The Comanches: Lords of the South Plains Volume 34

The Comanches: Lords of the South Plains, by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel, is a comprehensive ethnological study of the Comanches. It assesses the minutia of their origins, social structure, government as well as a history of their communal existence. An underlying tension regarding this work is the credibility of late day informates as opposed to period records. At issue is the comprehensive interpretation suggested for Comanche government and law as opposed to the meager allowance given to Comanche cosmogony. Regarding government and law, after citing very limited source data from informants, the authors suggest an extensive system of government and law. Focusing on various aspects of the Comanche social experience, they drew parallels with modern day legal code. In the end, it seems, the authors imposed a system with nomenclature upon the Comanche social culture that did not in totality exist. On the other had they are adamant that the Comanches did not maintain extensive philosophical or theological thought. Yet, the evidence they present clearly suggests they did. Comanches commitment to the "guardian spirit complex", and the "Great Spirit" in every aspect of their lives evinced an unequivocal as well as pervading theology. Nineteenth century observers of the Comanches, Dodge, Neighbors, Babb, Burnett and others noted that the Comanches maintained deep theological notions. Nonetheless, Wallace and Hoebel are skeptical and suggest that later Christian writers forced their views upon Comanche theology because descriptions of Comanche cosmology, similar to certain Christian believes, were not supported by the evidence given by informants in the 1933 Santa Fe Laboratory group. It truth, informants said very little about theology or cosmogony. Clearly, data taken from the Santa Fe Laboratory study is given credence over recorded witnesses from the period. Despite the source issue, overall, this work is a superb study of the Comanches.