White Buffalo Society
The White Buffalo Society is a prominent women's society among the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes, tasked with the spiritual and cultural role of enticing buffalo herds closer to their villages. This society held significant importance, especially during times of scarcity when hunting had been unsuccessful. Members of the White Buffalo Society engaged in elaborate ceremonies that included mimicking buffalo movements through dance and gestures, aiming to draw the animals nearer to the hunters.
Joining the society required an age-based purchase from departing members, granting newcomers the rights to participate in specific dances, songs, and ceremonial attire, which included caps made from the hide of the sacred albino buffalo and adorned with hawk feathers. During their rituals, the women also carried dry branches decorated with eagle down, enhancing the visual and spiritual aspects of their performance. The practices of the White Buffalo Society reflect a deep connection to nature and an integral aspect of the cultural identity of the Mandan and Hidatsa peoples.
White Buffalo Society
Tribes affected: Hidatsa, Mandan
Significance: The purpose of the all-female White Buffalo Society was to entice buffalo herds to come near the village
The function of the White Buffalo Society, the highest order among women’s societies of the Mandan tribe and Hidatsa tribe, was to entice the buffalo herds to come near the village. It was especially used during times of want, when hunting efforts had not proved successful and further measures were deemed necessary. The idea was that if the buffalo were mimicked, they would draw near to the hunters.
This society was an age society with collective purchase: When prospective members were of a certain age, they would buy the right to join the group from the oldest members, whose time it was to leave the group. This purchase provided for the rights to use and practice certain dances, songs, and regalia of the society.
White Buffalo Society members imitated a herd of buffalo. They grouped together in a sort of loose huddle and mimicked the steps and movements of the buffalo with dances and gestures. Each member wore a cap topped with a fan of hawk feathers. The cap itself was high and round, made from the prized skin of an albino buffalo. As they performed their ceremony, the Native American women carried dry branches with tufts of eagle down fastened to the ends of the branches.