Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Collector:
Maj. James M. Bell  Search this
Culture:
Kiowa (?)  Search this
Comanche (Numunuu) (?)  Search this
Object Type:
Headdress
Place:
Fort Sill, Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, North America
Notes:
FROM CARD: "CHIEF RAIN IN THE FACE. HAS BEADS AND BELLS."
This otter fur turban is not consistent with the associated information, which reports that it was obtained from Rain in the Face (Lakota) at Ft. Keogh. This appears to have been among the many errors in the list provided by the donor. The tribe of origin is unknown but the headdress is characteristic of the Southern Plains. An affiliation with the Kiowa or Comanche, from whom Bell collected other items, is most likely. It has several features that connect it with the Peyote religion of those tribes, including the beaded rosettes, mescal beans, and flicker feathers, which appear on peyote items collected by James Mooney around the same time that Bell was posted at Ft. Sill.
Record Last Modified:
15 Apr 2023
Specimen Count:
1
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
028804
USNM Number:
EL62-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/315e750fc-d915-4665-8eaa-1df7523dc626
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8492457