Koitsenko - Still Existing Today

Still Existing Today

Three of the six warrior societies still exist among the Kiowa. Their traditions, dances, stories, were remembered sufficiently to keep alive the warrior tradition that made their people unique.

The "Kiowa Gourd Dance Clan", "O-Ho-Mah Warrior Society", and "Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society" still exist for adults. Kiowa's two youth societies still exist but not the Koitsenko.

The "Kiowa Gourd Dance Clan" is not a Kiowa society. The Kiowa do not have clans. This "clan" was organized as a dance ground. They have no medicine bundle.

The Tiah-Pah society still exists. They are recognized by most tribes in Oklahoma as the authority on the Gourd Dance, and they adhere to tradition and continue the dance as it was done from the beginning. They gather annually south of Carnegie, Oklahoma for three days of dancing and ceremony.