How do the Comanches build the tipi's?

Answer 1

The Comanche tipi-style lodge is called numukahne.

First you will need access to a large herd of buffalo; then you kill up to 30 buffalo cows and skin them. Then each hide is pegged out on the ground and scraped hard on both sides with a special tool to remove all traces of the hair and fat from both sides. Then each hide must be washed and pegged out again; then it is rubbed vigorously with the brain of the same animal to preserve and waterproof it. Only 30 hides to treat - about a week or 10 days of very hard work.

Then the hides must be suspended over a smoky fire to assist in preserving and waterproofing them. Then you sew the hides together with buffalo sinew thread and an awl, filling in any gaps with small pieces cut to fit; the finished cover must be almost semi-circular, with triangular smoke-flaps at the top of the two halves of the straight edge.

Then find around 12 to 22 straight, long saplings, thicker at the bottom and tapering towards the top. They need to be about 20 feet long, or more for a larger lodge. Take off the bark and remove any branches or lumps. Two thinner poles will be needed for the smoke flaps. You will also need around 15 to 20 wooden pins, sharp at each end, to secure the front of the cover.

Find a flat area large enough to erect the numukahne. Tie four poles together with rawhide strips about 6 feet from the tops and set up this framework. Then just lay the remaining poles (except one) against these four, spacing them out equally in a circle or oval shape on the ground. Tie the top of the cover to the remaining pole, set it against the others and pull the cover around the whole framework.

The poles will now need to be adjusted to fit tight against the inside of the cover; then fix the overlapping front edges together with the wooden pins.

Leave the lower part of the front open as a doorway, which can be covered with another buffalo hide or trade blankets.

The smoke flap poles are erected last, outside the lodge, and fit into small "pockets" on the smoke flaps. These can be adjusted to prevent the wind blowing smoke from the interior cooking fire back inside.

The link below takes you to a photograph of a Comanche tipi-style lodge. This one has been repaired with a wide strip of cloth around the lower left edge, showing that the lodge is old and worn out.

Answer 2

The Comanche tipi-style lodge is called numukahne.

First you will need access to a large herd of buffalo; then you kill up to 30 buffalo cows and skin them. Then each hide is pegged out on the ground and scraped hard on both sides with a special tool to remove all traces of the hair and fat from both sides. Then each hide must be washed and pegged out again; then it is rubbed vigorously with the brain of the same animal to preserve and waterproof it. Only 30 hides to treat - about a week or 10 days of very hard work.

Then the hides must be suspended over a smoky fire to assist in preserving and waterproofing them. Then you sew the hides together with buffalo sinew thread and an awl, filling in any gaps with small pieces cut to fit; the finished cover must be almost semi-circular, with triangular smoke-flaps at the top of the two halves of the straight edge.

Then find around 12 to 22 straight, long saplings, thicker at the bottom and tapering towards the top. They need to be about 20 feet long, or more for a larger lodge. Take off the bark and remove any branches or lumps. Two thinner poles will be needed for the smoke flaps. You will also need around 15 to 20 wooden pins, 18 or 20 inches long and sharp at each end, to secure the front of the cover.

Find a flat area large enough to erect the numukahne. Tie four poles together with rawhide strips about 6 feet from the tops and set up this framework. Then just lay the remaining poles (except one) against these four, spacing them out equally in a circle or oval shape on the ground. Tie the top of the cover to the remaining pole, set it against the others and pull the cover around the whole framework.

The poles will now need to be adjusted to fit tight against the inside of the cover; then fix the overlapping front edges together with the wooden pins.

Leave the lower part of the front open as a doorway, which can be covered with another buffalo hide or trade blankets.

The smoke flap poles are erected last, outside the lodge, and fit into small "pockets" on the smoke flaps. These can be adjusted to prevent the wind blowing smoke from the interior cooking fire back inside.

The link below takes you to a photograph of a Comanche tipi-style lodge. This one has been repaired with a wide strip of cloth around the lower left edge, showing that the lodge is old and worn out.

Answer 3

It was very hard work and took a great deal of time and communal effort. The men were responsible for hunting the buffalo (not deer) and the women did the skinning, treating the hides and constructing the tipi. To take just one example (the Comanche):

The Comanche tipi-style lodge is called numukahne.

First you will need access to a large herd of buffalo; then you kill up to 30 buffalo cows and skin them. Then each hide is pegged out on the ground and scraped hard on both sides with a special tool to remove all traces of the hair and fat from both sides. Then each hide must be washed and pegged out again; then it is rubbed vigorously with the brain of the same animal to preserve and waterproof it. Only 30 hides to treat - about a week or 10 days of very hard work.

Then the hides must be suspended over a smoky fire to assist in preserving and waterproofing them. Then you sew the hides together with buffalo sinew thread and an awl, filling in any gaps with small pieces cut to fit; the finished cover must be almost semi-circular, with triangular smoke-flaps at the top of the two halves of the straight edge.

Then find around 12 to 22 straight, long saplings, thicker at the bottom and tapering towards the top. They need to be about 20 feet long, or more for a larger lodge. Take off the bark and remove any branches or lumps. Two thinner poles will be needed for the smoke flaps. You will also need around 15 to 20 wooden pins, sharp at each end, to secure the front of the cover.

Find a flat area large enough to erect the numukahne. Tie four poles together with rawhide strips about 6 feet from the tops and set up this framework. Then just lay the remaining poles (except one) against these four, spacing them out equally in a circle or oval shape on the ground. Tie the top of the cover to the remaining pole, set it against the others and pull the cover around the whole framework.

The poles will now need to be adjusted to fit tight against the inside of the cover; then fix the overlapping front edges together with the wooden pins.

Leave the lower part of the front open as a doorway, which can be covered with another buffalo hide or trade blankets.

The smoke flap poles are erected last, outside the lodge, and fit into small "pockets" on the smoke flaps. These can be adjusted to prevent the wind blowing smoke from the interior cooking fire back inside.

The link below takes you to a photograph of a Comanche tipi-style lodge. This one has been repaired with a wide strip of cloth around the lower left edge, showing that the lodge is old and worn out.

Answer 4

With poles and skins