Formation The Proto-Comanche movement to the Plains was part of the larger phenomenon known as the "Shoshonean Expansion" in which that language family spread across the Great Basin and across the mountains into Wyoming. The Kotsoteka ("Bison Eaters") were probably among the first. Other groups followed. Contact with the Shoshones of Wyoming was maintained until the 1830s when it was broken by the advancing Cheyennes and Arapahoes. After the
Pueblo Revolt of 1680, various Plains peoples acquired horses, but it was probably some time before they were very numerous. As late as 1725, Comanches were described as using large dogs rather than horses to carry their bison-hide "campaign tents". Horses became a key element in the emergence of a distinctive Comanche culture. They were of such strategic importance that some scholars suggested that the Comanche broke away from the Shoshone and moved south to search for additional sources of horses among the settlers of
New Spain (rather than search for new herds of buffalo). The Comanche have the longest documented existence as horse-mounted Plains peoples; they had horses when the Cheyenne still lived in earth lodges. The Comanche supplied horses and mules to all comers. As early as 1795, the Comanche were selling horses to Anglo-American traders. and by the mid-19th century, Comanche-supplied horses were flowing into St. Louis via other Indian middlemen (Seminole, Osage, Shawnee). Their original
migration took them to the southern
Great Plains, into a sweep of territory extending from the
Arkansas River to central Texas. The earliest references to them in the Spanish records date from 1706, when reports reached Santa Fe that Utes and Comanches were about to attack. Comanche raids, especially in the 1840s, reached hundreds of miles deep into Mexico, devastating northern parts of the country.
Divisions Kavanagh has defined four levels of social-political integration in traditional Comanche society before reservations: •
Patrilineal and
patrilocal nuclear family • Extended family group (nʉmʉnahkahni – "the people who live together in a household", no size limits, but kinship recognition was limited to relatives two generations above or three below) • Residential local group or "band", comprised one or more nʉmʉnahkahni, one of which formed its core. The
band was the primary social unit of the Comanche. A typical band might number several hundred people. It was a family group, centered around a group of men, all of whom were relatives, sons, brothers, or cousins. Since marriage with a known relative was forbidden, wives came from another group, and sisters left to join their husbands. The central man in that group was their grandfather, father, or uncle. He was called
paraivo, "chief". After his death, one of the other men took his place; if none was available, the band members might drift apart to other groups, where they might have relatives and/or establish new relations by marrying an existing member. No separate term was used for or status of peace chief or war chief; any man leading a war party was a war chief. • Division (sometimes called tribe, Spanish
nación,
rama – "branch", comprising several local groups linked by kinship, sodalities (political, medicine, and military), and shared interest in hunting, gathering, war, peace, and trade). In contrast to the neighboring
Cheyenne and
Arapaho to the north, a single Comanche political unit or "Nation" was not historically recognized by all Comanche in previous centuries. Rather, the divisions, the most "tribe-like" units, acted independently, pursuing their own economic and political goals. Before the 1750s, the Spanish identified three
Comanche Naciones (divisions): Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi), Yaparʉhka (Yamparika), and Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka). After the Mescalero Apache, Jicarilla Apache, and Lipan Apache had been largely displaced from the Southern Plains by the Comanche and allied tribes in the 1780s, the Spanish began to divide the now-dominant Comanche into two geographical groups, which only partially corresponded to the former three
naciones. The Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) (Buffalo Eaters), which had moved southeast in the 1750s and 1760s to the Southern Plains in Texas, were called
Cuchanec Orientales (Eastern Cuchanec/Kotsoteka") or Eastern Comanche, while those Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) who remained in the northwest and west, together with Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi – Timber/Forest People) (and sometimes Yaparʉhka (Yamparika)), which had moved southward to the North Canadian River, were called
Cuchanec Occidentales (Western Cuchanec/Kotsoteka) or Western Comanche. The Western Comanche lived in the region of the upper
Arkansas,
Canadian, and
Red Rivers, and the
Llano Estacado. The Eastern Comanche lived on the
Edwards Plateau and the Texas plains of the upper
Brazos and
Colorado Rivers, and east to the
Cross Timbers. They were probably the ancestors of the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka – Honey Eaters). Over time, these divisions were altered in various ways, primarily due to changes in political resources. As noted above, the Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) were probably the first proto-Comanche group to separate from the Eastern Shoshone. , 1834 The name Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi) vanished from history in the early 19th century, probably merging into the other divisions; they are likely the forerunners of the Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni), Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada), and Hʉpenʉʉ (Hois) local group of the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka). Due to pressure by southward-moving
Kiowa and
Plains Apache (Naishan) raiders, many Yaparʉhka (Yamparika) moved southeast, joining the Eastern Comanche and becoming known as the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit). Many Kiowa and Plains Apache moved to northern Comancheria and became later closely associated with the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika). In the mid-19th century, other powerful divisions arose, such as the Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni) (Wanderers, literally "go someplace and return"), and the Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada) (Antelope Eaters). The latter originally were some local groups of the Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka) from the Cimarron River Valley and descendants of some Hʉpenʉʉ (Jupe, Hoipi), who had pulled both southwards. The northernmost Comanche division was the Yaparʉhka (Yapai Nʉʉ or Yamparika — (Yap)Root Eaters). As the last band to move onto the Plains, they retained much of their Eastern Shoshone tradition. The power and success of the Comanche attracted bands of neighboring peoples, who joined them and became part of Comanche society; an Arapaho group became known as Saria Tʉhka (Chariticas, Sata Teichas – Dog Eaters) band, an Eastern Shoshone group as Pohoi (Pohoee – Wild Sage) band, and a Plains Apache group as the Tasipenanʉʉ band. The Texans and Americans divided the Comanche into five, large, dominant bands – the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika), Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka), Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni), Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka), and Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada)', which in turn were divided by geographical terms into first three (later four) regional groupings: Northern Comanche, Middle Comanche, Southern Comanche, Eastern Comanche, and later Western Comanche. These terms, though, generally do not correspond to the native language terms. near the
Wichita Mountains in 1834, by George Catlin The Northern Comanche label encompassed the Yaparʉhka (Yamparika) between the Arkansas River and Canadian River and the prominent and powerful Kʉhtsʉtʉhka (Kotsoteka), who roamed the High Plains of Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles between the Red and Canadian Rivers; the famous Palo Duro Canyon offered their horse herds and them protection from strong winter storms and enemies, because the two bands dominated and ranged in the northern Comancheria. The Middle Comanche label encompassed the aggressive Nokoni Nʉʉ (Nokoni) (Wanderers, "those who turn back") between the headwaters of the Red River and the Colorado River in the south and the Western Cross Timbers in the east; their preferred ranges were on the Brazos River headwaters and its tributaries, and the Pease River offered protection from storms and enemies. Two smaller bands shared the same tribal areas: the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit) (Those Living Downstream) and Tanimʉʉ (Tanima, Dahaʉi, Tevawish) (Liver Eaters). All three bands together were known as Middle Comanche because they lived "in the middle" of the Comancheria. The Southern Comanche label encompassed the Penatʉka Nʉʉ (Penateka) (Honey Eaters), the southernmost, largest, and best-known band among Whites as they lived near the first Spanish and Texan settlements; their tribal areas extended from the upper reaches of the rivers in central Texas and Colorado River southward, including much of the Edwards Plateau, and eastward to the Western Cross Timbers; because they dominated the southern Comancheria, they were called Southern Comanche. The Western Comanche label encompassed the Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ (Kwahadi, Quohada) (Antelope Eaters), who is the last to develop as an independent band in the 19th century. They lived on the hot, low-shadow desert plateaus of Llano Estacado in eastern New Mexico, and found shelter in Tule Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon in northwestern Texas. They were the only band that never signed a contract with the Texans or Americans, and they were the last to give up the resistance. Because of their relative isolation from the other bands on the westernmost edge of the Comancheria, they were called the Western Comanche. Much confusion has occurred and continues in the presentation of Comanche group names. Groups on all levels of organization, families, nʉmʉnahkahni, bands, and divisions, were given names, but many band lists do not distinguish these levels. In addition, alternate names and nicknames could exist. The spelling differences between Spanish and English add to the confusion.
Some of the Comanche group names •
Yaparʉhka or
Yamparika (also Yapai Nʉʉ –
(Yap)Root Eaters; One of its local groups may have been called Widyʉ Nʉʉ / Widyʉ / Widyʉ Yapa – Awl People; after the death of a man named Awl, they changed their name to Tʉtsahkʉnanʉʉ or Ditsahkanah – Sewing People [Titchahkaynah]. Other Yapai local groups included: • Ketahtoh or Ketatore (Don't Wear Shoes, also called
Napwat Tʉ – Wearing No Shoes) • Motso (′Bearded Ones′, derived from
motso – beard) • Pibianigwai (Loud Talkers, Loud Askers) • Sʉhmʉhtʉhka (Eat Everything) • Wahkoh (Shell Ornament) • Waw'ai or Wohoi (also Waaih – Lots of Maggots on the Penis, also called Nahmahe'enah – Somehow being (sexual) together, to have sex, called by other groups, because they preferred to marry
endogamously and chose their partners from their own local group; this was viewed critically by other Comanche people.) •
Hʉpenʉʉ or
Jupe (Timber People because they lived in more wooded areas in the Central Plains north of the Arkansas River, also spelled Hois. •
Kʉhtsʉtʉʉka or
Kotsoteka (
Buffalo Eaters, spelled in Spanish as
Cuchanec) •
Kwaarʉnʉʉ or
Kwahadi/Quohada (Kwahare – Antelope Eaters; nicknamed Kwahihʉʉki – Sunshades on Their Backs, because they lived on desert plains of the Llano Estacado in eastern New Mexico, westernmost Comanche Band). One of their local groups was nicknamed Parʉhʉya (Elk, literally Water Horse). •
Nokoninʉʉ or
Nokoni (Movers, Returners); allegedly, after the death of chief
Peta Nocona, they called themselves Noyʉhkanʉʉ – Not Staying in One Place, and/or Tʉtsʉ Noyʉkanʉʉ / Detsanayʉka – Bad Campers, Poor Wanderer • Tahnahwah or Tenawa (also Tenahwit – Those Who Live Downstream • Tanimʉʉ or Tanima (also called Dahaʉi or Tevawish – Liver Eaters •
Penatʉka Nʉʉ or
Penateka (other variants: Pihnaatʉka, Penanʉʉ – Honey Eaters Some names given by others include: • WahaToya (literally Two Mountains); (given as Foothills in Cloud People – those who live near Walsenburg, CO • Toyanʉmʉnʉ (Foothills People – those who lived near Las Vegas, NM) Unassignable names include: • Tayʉʉwit / Teyʉwit (Hospitable Ones) • Kʉvahrahtpaht (Steep Climbers) • Taykahpwai / Tekapwai (No Meat) • Pagatsʉ (Pa'káh'tsa – Head of the Stream, also called Pahnaixte – Those Who Live Upstream) • Mʉtsahne or Motsai (Undercut Bank) Old Shoshone names • Pekwi Tʉhka (Fish Eaters) • Pohoi / Pohoee (Wild Sage) Other names, which may or may not refer to Comanche groups include: • Hani Nʉmʉ (Hai'ne'na'ʉne – Corn Eating People), Wichitas • It'chit'a'bʉd'ah (Utsu'itʉ – Cold People, i.e. Northern People, probably another name for the Yaparʉhka or one of their local groups – because they lived to the north) • Itehtah'o (Burnt Meat, nicknamed by other Comanche, because they threw their surplus of meat out in the spring, where it dried and became black, looking like burnt meat) • Naʉ'niem (No'na'ʉm – Ridge People Modern local groups • Ohnonʉʉ (also Ohnʉnʉnʉʉ or Onahʉnʉnʉʉ, Salt People or Salt Creek people) live in
Caddo County in the vicinity of
Cyril, Oklahoma; mostly descendants of the Nokoni Pianavowit • Wianʉʉ (Wianʉ, Wia'ne – Hill Wearing Away), live east of
Walters, Oklahoma, descendants of Waysee
Comanche Wars The Comanche fought a
number of conflicts against
Spanish and later
Mexican and
American armies. These were both expeditionary, as with the
raids into Mexico, and
defensive. They also fought against many other tribes, especially the Apache. As they came south, they destroyed, drove out or assimilated the tribes that currently held these lands. By the 1760s, many Apache bands simply vanished from history. The Comanche were noted as fierce warriors who fought vigorously for their homeland of
Comancheria. However, the massive population of the settlers from the east and the diseases they brought led to pressure and decline of Comanche power and the
cessation of their major presence in the southern
Great Plains.
Relationship with settlers , prominent chief of the Comanche Indians with a feather fan; photo by James Mooney, 1892 The Comanche maintained an ambiguous relationship with Europeans and later settlers attempting to colonize their territory. The Comanche were valued as trading partners since 1786 via the
Comancheros of New Mexico, but were feared for their raids against settlers in Texas. Similarly, they were, at one time or another, at war with virtually every other Native American group living on the South Plains, leaving opportunities for political maneuvering by European colonial powers and the United States. At one point,
Sam Houston, president of the newly created
Republic of Texas, almost succeeded in reaching a
peace treaty with the Comanche in the 1844
Treaty of Tehuacana Creek. His efforts were thwarted in 1845 when the
Texas Legislature refused to create an official boundary between Texas and the Comancheria. While the Comanche managed to maintain their independence and increase their territory, by the mid-19th century, they faced annihilation because of a wave of epidemics due to
Eurasian diseases to which they had no immunity, such as
smallpox and
measles. Outbreaks of smallpox (1817, 1848) and
cholera (1849) took a major toll on the Comanche, whose population dropped from an estimated 20,000 in the late 18th century to just a few thousand by the 1870s. The US began efforts in the late 1860s to move the Comanche into reservations, with the
Treaty of Medicine Lodge (1867), which offered churches, schools, and annuities in return for a vast tract of land totaling over . The government promised to stop the buffalo hunters, who were steadily exterminating the great bison herds of the Plains, provided that the Comanche, along with the
Apaches,
Kiowas,
Cheyenne, and
Arapahos, move to a reservation totaling less than of land, but the government did not prevent the slaughtering of the herds. The Comanche under Quenatosavit White Eagle (later called
Isa-tai "Coyote's Vagina") retaliated by attacking a group of hunters in the Texas Panhandle in the
Second Battle of Adobe Walls (1874). The attack was a disaster for the Comanche, and the US army was called in during the
Red River War to drive the remaining Comanche in the area into the reservation, culminating in the
Battle of Palo Duro Canyon. Within just 10 years, the bison were on the verge of extinction, effectively ending the Comanche way of life as hunters. In May 1875, the last free band of Comanches, led by Quahada warrior
Quanah Parker, surrendered and moved to the
Fort Sill reservation in Oklahoma. The last independent Kiowa and Kiowa Apache had also surrendered. The 1890 Census showed 1,598 Comanche at the Fort Sill reservation, which they shared with 1,140 Kiowa and 326 Kiowa Apache.
Meusebach–Comanche treaty The Peneteka band agreed to a peace treaty with the German Immigration Company under
John O. Meusebach. This treaty was not affiliated with any level of government. Meusebach brokered the treaty to settle the lands on the Fisher-Miller Land Grant, from which were formed the 10 counties of
Concho,
Kimble,
Llano,
Mason,
McCulloch,
Menard,
Schleicher,
San Saba,
Sutton, and
Tom Green. In contrast to many treaties of its day, this treaty was very brief and simple, with all parties agreeing to a mutual cooperation and a sharing of the land. The treaty was agreed to at a meeting in San Saba County, and signed by all parties on May 9, 1847, in
Fredericksburg, Texas. The treaty was very specifically between the Peneteka band and the German Immigration Company. No other band or tribe was involved. The German Immigration Company was dissolved by Meusebach himself shortly after it had served its purpose. By 1875, the Comanches had been relocated to reservations. Five years later, artist
Friedrich Richard Petri and his family moved to the settlement of
Pedernales, near Fredericksburg. Petri's sketches and watercolors gave witness to the friendly relationships between the Germans and various local
Native American tribes.
Fort Martin Scott treaty In 1850, another treaty was signed in San Saba, between the United States government and a number of local tribes, among which were the Comanche. This treaty was named for the nearest military fort, which was
Fort Martin Scott. The treaty was never officially ratified by any level of government and was binding only on the part of the Native Americans.
Cherokee Commission The
Agreement with the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache signed with the
Cherokee Commission October 6–21, 1892, further reduced their reservation to at a cost of $1.25 per acre ($308.88/km2), with an allotment of per person per tribe to be held in trust. New allotments were made in 1906 to all children born after the agreement, and the remaining land was opened to white settlement. With this new arrangement, the era of the Comanche reservation came to an abrupt end.
Captive Herman Lehmann One of the most famous captives in Texas was a German boy named
Herman Lehmann. He had been kidnapped by the
Apache, only to escape and be rescued by the Comanche. Lehmann became the adoptive son of Quanah Parker. On August 26, 1901, Quanah Parker provided a legal
affidavit verifying Lehmann's life as his adopted son 1877–1878. On May 29, 1908, the
United States Congress authorized the
United States Secretary of the Interior to allot Lehmann, as an adopted member of the Comanche nation, 160 acres of Oklahoma land, near
Grandfield.
Recent history , drumming with friend at Redstone Baptist Church Entering the Western economy was a challenge for the Comanche in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many tribal citizens were defrauded of whatever remained of their land and possessions. Appointed paramount chief by the United States government, Chief
Quanah Parker campaigned vigorously for better deals for his people, meeting with Washington politicians frequently; and helped manage land for the tribe. Parker became wealthy as a cattleman. He also campaigned for the Comanches' permission to practice the
Native American Church religious rites, such as the usage of
peyote, which was condemned by European Americans. Before the first Oklahoma legislature, Quanah testified: I do not think this legislature should interfere with a man's religion, also these people should be allowed to retain this health restorer. These healthy gentleman before you use peyote and those that do not use it are not so healthy. During
World War II, many Comanche left the traditional tribal lands in Oklahoma to seek jobs and more opportunities in the cities of California and the
Southwest. About half of the Comanche population still lives in Oklahoma, centered on the town of Lawton. Recently, an 80-minute 1920 silent film was "rediscovered", titled
The Daughter of Dawn. It features a cast of more than 300 Comanche and Kiowa. ==Culture==