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Makes Them Cry – Osage – 1913
In her book titled, “The Osage Ceremonial Dance I’n-Lon-Schka,” Alice Callahan writes the following concerning blankets,
“Blankets are often worn over the traditional dress into the dance arena. They are then carefully folded and placed on the bench where the dancer will sit, serving as a cushion as well as reserving a dancer’s place on the bench.”
(Callahan, 1990, p. 112)
Modern straight dancers attending ceremonial dances of the Osage, Ponca, Omaha, Comanche, and Pawnee to name a few, usually do not consider themselves complete without some type of a wearing blanket.
As Alice Callahan states, many dancers will wear the blanket over their shoulders and wrapped around themselves in a traditional style while entering the dance circle. However, other straight dancers will simply carry the folded blanket under an arm.
The most common type of blanket used today is the wool Pendleton trade blanket.
However, I have seen many fine examples of rainbow selvage wool broadcloth blankets with lazy-stitch beaded “blanket strips” decorating the center of the blanket. In this case two pieces of rainbow selvage broad cloth are sewn together, and ribbonwork protects the edges. The blanket is worn over both shoulders, so that the two strips of selvage are verticle down the dancers back, with the beaded strip showing horizontally in the center, wrapping around the dancer.
On rare occasions a dancer will have a blanket commonly referred to as a “four-way.” These blankets have a long tradition on the Southern Plains and are highly prized. When a bolt, or approximately 1,000 yards, of rainbow selvage broadcloth comes from a woolen mill, it was wrapped in a tube-like outer covering of broadcloth with rainbow selvage on both ends. This tube-like outer covering also had a double line of rainbow selvage running lengthwise down the bolt. When the traders opened this tube-like outer covering they would carefully cut the cloth down the center of the double selvage, thereby creating a blanket with a rainbow selvage on all four edges, hence the name “four-way.” It is therefore, easy to understand why these blankets were highly sought after, as there was only one “four-way” blanket for every 1,000 yards of regular wool broadcloth.
Osage War Mothers "four-way" blanket.
Callahan, Alice A.
1990. The Osage Ceremonial Dance, I’n-Lon-Schka. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.
Drefke, Don.
2004. Southern Men's Wearing Blankets. Whispering Wind Magazine, Volume 34, No. 4, Folsom, LA.
In her book titled, “The Osage Ceremonial Dance I’n-Lon-Schka,” Alice Callahan writes the following concerning blankets,
“Blankets are often worn over the traditional dress into the dance arena. They are then carefully folded and placed on the bench where the dancer will sit, serving as a cushion as well as reserving a dancer’s place on the bench.”
(Callahan, 1990, p. 112)
Modern straight dancers attending ceremonial dances of the Osage, Ponca, Omaha, Comanche, and Pawnee to name a few, usually do not consider themselves complete without some type of a wearing blanket.
As Alice Callahan states, many dancers will wear the blanket over their shoulders and wrapped around themselves in a traditional style while entering the dance circle. However, other straight dancers will simply carry the folded blanket under an arm.
The most common type of blanket used today is the wool Pendleton trade blanket.
However, I have seen many fine examples of rainbow selvage wool broadcloth blankets with lazy-stitch beaded “blanket strips” decorating the center of the blanket. In this case two pieces of rainbow selvage broad cloth are sewn together, and ribbonwork protects the edges. The blanket is worn over both shoulders, so that the two strips of selvage are verticle down the dancers back, with the beaded strip showing horizontally in the center, wrapping around the dancer.
On rare occasions a dancer will have a blanket commonly referred to as a “four-way.” These blankets have a long tradition on the Southern Plains and are highly prized. When a bolt, or approximately 1,000 yards, of rainbow selvage broadcloth comes from a woolen mill, it was wrapped in a tube-like outer covering of broadcloth with rainbow selvage on both ends. This tube-like outer covering also had a double line of rainbow selvage running lengthwise down the bolt. When the traders opened this tube-like outer covering they would carefully cut the cloth down the center of the double selvage, thereby creating a blanket with a rainbow selvage on all four edges, hence the name “four-way.” It is therefore, easy to understand why these blankets were highly sought after, as there was only one “four-way” blanket for every 1,000 yards of regular wool broadcloth.
Osage War Mothers "four-way" blanket.
Callahan, Alice A.
1990. The Osage Ceremonial Dance, I’n-Lon-Schka. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.
Drefke, Don.
2004. Southern Men's Wearing Blankets. Whispering Wind Magazine, Volume 34, No. 4, Folsom, LA.
Kewl beans! 
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