A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historiae Literarum et Artium, 4. (Szeged, 2004)

Nagy Imre: A Preliminary Report on the Friedman Kein Canvas

Dog Society, the northern equivalent of the Southern Cheyenne Bowstrings. For closer analysis I have selected the R1C3 and the R2C4 scenes because they are related to each other. In each scene the Cheyenne hero carries a shield, and in these cases the shield designs are very similar to each other. They are so similar that we might suppose they represent the same shield, or variants of the same type. The shields are bisected vertically, and the left half is black, while the right half is horizontally striped. In R1C3 there are two lighter patches in the black field which help us to identify this specific design as the one called „Buffalo Thigh shield" in the James Mooney field notes. James Mooney, the foremost ethnographer of the Bureau of American Ethnology, collected pertinent information on Southern Cheyenne shields and shield owners in the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) between 1902-1906. Because most of this material remains unpublished even after more than a century, I quote in its entirety all materials concerning Buffalo Thigh's shield. Mooney used a very special abbreviation system and had terrible handwriting, which makes his fieldnotes almost unreadable. I have deciphered his script and completed his sentences where it was necessary to make his text understandable. Mooney interviewed Buffalo Thigh between February 8 and 12, 1906. On February 8, the Cheyenne described his shield's appearance (Fig. 4), how he painted his face when carrying the shield (Fig. 5), and how his horse was decorated when going to war (Fig. 6). Unfortunately, the names of the artists of the accompanying sketches were not recorded. The comment on the scalp tied to the bridle was made by Roman Nose Thunder, who apparently was also present during this interview: Buffalo Thigh shield - February 8-12, 1906 Four bear tracks Half black -joins directly vs. the blue lined part. He does not know the meaning of the blue lines and dots. Streamer [in Mooney'

s texts it means the trailers of the shields] -Eagle, (white)„Bald Eagle" & crow feathers. With owl bunch feathers. Red stroud [cloth]. Belt - Otter skin. Reverse - painted like face paint on [him]self. Tripod - yellow. Buffalo Thigh [Face] Paint - February 8, 1906 Face paint belongs to the shield. Warbonnet does not. Red lines put on by drawing finger down [the] face. Face rubbed all red and then striped by drawing fingers down it. Represents bravery of bear and his claws, because when bear attacked he rears up and claws antagonist. Reverse of shield has the same paint. Himoyóqis [Elk Soldiers, or Crooked Lance Society] lance. [On his neck:] Silver crescent [pectoral] „Curved Moon" and eagle whistle. Buffalo Thigh's Horse - February 8-12, 1906 Horse is white pinto. The green paint is his individual paint of yellow grass mixed with mud. 108