Ceremonies

Mandan ceremonies reveal how important corn and buffalo were to their economy. Tribal members, usually women, performed corn dances, and the men’s Bull Society performed buffalo dances.

An important event for the Mandan was the annual Okipa ceremony, held in the late spring or summer. Most of the ceremony centered around a sacred cedar post erected on the village plaza inside a small enclosure. The various rituals celebrated the creation of the Man-dan and tried to ensure food supplies and bring about visions for youths passing into manhood. The ceremonies lasted four days. Unlike other Plains Indians, the

Mandan did not practice the Sun Dance. But their Okipa ceremony was very similar. Youths fasted for days; had their chests, backs, and legs slashed; and were raised toward the roof of a ceremonial lodge on rawhide thongs and ropes. This torture proved their manhood and brought about trance-like states in which dreams seemed especially vivid and meaningful. This type of ritual is called a Vision Quest.

Medicine bundles were important in Mandan ceremonies, as they were in the rites of many Plains and Great Lakes tribes. These sacred objects served as portable shrines. Each one had its own special mythology. For example, the Lone Man medicine bundle, the post used in the Okipa ceremony, was supposedly given to the Mandan by the first human who triumphed over the hostile powers of nature. The Sacred Canoe medicine bundle was supposedly made from the planks on which tribal ancestors survived a great flood.