A study of Navajo symbolism - Free History Ebooks

NAVAJO SYMBOLS IN SAND PAINTINGS AND RITUAL OBJECTS: NEWCOMB 45are scraped or washed off the bodies of theimpersonators or off the dancers still possessmagic powers and are carefully gathered,dried, and stored in medicine pouches to beused in another ceremony.The painting of the patient's body on thelast day of the Wind Chant is one of the mostimportant healing rites. In this ceremony theface is also painted. The Apache Wind versionplaces a black wind spirit on the chest ofthe patient and an identical blue figure on hisback. Four sets of blue- and black-angledwind trails spring from these central symbolsto meet on the shoulders and under the arms.Then a designated number of black or bluecircles and half-circles (which represent thechanges of the moon) are stamped on theforehead, the cheek bones, and scattered profuselyacross the chest and back, but all arecounted and placed in a symmetrical pattern.The arms are marked with lightning arrowswith the point in the palm of the hand. Thelower limbs each show a serpent with the tailpointing upward, four angles in the body,and the head drawn on the bis; toe. Whenthe body painting is completed, a prayer beadwith small medicine bundle is tied to thescalp lock with cotton cord stiffened in whiteclay. The patient wears this paint for fourdays or until it becomes blurred and startsfalling off.In another form of the Wind Ceremony,the blue sun is painted on the chest of thepatient and the white moon on the back, thelines coming from these are of four colors.When the patient is a woman, the blue CornMaiden and the yellow Pollen Boy are oftenused as fertility symbols. The purpose ofpainting the body of the patient is to transferto him, through these symbols, the strengthand spiritual power of the elements depicted.The inner force or spiritual strength must berestored before physical healing can be assured.Body painting occurs in ShootingChant, Star and Red Ant Chants also.The symbols used for recording prayersand for memorizing ritualistic procedure arenot entirely different from those used in sandpaintings and in clay decorations.My first knowledge of Navajo prayer writingwas acquired at a Bezh (knife) ceremonyconducted by Hasteen Tso who was noted forhis information concerning Navajo ceremoniallore. At this time he was instructing threeyoung men in the rites, prayers, and legendsof this chant. At unoccupied intervals in theceremony, he sat in the medicine lodge tellingstories, reciting parts of the prayers, and occasionallysinging or humming short measuresof the chant. In his hand he held a smallprayer stick and once in a while he wouldmark a design in the clay of the hogahn floor.I memorized as many of these designs as Ipossibly could and later sketched them onpaper. I asked Hasteen Klah for an explanationof their meaning and he said, "That isthe way Hasteen Tso teaches his students theprayers that belong to his ceremony." I stillhave the sketches I made and note that hisprayer writing emphasizes the stone knife, theserrated arrow point, the cross representingfire, the flint mountain, and the jagged lightning.It was only a fragment of the prayerand I have not been able to get more of it.Some years later Nahtohe Hatrali, medicineman for the Hozhoni Chant (male beautychant), which I attended as a visiting studentand a contributor toward the expense, attemptedto teach me the first day's prayer.This dealt with the hero's journey and all ofthe sacred places mentioned in the myth, andstated where each rite and each sand paintingwas originated. It took more than an hour torecite, but was not too difficult when he haddrawn me a chart to follow. The first symbolplaced in the east was the Hahjeenah or emergenceshape to bring the people up to thisearth. Then followed forty-one symbols ofmountains and places of different shapes andsizes. The seventeenth design was a mountaincalled "Chizzie-hulth-gezzie" and here the firstsand painting was made. Again there was apause at the twenty-third mountain, "Tsolltsilth,"which was blue, and here the secondsand painting was spread. Again theymoved on past several mountains and mesasand arrived at number thirty-three, a mountaincalled "Tzilth-doh-kidji" which waswhite with a black lake. The sand paintingthat was made here is still called by that name.At number thirty-nine there was a mountaincalled "Tilth-kayje-hozhoni" and here the lastsand painting was made. Then they cameback to the "Hahjeenah" symbol and here the