Abstract
The article deals with socio-cultural aspects of body modifications in the traditional pre-reservation culture of Cheyenne Indians in the first half of the nineteenth century. It summarizes elementary forms of body modifications appearing among Cheyenne Indians (piercing of ears, amputation of the tip of the nose, incision of skin on legs and/or forehead, amputation of finger joints, excision of strips of skin from arms and/or chest, perforation of skin on chest, shoulders and/or cheeks, perforation of nasal septum), and analyses significance of body modification in socio-cultural reality.
The article focuses on impact of body modifications on social status and prestige of an individual in relation to undergoing or not-undergoing of these body modifications.