What were the sioux's war shirts made up of?

Answer 1

The special shirts called "war shirts" or "scalp shirts" were rarely worn in battle; their purpose was to demonstrate the bravery and achievements of the wearer in both symbolic and representational ways.

The shirts were made of two complete deer or antelope hides with the front legs cut off - these were re-attached to create the cape-like sleeve sections. The shirts were made more like ponchos and the sleeves were often not closed along the lower edge; the hind legs and tails of the two skins were left to hang down from the lower edge of the shirt.

Before contact with white people, decoration in the form of bands of dyed and woven porcupine quills was applied - one band over each shoulder and one along each arm. These proclaimed that the wearer had counted at least four "coups" or war achievements. These bands of quill work were fringed with long locks of human hair; these were not scalps (as many explorers assumed) but hair donated by all the people in the hunting band.

After contact with white traders in the early to mid 1800s, glass beads became available and the four bands of decoration were beaded in geometric designs such as blocky squares, rectangles and stripes. Only later, during the reservation period, did Lakota beadwork become more intricate and detailed. Shirts of this period generally had a triangular or rectangular flap at the neck, front and back, decorated with beadwork.

As well as the bands of decoration, these shirts would also be painted; sometimes the entire shirt might be painted a solid colour such as red, or the lower half yellow and the upper half green, or some other combination. Painted designs would recount war deeds, battles, horses captured and enemies defeated. Broad horizontal stripes of dark brown or black paint gave the actual number of "coups" counted, which the owner could recite one by one to impress his audience.

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