17.2.11

Locality 66 (Angel Fire, New Mexico) Tipi Etiquette

"Indians had definite rules of etiquette for life in the tipi. If the door was open, friends usually walked right in [...] If two sticks were crossed over a tipi door, it meant that the owners either were away or desired no company. If they were away, they first closed the smoke flaps by lapping or crossing them over the smoke hole. The door cover was tied down securely and two sticks were crossed over it. The door was thus "locked", and as safe in Indian society as the most strongly bolted door would be in our civilization today."

-Reginald and Gladys Laubin. The Indian Tipi. Its History, Construction, and Use, 1957.
Photo: Anna Dykema

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