Tipi was center of nomadic life
Source: Agencies |
February 20, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A 9-meter tipi towers over the fifth-floor atrium in the Brooklyn Museum in New York.
The majestic structure is part of a new exhibition that focuses on the central role of the tipi in the lives of more than 30 nomadic tribes who once populated a large swath of the North American Plains from Canada to Texas.
Not just a home, the tipi was the center of social and ceremonial life. The entrance faced east toward the rising sun. The eastern part, near the entrance, was the women's domain; the men owned the space at the rear.
As an architectural structure, the tipi was easy to erect and take down. The wooden poles were sturdy enough to withstand wind, while the bison-hide covers kept out rain and snow.
Three full-size tipis are on view, along with more than 160 objects from the museum's collection of Plains materials and a selection of works by contemporary Plains artists.
One tipi is a replica of a Lakota-style lodge used by Plains Indians before 1860, when they began to be relocated to reservations. It measures 3 meters in diameter, big enough for a small family.
"Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains" opened on Friday and remains on view through May 15.
(AP)
The majestic structure is part of a new exhibition that focuses on the central role of the tipi in the lives of more than 30 nomadic tribes who once populated a large swath of the North American Plains from Canada to Texas.
Not just a home, the tipi was the center of social and ceremonial life. The entrance faced east toward the rising sun. The eastern part, near the entrance, was the women's domain; the men owned the space at the rear.
As an architectural structure, the tipi was easy to erect and take down. The wooden poles were sturdy enough to withstand wind, while the bison-hide covers kept out rain and snow.
Three full-size tipis are on view, along with more than 160 objects from the museum's collection of Plains materials and a selection of works by contemporary Plains artists.
One tipi is a replica of a Lakota-style lodge used by Plains Indians before 1860, when they began to be relocated to reservations. It measures 3 meters in diameter, big enough for a small family.
"Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains" opened on Friday and remains on view through May 15.
(AP)
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