Status and Burial

     Death practices and other ceremonies vary depending on what rank and position the member of the tribe held. There are four distinct bands in the Pawnee tribe; they are Chaui, Kitkehahki, Pitahauerat, and Skidu. Chaui is the highest-ranking band and the leading tribe (The Pawnee Indians and their Culture). The membership of the tribe is based on matrilineal kinship ties (Pawnee: 2016). This means they are inherited through their mother's side.

Sacred red ointment is reserved for individuals of importance.(https://anthropologylover.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/face31-pawnee.jpg)

     The bodies of the deceased were buried within hours of the death. Families hire priests to prepare the dead for burial. Holy ointment is spread on the corpse and if the member was of high status, or died due to old age, it would be a special red ointment. Red ointment signifies the body was "taken care of on earth" and it also makes the body look healthy. If an individual does not have the red substance it is said they are not going to the "land of the spirits" (Echo-Hawk 1992:78-79).


     Tribes used to paint the corpse's face as well. The symbols and designs painted on the dead's face has a specific meaning given to that person (Echo-Hawk 1992: 79). With the faces being different, anthropologists can separate the individuals according to the status they held by looking at the individual's face. This can help identify where that member is on the horizontal and vertical status scale between the other member of the tribe. Anthropologists can also separate them if they had a red ointment on corpse's body or not. The belongings of the individual that died would be inherited normally by the oldest son. The women in the society were not allowed to have land and were viewed as lesser (Pawnee:2016). The horizontal difference between man and women, where men would have all the power and women would not hold any higher rank in the tribe.
     Anthropologists can also determine the ranking of the individual based on their clothing they are buried in. The dead are buried in their best dress clothing items and then are wrapped in a bison or buffalo robe before being buried (Pawnee - Religion and Expressive Culture). It is common for the dead to be visited by the tribe before being buried. In Western cultures this part of the burial process and can be closely related to a wake. The higher the individual's rank, the more public visitations that individual will reserve. The mourners will touch the corpse and believe in receiving a blessing from the dead after touching the body from head to toe (Echo-Hawk 1992: 93).

This is an example of the buffalo robe that could be worn for burial.(http://americanhistory.si.edu/buffalo/about-hides.html)

     Rank plays a key role in the preparations for Pawnee burials. The individual's rank in the tribe will determine how the funeral is arranged and why funerals may differ from one another. Final destinations of the soul were determined based on whether a person died a 'good' death or a disgraceful death. The ultimate goal is for the soul to ascend the heavens and become a star (Pawnee: 2016). 

                                                                     Works Cited 

Echo-Hawk, R. C. (1992). Pawnee Mortuary Traditions. American Indian Culture and Research Journal,16(2), 77-99.

Pawnee. (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2017, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/north-american-indigenous-peoples/pawnee

Pawnee - Religion and Expressive Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved 2017, from http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Pawnee-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html

Pawnee Indian Fact Sheet. (2016). Retrieved 2017, from http://www.bigorrin.org/pawnee_kids.htm

The Pawnee Indians and their Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved 2017, from http://www.native-net.org/tribes/pawnee-indians.html