10. the navaho

10. the navaho

The ancient homeland of the Navaho Indians, created according to legend by the tribal gods, was bounded in the north by Ute Mountain, in the east by Pelada, in the west by San Francisco peaks in northern Arizona, and in the south by Mount Taylor, which rises above Laguna pueblo in New Mexico. All of these mountains are regarded as sacred. This vast territory includes largely mountain and desert terrain, together with some small but fertile valleys.

The Navaho, like their relatives, the Apache, are members of the widespread Athapascan linguistic family. The Athapascan language in modified form is in general use over the entire Navaho reservation, although many individuals speak Spanish, and an increasing number understand English, especially those educated in Government and mission schools.

According to native legend and tradition, supported to a certain extent by archaeological and linguistic studies, the people, now known as the Navaho and Apache entered the Southwest some time about 1200 to 1400 AD, following the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains from the far north. According to native legend the Navaho and Apache separated about four hundred years ago. 312

The history of the Navaho Indians must be taken into account in the study of their foods. During their early roving life they were hunters and gatherers of wild foods. Being primarily hunters, the men killed deer, mountain goats, and buffalo, with bow and arrow, while they trapped practically all the smaller edible creatures of the region. Women gathered seeds, nuts, and edible plants which they preserved by drying. Fish, formerly abundant in the mountain streams, have always been tabooed as an article of Navaho diet. The Navaho also grew their crops as the Hopi do, using digging and planting sticks. They raised the same foods as their Pueblo neighbours — corn, two or more varieties of beans, and squash. The corn was ground on the metate and prepared in many different ways, some of which have survived during sacred ceremonies.

The characteristic Navaho dwelling, known as the hoghan, is a substantial house of brush and pole construction. Hoghans are of two major types, a conical building and a dome-shape hoghan. Medicine lodges, erected for healing ceremonies, usually resemble the conical hoghan, but on a much larger scale. The sweat-house is like a small hoghan, minus the smoke-hole. The dwelling house is usually dedicated with a ceremony which amounts to a ritual, replete with symbolism and poetry.

Navaho social organisation is based on the clan, a system of tracing descent through the female line from a supposed common female ancestor. Members of the same clan consider themselves akin, hence marriage is not permitted within the clan. The number of Navaho clans is uncertain; authorities claim as few as 51 and as many as 64. Names of clans include those of Navaho localities, Pueblo clan names, nicknames, and names of aliens such as Mexican, Ute, Apache, and Sioux.

According to the Navaho, the sky is considered the husband of the earth, which is the mother of all forms of life, animal and vegetal. Divine beings carry the sun and moon across the skies over thirty-two trails. The stars were created by Hashchezhini, the Fire God, who named and set the constellations in their places. Coyote, who stole Hashchezhini's pouch of stars and scattered the contents across the heavens, is sometimes credited with their creation. Clouds, winds, fog, rain, snow, thunder, and lightning are personified by the Navaho.