Courting Scenes

As with warfare, drawings of courting scenes celebrate the virility and social prowess of the male protagonists. The courting conventions among the peoples of the Great Plains were lengthy and contenders had to 'capture' the woman of their choosing with skill and determination. Female chastity was highly valued, and encounters between a woman and her suitor generally took place with a chaperone present. After numerous meetings, the man would offer his buffalo hide robe or trade blanket to the woman. If accepted, the couple would publicly affirm that they were “going steady” by walking together wrapped within the cloak. In fact, the term for ‘courtship’ in the Lakota language is sina aopemni inayinpi, literally ‘standing rolled up in a blanket.’