A study of Navajo symbolism - Free History Ebooks

NOTES ON CORRESPONDING SYMBOLS: WHEELWRIGHT 93horses stand near his shrine and many livefowl are kept there.Mr. Macdonald's Tibetan priest servant,when I showed him a picture of an Apache,said that years ago the Tibetans sent away alot of wicked men called Lii. On 15 Marchof each year this sending away is commemoratedby the Lii-tsang ceremony in whichthere is a scapegoat, and for which images ofdough, similar to the Apache picture I showedhim, are made. He thought that the Lepchasand people of Sikkim were descendants ofthose sent away, but that others went further,such as the people of Hor in Turkestan, who(like the Navajo) wear big silver plaquesaround their waists. In Tibet today the Liiare powerful serpent deities, who have a chapelimmediately below the walls of the Potala aswell as others in other parts of Lhasa.In the bazaar at Kalimpong cranes' heads,which are used in Navajo medicine ceremonies,were on sale for medicinal use. Mr. Macdonaldtold me that Tibetans use conch shellspierced as bracelets, similar to prehistoricNavaho excavated bracelets, and that they alsouse coral and turquoise in ornaments and earrings,as the Navajos do. The name Sipaho ofthe painting carried in front of Tibetan weddingsand funerals is curiously reminiscent ofSipapu, the name of the lower world in Pueblomythology.Schlagintweit (pp. 260-63) describes Tibetandivination ceremonies with arrows that aresimilar to Navajo uses.In the Thugdam Kantsaiceremony in Tibet, an arrow, to which fivesilken strips of the five sacred colors are fastened,as well as feathers and charms, is stuckperpendicularly into the ground. In anotherrite Nagpo Chenpo is invoked by the ceremonyof "moving; the arrow" both as protectionfrom the hostility of mischievous spiritsin general and to detect thieves. An arrow,trimmed with feathers, strips of silk and invocationsto Nagpo Chenpo, is handed by thehead Lama of the monastery to a novice, who,after taking a seat on a carpet, holds the arrowwith one hand, the point resting perpendicularlyon the palm of his other hand. By aslight shaking and turning, he brings the pointinto motion, and gradually lets the arrow fallto the ground. He then seizes it with bothhands, and by convulsive shakings keeps itconstantly moving, although the spectatorsbelieve that the arrow is shaking him. He continuesuntil he is exhausted, when the halt ofthe arrow is taken as a sign that the evil spiritshave been driven away. If used for the detectionof thieves, the culprit may be lookedfor in the direction that the arrow points whenit ceases to move. Ritual arrows are similarlyused by the Navajo in the Coyote Chant andan almost identical rite occurs in the Red AntChant of the Navajo.Each year the Tibetan government sendsout to the governors of districts a proclamationcalled Tsa-tsik. This root word for generalrules of conduct recalls the Navajo wordTsa-tlai, which appears in the Creation Storyof the First World as one of the first lawsgiven there.Flame is honored as one of the indestructibleelements among both Tibetans and Navajos.IndiaGeneral Kaisar thought the mythic birdGaruda — the "vehicle" of Vishnu, lord ofthe birds, the charioteer of Surya — is theorigin of the Navajo Thunderbird. The stepbrothersof the Garuda are Nagas, or snakepeople. The Garuda image is always put oppositean outside door of the temple of Jagernath,"Lord of the Universe," the sky type ofVishnu. Garuda is a sky symbol in Persia,and related to Nagas, as they represent thewater symbol on the world below the sky.General Kaisar thought that the referenceto the underworld as Nagaboka (abode ofsnakes) means the North American continent.He also believed that Aztec equals Astik, thesaviour and protector of snakes mentioned inthe Puranas. Ganesha, the Indian elephant god,figures in Mayan sulpture.The name of Surya, or Sun God, is masculinein India, America, Mexico and the MiddleEast. Savitr is also the Sun God, the Enlivener,and God of Morning, as well as Evening. Hischariot is drawn by seven horses (seven raysof light). Surya is often spoken of as a birdin the Vedas, and is also described as All-Seeing.The Sun God in Germany and Japan isfeminine.Professor Chatterjee says that the originalform of Surya was represented with two arms,