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NORTHERN PLAINS BUFFALO HORN WAR CLUB – A VERY
ATTRACTIVE PIECE – MATCHED SET OF BUFFALO HORNS, RAWHIDE
COVERED, SINEW SEWN, BEADED TASSEL: One of the
classic forms of war clubs carried by the warriors on
the Northern Plains, this Buffalo Horn Club is a style
which originated in the free life of the nomadic tribes
when the buffalo was the center of their lifestyle, and
one which continued in use once they were confined on
the reservations as a reminder of the past.
While perhaps not as durable or devastating as a stone
headed club, these buffalo horn clubs were nothing to be
trifled with. As it was practiced by the Plains Tribes,
intertribal warfare was not necessarily
conducted for the purpose
of inflicting disabling wounds or fatalities on the
enemy, rather the venture often was pursued for the sake
of gathering honors for the individual warrior by way of
counting coup – closing with, and striking an enemy
warrior and leaving him otherwise unharmed. Engaging in
very limited warfare in this manner - possibly with the
addition of capturing enemy women and children to swell
the ranks of their own tribe, or horses and possessions
to enrich their wealth - guaranteed the continued
survival of the race, and prevented an unnecessary
escalation which could result in the annihilation of
family groups or entire tribes.
As described above, counting coup in these forays
against other tribal groups involved approaching the
enemy close enough to strike him. In addition to using
his hands, the warrior might fashion a staff. a quirt,
or, as in this case, a club which was less lethal than
the larger stone-headed versions. Since killing the
enemy was either secondary to gathering honors, or even
something to be avoided altogether, these implements of
war could be of lighter, less lethal construction, and
too, the warriors were more inclined to adorn them with
more intricate decorations in keeping with their
purpose.
When the Native nations were forced onto reservations,
the need for heavy war clubs passed with the end of
warfare between the tribes, or with the European
Americans. The tribes still held social dances based on
the war dances of the past and the men still felt the
need to brandish weapons as they related their acts of
bravery from the past, so these horn clubs were given a
new significance in their material culture. Of the same
size and proportions as a weapon, but lighter, these
buffalo horn clubs were carried with pride by a warrior
in parades or at dances when dressed in his finery.
It is impossible to know exactly when this club was
made, but I think its worth considering that the buffalo
was all but gone from the Northern Plains by the
mid-1880’s and with the Native Americans being
restricted to the reservations, the opportunity to
obtain a set of buffalo horns after that period would
have been extremely difficult, if not completely out of
the question, so it is likely this club dates from the
period when buffalo horns were still available.
The head of this club is made of a matching pair of
buffalo horns, each measuring 5 ½” along the top curve
and 2 ½” in diameter. They are in excellent condition
with no chips or age cracks and they have a pleasing
natural shine. Both horns have grooves worn into the
length of the horn by the buffalo where the horns were
rubbed against any number of things on the buffalo’s
home range. The horns appear to be laced together under
the strip of native rawhide which covers the joint
between the horns and continues in one piece down to
cover the shaft. The shaft runs up through the horns
and protrudes through the horns, but under the rawhide
strip on the top surface of the horns. The strip passes
up the front, over the top, and down the back of the
horns and is sewn to the rawhide which covers the
shaft. This joint has some separation at the point
where the strip is sewn to the shaft rawhide, but due to
the manner in which the rawhide is stitched down with
sinew, the joint is still firm and solid and there is no
danger of it coming undone.
The shaft, measuring 25 ½” below the horns and
approximately ¾” in diameter, is covered with native
rawhide stitched with sinew. The sinew stitching is
intact with no separation and has a smooth, well handled
texture, again evidence of the age and wear of this
piece. The rawhide covering is very tight over the
underlying wood shaft and the natural features of the
wooden shaft can be felt through the rawhide. Attached
to the bottom of the shaft is a fringed tassel ½” in
diameter which is wrapped with beads threaded on sinew.
The beaded section is fashioned in alternating bands of
light blue, red white-hearts, dark blue and white. All
of the beadwork appears to be original and intact, and
the tassel appears to be original to the club.
Whether intended to be a lethal instrument in the hands
of warrior, or a reminder of days of valor and glory
long gone, this Buffalo Horn Club is a powerful, yet
graceful piece of Native art.
(0417) $1850
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