A study of Navajo symbolism - Free History Ebooks

•*CEREMONIAL COSTUMES, MASKS AND ARTICLESEVERY Navajo religious ceremony is conductedby a medicine man (or a medicinewoman) who has spent years memorizing thecorrect prayers, rites, herbs, and symbolism;also the sequence of ritual which belongs tothat particular ceremony. This religious lorewhen duly recognized and accepted by hiscontemporaries, is his most valuable asset, andhe becomes one of the most important men ofhis community. Although he may be comparativelywealthy, owning many sheep andmuch silver and turquoise jewelry, his dress,when acting as master of ceremonies, is nomore elaborate or symbolically decorated thanthat of other men who are simply helpers orspectators. The esteem and respect he receivesfrom other members of his tribe stem fromthe spiritual knowledge and power he hasacquired and not from his personal wealth.(See figs. 78 and 79.)Some of the older medicine men in ourvicinity considered their possessions a handicapto their chosen vocation. Klah dividedmore than a thousand sheep, many ponies, anda few cattle among his nieces, his mother, andhis sister. Then he put all of his extra robes,buckskins, silver, and turquoise into a stoutwooden chest and stored it at our trading post.Hasteen Beahle, the Eagle Chanter, gave all ofhis property to his sons, not saving even onehorse on which to ride as he went from ceremonyto ceremony.A Navajo medicine man never dresses inweird costumes to dance and shout around thepatient to frighten the evil spirits away. Hisrole is that of a priest who knows the correctrites, prayers, symbols, and methods of petitioningthe immortals and the great forces ofthe earth and sky in behalf of those who areill in body or in spirit. His power is symbolized,not by costume, headdress, or mask, butin the various articles he carries in his medicinebundles, and in the herbs and pollens hehas gathered for the ceremony.During the rites of healing, the medicineman may act as the representative of someYeh, or Hashje, or other immortal who is supposedto carry out this part of the ceremony,and then he will wear or carry articles thatrepresent the spiritual powers of these personages.In a certain rite of the Yehbeehai, Klahwould don a blanket of white unwoundedbuckskin and wear the Hashje-altye (TalkingGod) mask. In the Mountain Chant HatraliNez wore an otter neck piece to which wastied a reed flute and many small shells. YoheHatrali had a white and a blue bead, and also afair-sized medicine bundle tied to his scalp lockso that it dangled over his forehead; HasteenBeahle wore a cap of eagle breast feathers whilehe performed the healing rites of the EagleCeremony; Dejoli Begav, followed by two assistantsmasked as buffalo, led his line of dancersaround the central fire, chanting and whirlingthe bullroarer, as his salute to the fire. Eachone of these medicine men selected the mostpowerful symbol from his medicine paraphernaliato use in the ceremony and transmit itspower to the patient for his healing.Yehbeehai masks are made of white buckskinpainted with symbols and trimmed withfeathers, hair, fur, twigs, or beads to representthe various immortals mentioned in the myths.The shape of each mask is rectangular orround with a flattened base, both representingthe "place" where that spirit dwells. A whitemask often represents clouds, blue may symbolizerain, yellow is generally pollen or fertility,and black may be black clouds or nightsky. Nearly all masks represent somethingabove the earth. These are the permanentmasks belonging to the medicine man whoconducts the Yehbeehai ceremony. He alsouses temporary masks which are destroyedduring the rites, and these are made of sprucetwigs, yucca leaves, or bulrush leaves.All ceremonial masks are held in great reverenceand also a certain amount of fear bythe Navajo people, as they are supposed tocontain the spiritual life and powers of theimmortals they represent. It is believed thattheir influence can bring great blessings ifthey are treated with respect and handledwith the proper prayers and ceremony, but ifused incorrectly they can cause great disaster.Two other masks belonging to the Yeh-39