Dig It - 11/9/26

The Sound of Thunder

Fellow Seekers, are you ready for another informative foray into Native American art? This Buffalo Drum captures the essence of Plains Indian art and culture. Before the introduction of the Spanish horse, there were few Native Americans out on the Plains. In the West, they were mostly Apachean peoples using dogs to follow the Buffalo. In the East, Caddoan and Siouan speakers lived along rivers and made hunting trips out on the Plains, but there were no true Plains “Buffalo Cultures” until the 18th and 19th centuries. 

This drum is made out of buffalo hide and depicts two painted males rutting and challenging each other. The drum is quite old; my guess is that it dates to before 1880. Drums like this were used by shamans to call the buffalo and to thank them and sing their praises for feeding the people. The drum’s beat is the sound of hooves as the great herds thundered across the plains. It must have been something back then to see and hear thousands and thousands of animals pulsing with life. Well, that vision has passed, but let’s save, honor, and respect what is left. -Lonesome