Síh-Chidä, Mandan Man

Description

Maximilian and Bodmer became very fond of this twenty-five-year-old man, whose name means "Yellow Feather." SÍh-Chid_ was fascinated by the art work of the two foreigners and asked for a drawing of soldiers by Maximilian, for a bird to be painted on his war shield, and for a copy of his portrait by Bodmer which had been done over a period of three days in early December, 1833. He also requested and was given art supplies with which he produced pictures of Maximilian, Bodmer, himself, and his comrades. A number of Indian drawings associated with the Maximilian Bodmer collection at the Joslyn Art Museum are believed to be by S’ÛÎ_h-Chid’ÛÎ_. On his temples S’ÛÎ_h-Chid’ÛÎ_ wears the popular beaded hair bows with long strings of dentalium shells and beads. He was a member of the Dog Society, and the cluster of feathers on the back of his head may be an insignia of that group, the paraphernalia of which included headdresses of raven, magpie, and owl feathers. Around his neck is draped a tippet of otter fur, the ends fringed with quill-wrapped leather. His heel trailers are also made of otter fur lined with red cloth and, like the wolves' tails seen in other portraits, represent battle exploits. Síh-Chidä appears in the aquatint atlas in Tableau 20 posed beside Máhchsi-Karéhde, the Mandan portrayed in Plate 309.