By now you are most likely asking why! instead of the traditional how!
Here you sit with a bundle of poles and a heap of canvass and rope, what have you let yourself in for? All is not lost, if you follow these instructions carefully you will have no difficulty in setting up your Tipi.

Once you have had experience with Tipi living you may modify these instructions (and let me know if there is any way I can improve on the explanations in this manual).

Refer to the sketches whilst reading this manual. Choose the four straightest and thickest poles. Mark them N, S, D & L. Next, choose the two thinnest and most curved poles and mark them both with an F.

N = North pole
S = South pole
D = Door pole
L = Lifting pole
F = Flap poles

Lay the cover out on a flat surface so that is resembles a semi-circle (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Place the N pole on the cover canvass at right angles to sewed panels so that the thick (butt) end of the pole extends past the cover by ten centimeters or so. Hold the cover and butt securely and have someone else pull the cover (tight enough to remove any folds) at the opposite end (where the tying cords are). Ring the poles with a marking pen . (see Figure 2).

Then place the S & L poles alongside the N pole (the N one you have just marked) making sure that their butts are aligned.
Now place the D pole in the position as shown in Figure 1 and mark it in the same way as the others.
As a check, the length from the butt of the D pole to the mark should be some-what longer than the distance from the butts of the other three poles to their marks. This longer door pole distance results in the Tipi leaning backwards slightly. (The degree of leaning depends on the cut of the fabric and the size of the Tipi).

Ideally the Tipi should be set up with the door facing away from the prevailing winds (the Tipi is most stable in this position and the smoke from the fire is drawn away from the flap opening by a venturi affect. To achieve this the N, S & D poles must be laid out (as in Figure 1) with the butt end of the D pole pointing away from the prevailing winds.

Care must be taken to ensure that the poles are lying exactly as shown in Figure 3 (that is with the N & S poles alongside each other and the D pole on top of these two and at an angle to them.

Next take the length of Manila rope and start by tying a clove hitch around the cross over point of the three poles (where the three black ring marks meet) as shown in Figure 3

Figure 3

Wrap the short end of the rope two or three times around the poles and end off with a simple granny knot.

 

For the next step an assistant may be required. Ask someone to stand against the butt ends of the N & S poles to prevent them from sliding away from you when you start to walk them up. Now lift the thin end of the poles and walk them into an upright position. It is advisable not to have anyone walking about underneath them as they may over balance (if they do please let them fall....do not try to catch them).

 

Once they are balancing upright take hold of the N pole and walk it out, away from the S pole until a tripod is formed. You should here a great deal of creaking from the tight bindings at the top of the poles. This is a good thing as you do not want the poles to slip in the knot. Once the tripod is standing the distance between the three poles must be adjusted so that they are equally spaced the distance between them depending on the size of your Tipi (the shape of the tripod should be pointy rather than squat). The diameter of the resulting tripod should be smaller than it wi11 be when the Tipi is finally set up, this allows for easy lacing of the cover canvass.

You should now have reached the stage as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4

RIBS:
The poles are carried more easily if they are balanced in an upright position and walked over to their final position (be sure to look out for any overhead cables). These poles are placed so that they complete the circle started by the first three tripod poles.
Starting at the door pole, the poles are placed in the sequence shown in Figure 5 (numbered 1f, 2f etc.) all resting in the same crotch of the tripod poles.
The number of poles to be placed depends on the size of your Tipi. For the 6ft - 8ft Tipi there are two fill in poles per tripod pair. For the 10ft - 14ft there are three fill in poles per tripod pair and for the 16ft - 20ft there are four fill in poles per tripod pair.

The next set of "fill in" poles must be placed in the positions 5f, 6f etc. These also being placed in the same crotch as the last set. You now have two thirds of the poles resting in the forward crotch, this allows the remaining one third of the fill in poles to be placed in positions 9r, 10r,11r in the rear crotch. This sequence results in the bulk of the poles to the front of the Tipi where the smoke flaps are and the less bulky stack to the rear of the Tipi.
Note that you have left a gap for the L (lifting) pole.

UMBILICAL CORD:
The hanging length of manila rope is now walked around the frame of poles (called the ribs) four time. With each circle the rope is whipped up and pulled tight to form neat coils. Care must be taken not to pull the structure over, one can stand in the middle of the circle to pull on the rope (this rope represents the Umbilical Cord of the Tipi).
Traditionally this wrapping of the poles a job given to the woman of the tribe (now that I come to think of it, the woman did all the hard work) . The end of the rope is now left to hang into the middle of the circle.

SKIN:
The cover must now be tied to the lifting pole (marked L ). The lowest part of the "V" at the canvass tongue end of the Tipi must be aligned with the black circle on the lifting pole and the rope tied tightly around and around the pole so that it does not slip. Ensure that the leather re- enforcement's at the tie downs are facing the ground (otherwise the cover is inside-out). Fold the cover over itself over and over again along the length of the lifting pole. This makes it easier to lift the pole into position. Place the butt end of the lifting pole in the gap left for it and "walk" the pole up (this is the most strenuous part of the procedure and once again you may need someone to stand on the butt to prevent it from sliding away from you). Once the lifting pole is in position "peel" the cover around the frame of poles and lace it up using the bamboo lacing pins provided, ensuring that the left side of the Tipi overlaps the right side.

TRIMMING THE COVER:
Once the Tipi has been laced up climb inside and systematically move the poles outwards so that they are evenly spaced and the cover becomes taught. Care must be taken to ensure that the cover does not merely "ride" up the poles as you will then not be able to reach the ground with the tie downs when the time comes to peg the Tipi down.

The cover must be adjusted so that the door opening is situated between the D pole and the 1f pole.

PEGGING THE COVER DOWN:
Now is the time to begin securing your Tipi to the ground. Start at the door by knocking in one of the wooden pegs at an angle pointing outwards in a position as if it were another pole between the D and the 1f pole. Then move to the rear of the Tipi and do the same. As you progress you can pull the cover down tighter and tighter. The end result is that the cover is as taught as a drum skin.

HANGING THE DEW CLOTH:
The dew cloth (inner lining or skirt) can now be hung. To do this one end of the cotton rope must be secured to the lifting pole at a height of 1,3 meters (for a 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14ft Tipi) or 1,5 meters (for all other Tipis) from the butt end of the pole. The cotton rope is then wrapped once around each of the poles moving in an anti-clockwise direction and ending up once more at the lifting pole. For the larger Tipis two ropes are supplied, in this case each rope should be secured to the lifting pole and wrapped around the poles going in an anti-clockwise direction for the one rope and in a clockwise direction for the other meeting at the door pole. The rope should remain the same height off the ground all the way around the Tipi. Move around the Tipi once more pulling the rope as tight as possible using the poles as a lever.
The dew cloth is then tied to the rope starting at the middle of the door with the one end of the dew cloth and, if your rope is the correct height, you should end up just overlapping by one panel at the door with the other end of the dew cloth. You now have two layers of dew cloth at the door hole which can be folded back when not needed.
Ideally the tie laces should fasten onto the rope at the mid- point between any two Tipi poles. The base of the dew cloth must be pressed outwards so as to follow the shape of the outer cover. About 30 centimeters of the dew cloth should be folded on to the ground and be held in place by a flat stone.

FITTING THE DOOR COVER:
The door can now be fitted to the most convenient lacing pin. The base of the door should be in line with the base of the Tipi cover.

TRIMMING THE SMOKE FLAPS:
The final two poles can now be fitted into the pockets at the top of the smoke flaps. This operation involves poking the pointed end of the stick into the pocket, then by maneuvering these poles the flaps may be adjusted to suite the weather conditions. On a hot day the smoke flaps may be angled to catch the wind and direct a breeze into the Tipi. Or a venturi affect can be attained by angling the flaps downwind to draw the smoke out of the Tipi when the fire is roaring on a cold winters night. The strings attached to the base of the smoke flaps are there to secure the flaps. These strings may be secured to a stout pole situated just far enough from the entrance so as not to be in the way. See Figure 6 for other smoke flap positions.

Figure 6

It is now up to you to personalise your Tipi.
If you care for your Tipi it will last you for many years. See to it that it is not packed away when it is damp. The base of the dew cloth is in constant contact with the ground and should be lifted up every now and then to be allowed to dry. In dry weather dust off the tipi from time to time by patting all outside with your hand or the cover can be hosed down. This will help to prevent mildew growing in the dust particles.

You are privileged to be able to experience one of the many things which the Native American peoples gave to us. There life style and way in which they cared for Mother Earth is an example to us all.

Remember:

MAN BELONGS TO THE EARTH
THE EARTH DOES NOT BELONG TO MAN.