdivided into smaller groups, probably individual family units, to facilitate foraging. Communication was maintained by a well-developed system of smoke signals that enabled the scattered groups to come together for social events, warfare, or other purposes.

Source: Texas State Historical Society https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/karankawa-indians