On the Ethnology of the Pawnee
The Pawnee of Nebraska are commonly regarded as characteristic of the semi-sedentary agricultural peoples of the Central Plains. However, ethnographic material about them is surprisingly sparse. Because they already had the horse by the late 17th century there is no record of them in completely aboriginal conditions. The most complete work is a monograph by J. B. Dunbar published in 1880, based on a series of articles in the Magazine of American History. Besides this there are the early accounts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition ([see Grass, 1904]) and that of J. T. Irving (1835). More specialized works are those of G. B. Grinnell (1912) and A. Lesser (1933). Subsequent studies are brief, and for the most part oriented toward nineteenth century historical events (e.g., Hyde, 1951). Wedel has included some information in his works on Pawnee archaeology (1938) and Central Plains subsistence (1941). Further brief articles may be found in the bibliography.
Subsistence Agriculture
Maize played an important part in the economic life of the Pawnee. Most of the infrequent tillage was done by hoes consisting of bison scapulae lashed to bent or forked sticks. Hoeing was done only once or twice a year. The small cultivated patches, ranging in size from one-fourth to four acres, were usually located in the loose alluvium along creek bottoms. In addition to corn, beans, squash and watermelon were grown. All agricultural work was done by the women. They also gathered a large number of tubers, plants, berries, and fruits to supplement the diet. These included wild plum, huckleberry, chokecherry, sand cherry, wild potato, ground-bean and others.
Hunting
The products of the chase were also of great importance. The principal animal sought was the bison. One or two large scale hunting trips were organized yearly. The entire population of the earth lodge village moved to designated hunting areas. In pre-horse times the main method of hunting was the surround, although some hunters probably also worked singly, as they did in later times. The only weapon regularly used was the bow and arrow. The most important of these hunts was conducted in the early summer and ended just in time to harvest the crops.
Although the bison was the major subsistence animal, many other animals were hunted, especially for skins. Elk, deer, and antelope were taken by surrounds and “still hunting” or stalking. Beaver and otter were snared for their pelts; bears, cougars, and skunks were valued for both meat and hides. Prairie chickens and quails were hunted by boys with long withes.
Food Preparation
After the harvest, maize was cut from the cobs, boiled, roasted, or dried, and stored in large bell-shaped pits. Other vegetable foods were similarly treated. Meat was dried and/or smoked.
Corn was often pulverized in a wooden mortar. It was then boiled, or made into cakes cooked in the ashes or on hot flat stones. Fresh corn was also parched or boiled as hominy. Corn, beans and squash, fresh or dry, were prepared by boiling and seasoned with tallow. Fresh meat was either cooked in the ashes, broiled, or boiled with vegetables. Dried meat was eaten raw or boiled. Most of the cooking was done in large pottery vessels manufactured locally.
Shelter
During the winter the Pawnee inhabited large villages of stationary earth covered lodges. These measured 40 feet in diameter and 16 feet in height at the maximum. Such structures housed several related families. They were constructed as follows: the topsoil was removed and a framework erected. Inclined short poles were placed to form walls. Poles set on the inner and outer framework circles came to a blunt peak, forming the roof. Brush and willow were used for horizontal filling. Finally, hay and sod were heaped over the structure. Entrance was by means of a passage some 12 feet long. In the center was a fire basin about three feet in diameter. The floor was hardened by trampling and beating, and mats were spread over it. Sleeping places were near the walls on slightly raised platforms of willow rods, and were often partitioned off with skins or mats.
Summer dwellings were tepees, 12-17 feet in diameter. Twelve to 20 poles formed the framework, and the cover was of bison hide, with openings for the entrance and smokehole. On the ground around the central hearth were laid mats and hides. Sweat houses were used in all seasons. These consisted of a frame of willow withes about six feet in diameter, covered with skins. Heated stones were sprinkled with water to produce steam.
Clothing
The man’s costume was relatively simple, consisting primarily of breechclout and moccasins, with an additional skin robe in cold weather. For special occasions, the men wore elaborate shirts and headdresses of eagle feathers. Women wore moccasins, tight skin leggings, a skirt and a shirt suspended from the shoulders by thongs. Women wore their hair braided; the men had a horn-like scalp-lock. Paint was the main form of personal adornment. The types preferred were ochre, red and white clay, and yellow coloring obtained from flowers of a species solidago. These pigments were commonly mixed with bison fat or water.
Technology
There is very little descriptive material on the technology of the Pawnee. The manufacture of most of the utilitarian objects devolved on the women. Pottery was manufactured by the paddle and anvil technique. According to Grinnell (1912) a wooden or basketry mold was sometimes used for the base. Temper was of crushed rock. They wove mats of rushes, baskets of bark, and ropes of buffalo hair. Wooden mortars, pestles, bowls, dippers and spoons were shaped by burning and scraping. Bison horn was also employed for spoons. A stiff grass (Stipa funcea) was used for necklaces. Hide dressing and the making of clothing occupied a considerable portion of their time. A needle of deer metacarpal was used. Canoes were seldom made.
The men confined their technological interests to weapons for hunting and war. Bows were commonly four feet long and were made of “bois d’arc” (Maciura canadensis), hickory, “coffee bean” (Gymnocladus canadensis) and juniper. Formerly bison rib and elk-horn bows were also in use. Sinew backing was common. Arrow shafts were usually of dogwood (Cornus stolonifera). These had a series of three grooves running their length, which were variously explained as helping the flow of blood and keeping the arrow in the wound. These grooves were made with a very small chisel-like instrument. No information is available concerning flint working, but each tribe or large sub-group made a distinctive type of projectile point. Much care was lavished on this equipment and the accompanying skin quiver. Spears and rawhide shields were also manufactured.
Trade
Trade was not extensive among the Pawnee themselves, or between them and neighboring tribes. However, this situation may be relatively recent in origin, due to the hostilities arising from increased white pressure. The main articles traded were “bois d’arc”, eagle feathers, pipe stone, and corn.
Social and Political Organization
The Pawnee were divided into four sub-tribes or bands. Each of these consisted of a number of villages, and each village was also an endogamous matrilineal clan. Authority was vested in a hereditary chief and council of “leading men”. Band unity was maintained by large scale religious ceremonies and meetings of band councils, composed of the village chiefs. Similar mechanisms operated at a higher level to achieve a loose tribal organization.
Religion
The religious organization of the Pawnee was more highly developed and more sophisticated than that of most of the other Plains tribes. At the top of the supernatural pantheon was Tirawa, the creator. Below him were two classes of spirits—those of the earth and those of the heavens. The former were usually identified with animals and were the guardians of the people as a whole; the latter represented natural phenomena and were usually identified with stars. Foremost among these were the Morning and Evening Stars, representing the male and female principles, and parents of the first earth being.
Ceremonial action centered around collections of sacred objects—medicine bundles—which were believed to have been presented to the people in ancient times by the “gods”. Ceremonies connected with these usually involved a sacrifice or offering, or a ritual dramatization of the mythical receipt of the bundle. The most famous of these ceremonies was the annual sacrifice of a young girl to the Morning Star. Other important ceremonies revolved around the ever important corn and buffalo.
Shamans were organized into a secret society and power was received through instruction by an elder member. They were mediums and diviners and officiated in ceremonies. Each owned an ornate medicine bundle containing herbs and charms, such as fossil bones, etc. There were also “medicine men” who specialized in healing. Sickness was believed to be caused by intrusion of a foreign object or malign spirit, which was removed by sucking and chanting. Various plants were utilized for medicine, including Artemisia bedoviciana, Acorus calamus, Monarda fistulosa, and fructata, Mentha canadensia and Argemona mexicana.
The Pawnee language is a branch of the Caddoan family of the Hokan-Siouan stock.