MANDAN

#17 Smallpox and the End of a Household
     (Alfred W. Bowers, 1930-31)

Suicide was rare among the Mandan. The only instances remembered by Mandan informants were immediately following the last smallpox epidemic. When a household had been nearly exterminated, the remaining females frequently took their lives. Crow Heart thought that suicides were buried and that their spirits did not reach the spirit world.

[#17] Mandan: “Smallpox and the End of a Household,” from Alfred W. Bowers, Mandan Social and Ceremonial Organization. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1950, p. 100.

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#17 Smallpox and the End of a Household
     (Alfred W. Bowers, 1930-31)

  1. Pingback: NORTH AMERICAN INDIGENOUS CULTURES(documented 1635-1970) | The Ethics of Suicide Digital Archive

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