Original Photograph Of Plains Indians Sun Dance.

Publication: Unknown Photographer, Circa 1870's-1890's, NP

Original Photograph. 4.125" x 2.375". Mounted on stiff black card. A rare image of a young man participating in the Sun Dance ritual with cords attached to the lodgepole that are tied to wooden skewers pierced through the skin on his chest. He is painted, elaborately attired, with a headpiece, and what appear to be traditional anklets. Another man appears at the left edge of the image, and a woman appears near the right edge, partially obscured by the lodgepole. A sharp image, capturing the tortuous ordeal of the participant in one of the most important religious ceremonies of the various Plains Indians tribes of North America. The Sun Dance is said to have originated with the Arapaho Indians, and was quickly adopted by the Cheyenne and the Oglala Sioux, and eventually several others. The rituals of the Sun Dance were of such central importance that the entire tribe was involved and attendance was compulsory for every adult male. The participant, as shown here, prepares for days for his ordeal, typically with the assistance of a religious leader or family member, fasts, and dances, often for days, to tear his flesh from the skewers and cord attached to the lodgepole. Clean and clear, a fine image. Verso has remnants of a white sticker attached by a previous owner upon which is written an incomplete description and the date 1876.(?)

Inventory Number: 53057