Bison Dance of the Mandan Indian
Engraved by Alex Manceau Printed by Bougeard (unavailable - please enquire)
Tableau 18. Bison Dance of the Mandan Indian
$5,500.00

At Fort Clark in April, 1834, Bodmer painted one of the leaders of the Mandan Buffalo Bull Society in full regalia, and a few days later observed a Buffalo Bull dance which he later reproduced in aquatint. Prince Maximilian recorded in his journal that Mandan men were eligible to join six different age-graded societies, the last and most prestigious being that of the Buffalo Bulls, whose members all were experienced warriors of sufficient standing and wealth to have purchased their way through the ranks of the younger age groups.

Members of the Buffalo Bull Society wore a distinctive headdress made of bison hide with the horns attached. Two especially brave members were selected to wear full masks representing an entire buffalo head with pierced, metal-rimmed eye holes. Other society paraphernalia included bulls' tails or cloth trailers representing tails. Curved, feathered wands and lances also were carried as society emblems. Wolf tails attached to the heels of some dancers represented personal coups or battle feats. Shield decorations symbolized personal "medicine" or power.

The scene depicted in the aquatint was recreated in Bodmer's Paris studio from earlier field studies. Bodmer used contemporary French models for some of the figures in this print, to achieve the effect of movement and drama he desired.

Other Mandan dances were featured as Vignettes XXV and XXVIII in the European atlas. The scalp dance of the Hidatsa was reproduced in Tableau 27 of this series.

Text by David Hunt, Director, Stark Museum, Orange, Texas, USA

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