The Navajo

1
The Navajo

• The Dineh The People

Prepared by Rebecca Baird
2
When and where the religion was established

• The Dineh, or "The People," as the Navajo call
  themselves, migrated to the Southwest from the
  North around the 15th century. They were first
  noticed by other peoples between the 14th and
  15th century, between the Champa and upper San
  Juan rivers.
• The Spaniards brought sheep and horses which the
  Navajo adapted to their nomadic lifestyle. It is
  thought that the Navajo originally consisted of
  four clans and today has expanded to include over
  60.

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Number of adherents

• There are more than 210,000 Navajo today, but not
  all practice the traditional Navajo way of life.
• Most adherents live in the Four Corners area.

4
Location of most people who practice the Navajo
Religion
5
Map of the Navajo Reservation
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Dzil Naoodilij
Dzil Na'oodilii (El Huerfano Mesa ) is considered
to be the "lungs" of Navajo country. It is also
the home of Yódí'ashkii (Goods of Value Boy), and
Yódí at ééd (Goods of Value Girl), and one of the
homes of 'Altsé Hastiin (First Man), and 'Altsé
'Asdzáá (First Woman). In the beginning
DzilNa'oodilii was decorated with pollen, rugs,
hides, cloth, and Male Rain for the coming of a
special child (Changing Woman).
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Shiprock Peak

• A long time ago the Diné were hard pressed by
  their enemies. One night their medicine men
  prayed for their deliverance, having their
  prayers heard by the Gods. They caused the ground
  to rise, lifting the Diné, and moved the ground
  like a great wave into the east away from their
  enemies. It settled where Shiprock Peak now
  stands. These Navajos then lived on the top of
  this new mountain, only coming down to plant
  their fields and to get water.

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The Hogan A Connection
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The Hogan Place of Life, Place of Ceremonies

• The performance of the Blessing Way ceremony
  would take place within a hogan, a lodge used to
  symbolize the universe, where a fire representing
  the sun is located in the middle. The diviner
  marks out four posts with cornmeal by moving
  within the hogan in a clockwise fashion. In this
  way, the four posts become symbolic of the four
  cardinal points within the hogan as that of the
  universe.

10
The Hogan Place of Healing

• Holy Way diviners aim to cure the sick person
  through song, prayer, and drama by placing the
  individual in the middle of the hogan in order to
  identify them with Hozho as expressed by the
  deities.

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Hogan Healing Ceremonies

• Inside the hogan, the patient undergoes curative
  rites administered by those of a hand-trembler
  for those whose disease origins are not known.
  The hand-trembler diagnoses the further medicine
  rites that will be used to restore harmony to the
  particular patient. The hand-trembler feels his
  hand over the patient's body in order to decipher
  the nature of the disease.

12
Hogans and Sandpaintings

• The ritual of an Holy Way Healing Ceremonies, if
  it is chosen as a treatment, carries the
  symbolism of sandpaintings made in the first day
  of the ceremony as models of the cosmos in order
  to gather the universal power of motivating
  forces.

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Influential practitioners

• The CodeTalkers of World War II

14
Growth of the Religion

• Causes After the Long Walk
• Effects Changes from influence of other
  cultures, yet resurgence in general practices

15
Holy Days

• Every day is a holy day to the Navajo. There is
  no Sunday equivalent to Christian tradition.
• Holy events take place all year long.
• Ghost Ways and Healing Ways usually take place in
  the season when thunder sleeps (Winter).

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Holy work

• There is no holy work.
• The holy works are preserved in the sand
  paintings and ceremonies of the haatalli
  (medicine men and women).
• The legends of the holy people are preserved in
  oral tradition and in the enactment of ceremonies.

17
Ecclesiastical law?

• One who is Navajo lives by the Navajo Way.
• The Navajo do not punish wrong doers, but work to
  bring the people in harmony with the Blessing
  Way.
• They believe evil/wrong is done if one is out of
  harmony (hozro).

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Clergy

• Hand-tremblers
• Crystal-gazers
• Singers

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Function of Clergy

• Both men and women may be hand-tremblers, crystal
  gazers, and singers, but most singers are male.
• Hand-tremblers and crystal gazers determine how
  the patient is out of hozro.
• Singers perform the ceremony to bring one into
  hozro again.

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Rites/Rituals/Ceremonies

• Communion with God(s)/holy ones
• birth
• rites of passage/puberty rites
• baptism
• marriage rites
• death rites

21
Communion with God(s)/holy ones

• The diyin diné, generally translated as Holy
  People, are the beings whose actions are
  recounted in the stories and myths that are the
  basis for the Navajo ceremonials Diné
  binahagha' and who are pictured in the
  sandpaintings 'iikááh.

22
The Navajo Pantheon

• The core group of the Holy People contains First
  Man Á tsé hastiin, First Woman Á tsé asdz ,
  Coyote M 'ii, otherwise known as "first
  scolder" Á tsé hashké, First Boy Á tsé ashkii
  and First Girl Á tsé at'ééd, Talking God
  Haashch'éé ti'í Calling God Hashch'éoghan,
  and Changing Woman.

23
Changing Woman

• Changing Woman is seen as the source for all good
  in the Navajo world.
• She is almost an earth mother figure and
  represents the cyclical path of the seasons
  nináhágháhígíí, birth (spring daan d go),
  maturing (summer sh sh go), growing old (fall
  'ak'eed) and dying (winter haigo), only to be
  reborn again in the spring daan d go.

24
Changing Woman and the Clans
25
The Good Afterlife

• The goal of the earth-surface people, by aiming
  for knowledge gained over a long and happy
  lifetime is to join the diyinii (the holy people)
  at the end of their lives.

26
Navajo Blessing for a Newborn

• "Today, we are blessed with a beautiful baby
• May his feet be to the eastmay his right hand be
  to the southmay his head be to the westmay his
  left hand be to the north
• May he walk and dwell on Mother Earth
  peacefullyMay he be blessed with precious,
  variegated stonesMay he be blessed with fat
  sheep in variationMay he be blessed with
  respectful relatives and friends
• May he be blessed with the essence of life in old
  ageMay he be blessed with the source of
  happiness in beautyWe ask all these blessings
  with reverence and holiness
• My Mother the EarthMy Father the SkyMy Sister
  the Sun
• All is PeaceAll is BeautyAll is HappinessAll
  is Harmony
• Source navajo-coop.org

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Yeibichai
During the Nightway ceremony, a team will be
composed of fourteendancers the leader
Yeibichai - the Talking God, sixmale dancers,
six women dancers, and finally, theWater
Sprinkler - the God of Precipitated Waters. 
Onthe final night, teams of dancers appear in
public inwhat is referred to as the Yeibichai
Dance until justbefore dawn.  The ceremony ends
with the chanting ofthe "Bluebird Song"  which
celebrates the happinessand the peace that the
bluebird symbolizes.
28
Yei in a Navajo Rug
29
Whirling Log Rug from Sand Painting
Mrs. Sam Maurelito, weaver, after Hosteen Klah,
Dineh healer, Whirling Log Ceremony Sand Painting
ca. Navajo nation, 1925. tapestry taken from
sacred sand painting.  Native American.
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Sand Painting as Communion
31
Spider Woman and Weaving

• Spider Woman taught Navajo ancestors of long ago
  the art of weaving upon a loom. Her husband,
  Spider Man, made the first loom, using sky and
  earth cords for the cross poles, sun rays for the
  warp sticks, rock crystal and sheet lightning for
  the herarlds, and a sun halo for the batten. The
  comb was made of a white shell.
• Spider Woman lives on Spider Rock in Navajo lore.

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Rug Weaving
Circa 1920 From the Tom O. and H. Lucille Kimball
Indian Collection.
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Rug Weaving at Hogan
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Symbols used in Navajo Prayers and Art
35
The Swastika
Many people have commented on the swastika in
Navajo artwork, specifically in carvings, in
blanket designs, and in sand paintings. It is the
result of basket weaving where the ends of a
simple cross design are turned either to the
right or left, depending on the direction of the
weaving, to form a swastika. Its meanings are as
diverse as its worldwide origins. For the Navajo,
the symbol is known as the Whirling Log.
36
Yei
Yei depicted in a contemporary navajo
rug. SourceVerkamps.com
37
The Four Sacred Stones

• turquoise
• white shell
• abalone shell
• black jet

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Turquoise (Doot kl'izhii)

• Turquoise is considered one of the four sacred
  stones of the Navajo. For centuries they have
  regarded it as a valuable talisman and take pride
  in its possession. Sheepherders have carried a
  turquoise fetish to insure fertility of the
  sheep, hunters to insure success in the hunt, and
  warriors to insure victory and a safe return.

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Powers of Turquoise

• Traditionally a bead of turquoise was fastened to
  a lock of hair to protect the Navajo from being
  struck by lightning and believed to be a
  safeguard against snake bite. Every household
  would have a buckskin pouch of herbs, turquoise
  and shell to add protection against any
  unexpected event or catastrophe.

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Turquoise Squash Blossom Necklace
41
Four Sacred Colors

• The white igai light of Dawn hayíí k in the
  east ha'a'aah,
• The blue doot 'izh light of midday 'a ní'ní'
  in the south shádi'ááh,
• The yellow itso light of twilight nahootsoii
  in the west 'e'e'aah,
• The black izhin of Night t 'éé' in the north
  náhook

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Sacred Pouch Medicine Bundle
43
Birth

• Blessing Way Ceremonies are typically used for
  pregnant women, at weddings, and for girl's
  puberty rites.

44
Cradle Board Use and Blessing

•      Many Navajos still use a traditional cradle
  board to keep their babies safe and protected.
  Made with cottonwood, pine or cedar laced
  together with thin strips of leather, the Cradle
  Board feature a wide, wooden hoop over the baby's
  head that protects the child. Navajos believe the
  flat boards will give the baby a strong, straight
  back, and that a soft supporting pad will help
  the infant form a nice rounded head. The Cradle
  Board is blessed with corn pollen, prayers, songs
  and good thoughts for the baby.
• Source native-american-art.org

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Purification Rites
46
Evil Way Ceremonies

• Evil Way (Ghost Way) ceremonies involve
  purification rituals such as those of exorcism in
  order to realign the harmony of universal forces.
  In these types of exorcisms, the "ghostway" is
  usually incorporated as a way to restore a sick
  person to Hozho by rescuing them from the
  malevolent forces of ghosts.

47
Rites of passage/puberty rites

• The Navajo celebrate a girls turning thirteen or
  her first and second menses with a huge ceremony
• The kinaalda.

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Kinaaldi

• In the Blessing Way ceremony of the girl's
  puberty, sacred matter of cornmeal or cornpollen
  is applied to the body for blessing, signifying
  the changing of girl into woman--one of beauty,
  symbolic regeneration, and rejuvenation.

49
Changing Womans Ceremony

• The Kinaaldi Ceremony was first performed by
  Changing Woman who is one of the most important
  of the Navajo Holy People.  Changing Woman
  represents the earth and as such is the source
  for all life and its sustenance on the earth.

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Modeling Changing Woman

• Many young Navaho  girls are painted with a white
  clay mixture on different parts of her body and
  costume. The painting and costume of shells and
  other ornaments depicting Changing Woman are like
  a mask enabling her to stand out from the others,
  to aid in her walk through womanhood.

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Activities in Kinaaldi

• The girl must
• grind corn,
• race,
• prepare a cake called 'alkaan,'
• Undergo hair washings and combings

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Baptism

• There is no baptism in the Navajo way of life.
• However, corn pollen is sprinkled at many holy
  ceremonies and in a daily greating to the holy
  ones
• Corn pollen is sprinkled on an infant.
• Corn is the gift of the Holy People.
• When the Navajo emerged into the fourth world
  (this world) they were hungry.
• Turkey shook himself and kernels of corn fell
  from his wings.

Corn Pollen Pouch
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Wedding tradition

• Navajo Traditions White corn meal symbolizes
  the male and yellow the female. The Navajo
  combine the two meals into a corn mush and put it
  into a wedding basket before the traditional
  ceremony.The Navajo bride was an equal partner to
  her husband. The couple would share the maize
  pudding during the ceremony to symbolize the
  marriage bond.

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A Navajo Wedding
55
From a Navajo Wedding
Sourceagaveproductions Navajo Wedding
Ceremony Arizona Humanities Council
56
Death Rites

• The Navajo do not have funerals or bury their
  dead.
• For 4 days after the death, family members must
  stay home and not mention the dead person for
  fear of convincing the chindi to stay in this
  world.
• Volunteers take the body to a crevice in the
  sandstone and cover the sandstone.
• Both family and volunteers must then undergo a
  four day purification ceremony for having had
  contact with the dead

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A Dying Place

• People who are dying ask do go outside to die.
  Dying inside a home means the home can no longer
  be occupied.
• A death hogan has its wall caved in to allow the
  chindi to escape.
• Navajo do not like hospitals because of the
  chindi who live there.

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Preparing the Body

• Bodies must be ritually washed.
• Hair must be washed with Yucca.
• Shoes must be put on the wrong feet so the chindi
  cannot find its way back.

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The Chindi

• The Navajos believe that, when a person dies, a
  ghostwhat they call a chindiis released with
  the last dying breath.
• This chindi is always an evil force who returns
  to avenge some offense.
• Contact with a chindi is very dangerous, and
  causes sickness or misfortune. So the Navajo are
  quite fearful of and take every precaution to
  avoid contact with a chindi, especially the
  malevolent witches knows as Skinwalkers.

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Appearance of the Chindi

• The chindi are seen only after dark and may
  appear in various forms as apparitions of the
  coyote, owl, mouse, spot of fire, whirlwind,
  human form, and indefinite dark objects.
• Ceremonies purify after chindi contact.

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Journey to the Afterwordl

• That aspect of a Navajos spirit which represents
  the good in his or her life may, at death, go to
  an afterworld (ciditah). In a journey that take
  four days, the spirit of the newly dead is guided
  to the afterworld by deceased relatives and
  friends. The afterworld is really an underworld
  and is accessed through the "hole of emergence"
  (xajinai) from which the first Navajo people came
  forth at the beginning of time.

62
Navajo Divorce

• Rules governing divorce in the Navajo Nation used
  to be quite simple because a husband moved in
  with the wife's clan, a woman who desired a
  divorce simply placed her husband's saddle (and
  other personal belongings) outside the door of
  their home. Instead of focusing on property
  settlements, traditional divorce practices
  emphasized family and clan relationships, with
  the wife and children staying with the
  wife/mother's unit . (sourcewww.ainc-inac.gc.ca )

63
Age of Reason

• Children are respected in the culture because of
  clan relationships.
• Children from your paternal grandfathers or
  grandmothers clan have the honorary status of
  revered adults.

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Major tenets of the faith What do I have to
do/believe to become a Navajo?  
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Is Conversion Possible?

• One is born a Navajo.
• Anyone is welcome to walk the Blessing Way, but
  the faith is of a place and of a people.
• People may marry into a clan and adopt the ways,
  but most remain Belagaana's (other)

66
Lifes end

• The goal of the earth-surface people, by aiming
  for knowledge gained over a long and happy
  lifetime is to join the diyinii at the end of
  their lives.

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Sources

• Navajo.org
• ThePeople.org
• Dinee.org
• Dineteh.org
• NavajoHealthInitiative.org
• NativeAmericans.org
• A lifetime of study