significance of native american warpaint/bodypaint

[pallas]

so this topic isnt directly about ethnographic weapons but i do believe that it is quite closely related to that subject...

ive been curious as to the religious/cultural/political significance of native american warpaint, specifically the full body painting of the plains and southwest indians.......i had always wondered about the subject but had found rather scant information on the topic....my cuiosity got resurrected recently after seeing the painting of the battle between pedro de villasur/ L'Archeveque expedition and the pawnees at the loup/platte confluence in nebraska.....





note the body painting of the pawnee, the warrior painted white with a black face with small red or black crosses all over his body, or the warrior with half his body white and the other half painted with what look like jaguar spots?....most seem to have half their heads painted white and the other half black.....i was also wondering how far east the practice of warrior-body painting extended in this country and also why these warriors were apparently nude or close to it...with the recent post about native american armor, id have thought perhaps some type of armor would have been depicted.......from what ive read, this painting has been judged accurate and not a "conceptualized" or "fantasized" view of the battle....

another thing that im rather curious about is the lack of horses among the pawnee.....i thought most plains indians where mounted by 1700 or so........

[fearn]

Hi Pallas,

While we're at it, we can also ask about the significance of clothing colors and fashions in western Europe.

I'm being a little sarcastic here, but the short (AND long) answer on paint is, "it depends."

Here's a short list of things that body paint can symbolize, with examples from North American Indians:
1. Marital status (many tribes, also seen frequently in tattoos).
2. Social status (one example: higher class chumash had more complex designs on their bodies).
3. Sunscreen (to a minor extent: I'm thinking of good old-fashioned mud).
4. Social/unit cohesion (some of the crazy warrior groups of the plains)
5. "vision" (my favorite are the heyokas, but I'll be you can find a lot of these)
6. Ceremonial dress (see above).
7. And last but not least: pure, old-fashioned personal decoration.

Since my ancestors are European, I'm pretty sure that at least one of them stripped naked, painted himself blue, spiked his hair with a lime-based mixture, and went charging in to battle with spear and shield. I'm also quite sure that some of my more modern relatives paint their faces half green and half yellow, paint a weird sigil on their cheeks that looks like a G, and go to "the cathedral of Saint Vincent" (Lombardy that is) to watch the Green Bay Packers play American football on Saturday mornings in the fall. Same ritual, similar genes, different reasons.

As I said, the reason for wearing paint really depends on circumstances.

Best,

F

[KuKulzA28]

I like the American football analogy fearn.

Sometimes the act of preparing for war is a psychological boost.
War paint can cover a lot of different roles, but that may be one...

I know that when confronted with an imminent fight... it is sometimes a morale-raiser to compose yourself, look over your weapons, and prepare yourself physically. For some that is the split second between seeing the mugger and reacting... for some it is having the fists wrapped and gloves put on... others still it is checking the switch blade, putting on the mask, and saying a quick prayer... for others it is carefully checking ammo and gun, wiping down equipment, and applying the camo-paint to the face...

Perhaps putting on the war-paint is akin to carefully putting on your armor, or saying a prayer, or wiping down your gun... it might be a bad idea to make equivalents with different warriors of different situations... but as long as we understand it is it's own act and has it's own consequences that are not the same as the above, I think it's ok.


Perhaps a similar thought would be indigenous tattoos that have to do with masculinity and warfare.

[M ELEY]

It is interesting that it was so ritualistic and not ever done for camouflage purposes, apparently? Although, I am told that placing dark paint under the eyes decreases the glare from the sun, right? Just like football players...which strangely brings us back to Green Bay!

[Rick]

War paint could also have been used to disguise the soul .

[fearn]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

It is interesting that it was so ritualistic and not ever done for camouflage purposes, apparently? Although, I am told that placing dark paint under the eyes decreases the glare from the sun, right? Just like football players...which strangely brings us back to Green Bay!

Forgot about that. I'm not sure I have a good example of camouflage paint, although natural materials (branches, soil, etc) were certainly used as such. I guess it depends on exactly what you want to consider paint.

Thinking about it, I've seen discussion about camouflage patterns on hunting bows and arrows in California, but I don't know of an example offhand.

Best,

F

[aiontay]

Fearn is on the right track with this one. A little more speificity is needed to answer the question, which is pretty broad. Since we're talking about Villasur, I'd say you'd be better off asking about body paint and its use among the Pawnees, and Peublo tribes, since they're the ones depicted. I'd point out that there could be quite a bit of divergence here between the Pawnee rationale and the SW rationale. I'm not saying that definitively, but just saying it is a possibility. I don't know, I'm not Pawnee or Jemez.

I would just point out that several Indians are depicted as armed with swords.

[aiontay]

I forgot to mention horses. Yeah, the Pawnees probably had them by this time, but they weren't too common that far north at that time. Furthermore, the Pawnees were an agricultural tribe who spent part of the year in permanent villages, so they never had as many horses as the nomadic tribes. Even after they got more horses, the Pawnees still made long distant raids on foot, all the way down to New Mexico at times, so fighting on foot wasn't particularly unusual for them.

It should be pointed out that even among the more equstrian tribes there are still plenty of accounts of fighting on foot. Forget all the supposed "ceremonial" nature of Plains warfare and counting coup, war was deadly serious business- especially at this time frame on the Plains- where people had lances and arrows driven through their bodies, were shot in the face with guns at point blank range, had their skulls smashed with war clubs or rocks, and where heads were cut off and left in brass trade buckets fror their families to find when they came home. The name of the game was killing as many of your enemies as you could at the least risk to yourself, and if that meant fighting on foot, you fought on foot. Remember, the Pawnees were fighting to protect their village and their families who were just a few miles away from an invading army. Villasur was camped on a river bank, so it could be the terrain just didn't suit fighting on horseback, even if the Pawnees did have plenty of horses at that time.

[Jim McDougall]

Excellent observations on this fascinating subject! Nice detail Fearn, and I think everybody here has the right track on this phenomenon, which as has been noted, traced into modern society as well in various degrees, especially tattooing. Most readily apparant is the faddish application of tattoo's in what may be best described as a sort of herd mentality in my opinion, as the rationale or 'symbolism' suggested is shallow at best as a rule. On occasion I have asked someone the significance of a tattoo (applied in virtually the same body location and of the same basic design seen everywhere) and I get the same vague (uh, its tribal...????).

Before tattoos became associated with military or outlaw biker elements, there were distinct symbolic and traditional associations extending often into prehistoric times in many cultures. These body decorations of course may be more permanent applications of body decoration previously often applied by paint or natural substances on certain occasions or for specific purposes.

From man's earliest times he became acutely aware of his surroundings in nature, the wildlfe, plantlife, waters, earth and the heavens. He sought to place himself as an element among these things and find associations with which to identify, eventually searching for ultimate powers that must control all of these. With this, the earliest forms of religion developed, and man sought to express his deepest beliefs in symbolism.

It is in this spiritual sense that early man began to decorate his surroundings, his weapons and himself with these symbols, intended to invoke the powers of his faith and these elements as best suited him. This distinct facet of human nature prevailed through the developments of groups into clans and tribes, and into civilizations.

As Aiontay has noted, these kinds of symbolisms certainly varied among the many tribes within the various Indian Nations in thier implied meanings, but it is important to note that the application of the symbols and colors typically were significant to the warrior himself. This is contrary to the oft suggestion that warriors decorated themselves to frighten the enemy. The painted symbols on the warrior and his horse (often similar in certain cases,as they were a distinct team) were representative of victories and invocations for power and guidance in thier quest in battle.

As noted in "The American Plains Indians" (Jason Hook, 1985, p.33), "...face and body paint established the Indian in the role of a warrior. While certain colors could have specific meanings (black for instance often signifying victory) and while coup marks were used and old wounds highlighted, a warriors war paint designs were usually only significant to him. Together with solemn prayers and vows, and the warriors sacred costume and regalia, these designs completed the medicine preparations which fortified him for war".

While these observations address the broader question about the use of war paint and body decoration among Indian tribes generally, it is of course necessary to note that distinct exceptions and variations may be present in certain instances and with particular tribes. It would be most interesting to hear of these from members and readers !!! Great topic!

All best regards,
Jim