Nizhoni Fine Arts Competition Winners

September 5, 2012 by

 

Sponsorship of the Fine Arts Competition

at the

66th Annual Navajo Nation Fair

“Remembering History, Celebrating Freedom & Appreciating Tradition”

Best of Show Award Geneva Shabi

Best of Show Award Geneva Shabi

OFFICIAL WINNERS LIST

Best of Show Award                                                     Geneva Shabi #377 – Wide Ruins style
President’s Choice Award                                            Alexander Becenti #379 – Storyteller belt, hat, bracelet (set)
Vice-President Choice Award                                       Aaron B. Anderson #012 – Waterbird set
Fire Rock Navajo Casino Choice Award                        Dewayne Chee Sr. #007 – Wings on a Prayer

NNM Horizon Choice Award                                         Edward Charlie #356 – “Cubism”

 

ADULT DIVISIONS:
Paintings, Drawings & Graphics
1st Place                                                                      Hyrum C. Joe #203 – “A rug for Two Dolls and a Coke”
2nd Place                                                                     Patrick D. Hubbell #068 – “Center of Attention”
Honorable Mention                                                        James King #047 – “Happy Valentine”
Special Award                                                               Damien Harvey #170 – “Where Spiders Sleep”
Jewelry
1st Place                                                                      Jay J. Livingston #103 – Double Concho belt 42” silver w/ corral
2nd Place                                                                     Benson Manygoats #093 – 14k gold, Reversible Bear Buckle
Honorable Mention –                                                      Raymond C. Yazzie #144 – Silver Bracelet w/ many stones

Special Award                                                               Ernest Benally #095 – 14k gold double finger ring

Basket
1st Place                                                                      Lorraine Black #005 – Horse design (blk/wht) tray basket
2nd Place                                                                     Sally Black #006 – Navajo Basket “Chief Blanket”
Honorable Mention                                                        Sally Black #006 – Yei figure (red/grey)

 

Pottery
1st Place                                                                      Ida N. Sahmie #190 – Yei-bi-chei (day chant)
2nd Place                                                                     Lorraine Yazzie #081 – 4 stages of a woman’s life
Honorable Mention                                                        David Wilson #131 Small drum pot

Fiber Arts
1st Place                                                                      Geneva Shabi #377 – Wide Ruins style
2nd Place                                                                     Amy N. Begay #142 – “My Goats” tufted rug
Honorable Mention                                                        Virginia Y. Ballenger #159 – Navajo velvet dress w/ Turq. Stones

Special Award                                                               Etta C. Peacock #148 – “Yei Sandpainting” rug
Sculpture
1st Place                                                                      Oreland C. Joe #044 – Midnight Shuffle
2nd Place                                                                     Alvin Marshall #121 – Changing Woman
Honorable Mention                                                        Julius Keyonnie #027 – Grandma’s Blessing

Special Award                                                               Curtis Begay #039 – Metal Sculpture

 

Diverse Arts
1st Place                                                                      Fritz J. Casuse #168 – “A song and a prayer for Mother Earth”
2nd Place                                                                     Shawana Goodluck #380 – Earring, necklace & bracelet set
Honorable Mention                                                        Genevieve Hardy #178 – Grey Camisole textile

Special Award                                                               Wanesia Misquadace #199 – “Sunny Boy”

 

Cultural Arts
1st Place                                                                      Leonard Gene #113 – Concho belt
2nd Place                                                                     Tom D. Tsosie#171 – Yei Bi Chei sculpture
Honorable Mention                                                        Matt Tafoya #1 -“Monster Slayer Yazhi” (hat, bow, arrow set)

Special Award                                                               Lester Ortiz #183 – Silver Arrow w/stone, wooden juniper stand

 

Photography
1st Place                                                                      Lionel J. Bigthumb #040 – “Everything is Life”
2nd Place                                                                     Lionel J. Bigthumb #040 – “Uprise”
Honorable Mention                                                        Amber Gene #114 – “Boys Will Be Boys”

Special Award                                                               Leslie J. Nelson Sr. #041 – “Quiet Meadow”

 

SENIOR DIVISIONS: (65 & Older)

S-2D – Male
1st Place                                                                      Art Nakaidinae #365 – Water for Mother Earth
2nd Place                                                                     Art Nakaidinae #365 -That One’s mine “Frybread”
Honorable Mention                                                        Eddie Tsosie #022 – “Recent Storm”

Special Award                                                               Chester Kahn #177 – “Hasteen On the way to Ceremony”
S-3D – Male
1st Place                                                                      Jacob Livingston #301 – Eagle bolo
2nd Place                                                                     Jacob Livingston #301 -Coral buckle

 

S-2D – Female
1st Place                                                                      Salina Dale #084 – Two Grey Hills rug
2nd Place                                                                     Susie W. Begay #163 – Twill rug (red, white, blk)
Honorable Mention                                                        Leta T. John #053 – Child sash belt (red, green, white fringe)

S-3D – Female
2nd Place                                                                     Hazel M. Hardy #071 – the Four Seasons of Navajoland (set of 4)

 

YOUTH DIVISIONS: (12 to 17 years old)

Y-2D – Male
1st Place                                                                      Cristoff D. Keyonnie #026 – Sheep Camp
2nd Place                                                                     Cristoff D. Keyonnie #026 – Summer Sunset
3rd Place                                                                       Dakota Skye #200 – Modern Warrior (ink drawing)

Honorable Mention                                                        Jacob Pina #086 -Otherside of the Road

Y-3D – Male
2nd Place                                                                     Atsatsa’ Antonio #374 – Redwood Knife handle
3rd Place                                                                       Atsatsa’ Antonio #374 – Bois D’are wood handle

 

Y-2D – Female
1st Place                                                                      Alyssia Bahe #078 – “Masani’s Flower”
2nd Place                                                                     Elle Claw #056 -“Butterfly in Forest”
3rd Place                                                                       Valencia F. Begay #101 – Pencil drawing

Special Award                                                               Amber Racheal Jessica Lansing #109 – Desert Arizona at Sunset”

 

Y-3D – Female
1st Place                                                                      Naomi Sky #202 – Colors of the Sky
2nd Place                                                                     Raven Y. Roy #136 – Boo! There’s Grandpa Horned Toad
3rd Place                                                                       Cori Kihibah Chavez #030 – Ladie’s ring (silver w/coral setting)

Honorable Mention                                                        Raven Y. Roy #136 – Bear Paw

CHILDREN DIVISIONS: (up to 11 years old)

C-2D – Boy
1st Place                                                                      Mosquadace’ Casuse #167 – “Colors Dancing”
2nd Place                                                                     Dominic Zahney #368 – “Tadi diin”
3rd Place                                                                       Dominic Zahney #368 – “Male Hogan”

Honorable Mention                                                        Brayden Yellowhorse #165 – “Tiger”

C-3D – Boy

1st Place                                                                      Hunter H. Roy #139 – “Hands like Grandma/Bear Paw” Pottery

C-2D – Girl
1st Place                                                                      Molena A. Begay #004 – “Moonscape”
2nd Place                                                                     Mya Rainy Sleuth #179 – “Thank You”
3rd Place                                                                       Nevrah Platerio #181 – Space Horse Headed Home

Honorable Mention                                                        Mia Autumn Baca #013 – Goldfish

C-3D – Girl

1st Place                                                                      Krystal Martin #123 – Rainbow Barrett (beadwork)
2nd Place                                                                     Sparrow Hawk L. Jones #137 – “Like Grandma” Pottery
3rd Place                                                                       Dakota G. Roy #138 – “Corn Smudge Bowl” Pottery

 

Filed Under: Navajo Art Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Fine Arts Competition! Over $50.000 in Awards

August 24, 2012 by

Fine Arts Competition

At the 66th Annual Navajo Nation Fair

Sponsored by Fire Rock Navajo Casino

September 3 – 9, 2012

Window Rock, Arizona 

Over $50.000 in Awards

Nozhoni Fine Arts Competition

AWARDS & CATEGORIES

2 Entries per Artist

Best of Show Award

President’s Choice Award

Vice-President’s Choice Award

Legendary Award

Horizon Award

ADULT DIVISIONS

Paintings, Drawings & Graphics Category

Jewelry Category

Basket Category

Pottery Category

Fiber Arts Category

Sculpture Category

Diverse Arts Category

Cultural Arts NEW Category

Photography NEW Category

Awards for:

1st Place

2nd Place

Honorable Mention

YOUTH DIVISIONS (12 to 17 years old)

Y-2D Category

Y-3D Category

Awards for:

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Honorable Mention

CHILDREN DIVISIONS (up to 11 years old)

Y-2D Category

Y-3D Category

Awards for:

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Honorable Mention

SENIOR DIVISIONS (65 & Older)

S-2D Category

S-3D Category

Awards for:

1st Place

2nd Place

Honorable Mention

Fine Arts Competition RULES & REGULATIONS

The FAC/NAM Committee will be accepting Art for Fine Art Competition on August 30th & 31st, 2012,  from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Gorman Hall on the Navajo Nation Fair grounds.

All work must be handmade by the artist within One Year Period of September 2012.  The art to be related to the artist’s tribal affiliation.

Eligibility & Tribal Verification
Artists are required to provide Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB) and Drivers License verification for age division.

Art Delivery
Each Artist Allowed Two Art Pieces for the Fine Arts Competition.  The artist to deliver art on August 30 & 31, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Gorman Hall on the Navajo Nation fair grounds.  The Navajo Nation Museum staff will be available to accept entries.  NO entries will be accepted after 4:00 pm.

Best of Show Winner
A booth will be provided for the winner of Best of Show.  The artist will need to be present at the booth that should to remain open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am. to 8:00 pm. & on Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Nizhoni Arts Market Booths
Artists who have NAM booth will have their art returned after judging to display & sell at their booth.  However, top winners art work will remain on display in the Fine Art Competition Gallery.

Consignment Fee
Consignment art sale fee15% for art sold at the NNFAC to made payable to NNF FAC.

Premium Prize Awards
Premium payouts by FAC Coordinator to be made on the following days: Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 2pm – 4pm.  Prize awards not claimed will be forfeited by 5 pm on September 14, 2012.

Artist Portrait & Photographs of Art
Artists and art will be photographed for winning categories. The photographs will be utilized for publicity purposes to promote the Navajo Nation Fair and the NAM.

Fine Art Competition Judging
Fine Art judging to be held on September 1, 2012. Results to remain confidential until VIP & Media reception on Wednesday, September 6, 2012.

VIP & Media Preview
VIP & Media only preview on Wednesday, September 5, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Artifacts & Ceremonial Objects
Absolutely no item(s) will be accepted if suspected to be of prehistoric or culturally sensitive artifacts is ruled by the museum staff.   The use of materials, such as raptor feathers or endangered species is prohibited.

Jewelry
Traditional, contemporary and evolving jewelry. No false representation of materials or origins will be tolerated.

Pottery
Commercially produced pottery, slip molds, or green ware are strictly prohibited.  Contemporary pottery forms are acceptable.  Hand coiled or wheel thrown are acceptable.

Basketry
Traditional & contemporary basketry made of natural fibers and the use of natural and aniline dyes are acceptable.

Paintings, Drawings, Graphics – 2D
Paintings, drawings and graphics MUST be framed and ready for hanging or will not be hung for display.

Photography
Photography MUST be framed and ready for hanging or will not be hung for display or will not be hung for display.

Children & Youth Art
Framed or matted & shrink wrapped with proper hanging for display or will not be hung for display.

Clothing Apparel
Provide mannequin and proper hanging devices for display or item(s) will not be hung for display.

Display for Show
Proper hanging or display devices to be brought in with art for display.  The FAC/NAM committee has the option to hang or not due to space or inadequate hanging device.

Fiber Arts
Textiles, blankets, belts and purses must be handmade and woven within One Year Period of September 2012 and entered by the weaver.  All natural yarns and dyes are acceptable.  Synthetic or acrylic yarn must be properly labeled. To include textiles, sash belts, traditional/contemporary clothing and all weavings. Sewing machine and hand stitched work is acceptable for all clothing.

Sculptures
Stone, bronze and other metals are acceptable.

Dolls/Carvings
Dolls in traditional categories must use materials historically associated with its native culture.  Artists are not to display dolls of tribes other than their own tribal affiliation.

Bead, Quill & Leather
Plastic beads or “bead stringers” and commercial tanned hide are allowed.

Diverse Arts A category to recognize artist’s unique contemporary and multi-media work.

Cultural Arts
A category to recognize artist’s work within their tribal traditions and utilize elements and components, handmade by the artist.  Such items are personal attire, accessories, dolls, figurative, and functional objects such as; bows,  arrows, cradle boards, boxes, knives, shields, furniture, lamps, beaded bottles, bandolier, bags, pipes, hide paintings and musical instruments such as drums, flutes, violins, etc.

Disqualification & Display
Art items that are identified as problematic due to the creation within a One Year Period of September 2012, and/or made by another artist will not be displayed and no award will be given.

Art Release/Check Out
No Early Art Check Out!  Art to be released ONLY to person with claim tag on Sunday, September 9th from 11am at Gorman Hall.

Liability
The Navajo Nation Museum and all programs will not be responsible or
Liable for any lost, stolen art and injuries or accidents on Navajo Nation property.

Contacts
Clarenda Begay at (929) 592-2813 or Char Kruger at (928) 810-8536 or at

Filed Under: Navajo Art Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Anasazi Ruins” The Navajo Word of the Day (Video)

July 25, 2012 by

Today’s Navajo Word of the Day is the word for “Indian Ruins.” The word is, “Kits’iilí,” which literally means, “shattered homes.” This video was filmed at Mesa Verde National Park. The Navajo name for this area is called “Gad Deelzhah,” which means “Jagged Junipers.” Ruins such as these are typically called “kits’iilí.”

The ruins are made by the ancient peoples currently known as the Cliff Dwellers. They were formerly known as the Anasazi. Anasazi is a Navajo word, which means “Enemy’s Ancestor.” It comes from the words “anaa’í” for enemy and “bizází” for their ancestors. Since the Pueblo and Hopi tribes of today are considered to be the descendants of the Anasazi, they thought it was inappropriate for their ancestos to be named by Navajos so Cliff Dwellers is the current PC name.

I used this video to introduce other new terms as well, such as “haaz’éí” for ladder, “tsé daashjéé’ ” for corn-grinding stones or a metate, and “jeelid” for the sticky smoke soot that formed on the rock ceiling of the ruins from historic campfires.

I hope these terms help you if you decide to visit ancient ruins in the southwest such as these. Enjoy!

Source: Terry Teller (daybreakwarrior)
http://www.youtube.com/user/daybreakwarrior/featured

 

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Navajo Traditional Games June 1-3, 2012

May 31, 2012 by

by Navajo Nation Museum
June 1-3, 2012

Navajo Nation Fairgrounds
Window Rock, AZ

Dine traditional games

 

Navajo horse Show and Stories at Indian Rodeo Performances
Cash Prizes to be awarded to several events

Schedule of traditional games

Friday, June 1
Youth Fruit Scramble
Dean C Jackson Memorial Arena at 12 pm

Saturday, June 2
Arm Wrestling
Dean C Jackson Memorial Arena at 10 am

Traditional hair tying
Song and Dance Arena 11 am

Tug-Of-War
Dean C Jackson Memorial Arena at 7 pm

Sunday, June 3
Gunny Sack Race
Pow Wow Arena 4:30 pm

Chicken Pole
Dean C Jackson Memorial Arena at  1pm

Navajo Traditional Games June 1-3, 2012

Navajo Traditional Games June 1-3, 2012

Filed Under: Navajo Art

Navajo Sandpainting Mountain Chant Ceremony Third Day

October 27, 2009 by

The Third Picture commemorates the visit of Dsilyi‘ Neyáni to Çaçò‘-behogan, or “Lodge of Dew”. To indicate the great height of the Bitsès-ninéz the figures are twice the length of any in the other pictures, except the rainbows, and each is clothed in four garments, one above the other, for no one garment, they say, can be made long enough to cover such giant forms. Their heads all point to the east, instead of pointing in different directions, as in the other pictures.

The Navajo relate, as already told, that this is in obedience to a divine mandate; but probably there is a more practical reason, which is this: if they had the cruciform arrangement there would not be room on, the floor of the lodge for the figures and at the same time for the shaman, assistants, and spectators. Economy of space is essential; but, although drawn nearly parallel to one another, the proper order of the cardinal points is not lost sight of.

The form immediately north of the center of the picture is done first, in white, and represents the east. That immediately next to it on the south comes second in order, is painted in blue, and represents the south. The one next below that is in yellow, and depicts the goddess who stood in the west of the House of Dew-Drops. The figure in the extreme north is drawn last of all, in black, and belongs to the north. As I have stated before, these bodies are first made naked and afterwards clothed.

Navajo Sandpainting Mountain Chant Ceremony Third Day

Navajo Sandpainting Mountain Chant Ceremony Third Day

The exposed chests, arms, and thighs display the colors of which the entire bodies were originally composed. The glòï (weasel, Putorius) is sacred to these goddesses. Two of these creatures are shown in the east, guarding the entrance to the lodge. The appendages at the sides of the heads of the goddesses represent the glòï-bitcà, or headdresses of glòï skins of different colors which these mythic personages are said to wear.

Each one bears attached to her right hand a rattle and a charm, or plume stick, such as the gods in the second picture carry; but, instead of the basket shown before, we see a conventionalized representation of a branch of choke cherry in blossom; this consists of five diverging stems in blue, five roots, and five cruciform blossoms in white.

The choke cherry is a sacred tree, a mountain plant; its wood is used in making certain sacrificial plume sticks and certain implements of the dance; it is often mentioned in the songs of this particular rite. Some other adjuncts of this picture—the red robes embroidered with sunbeams, the arms and legs clothed with clouds and lightning, the pendants from the arms, the blue and red armlets, bracelets, and garters—have already been described when speaking of the second picture. The object in the left hand is a wand of spruce.

173. The rainbow which incloses the picture on three sides is not the anthropomorphic rainbow. It has no head, neck, arms, or lower extremities. Five white eagle plumes adorn its southeastern extremity. Five tail plumes of some blue bird decorate the bend in the southwest. 451 The plumes of the red shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus var. mexicanus) are near the bend in the northwest and the tail of the magpie terminates the northeastern extremity. Throughout the myth, it will be remembered, not only is the House of Dew-Drops spoken of as adorned with hangings and festoons of rainbows, but many of the holy dwellings are thus embellished.and blue the female.

Filed Under: Navajo Art, Navajo Culture, Navajo Mythology Tagged With: , ,

Navajo Sandpainting Mountain Chant Ceremony Second Day

October 26, 2009 by

The Second Picture is said to be a representation of the painting, which the prophet saw in the home of the bears in the Carrizo Mountains . In the center of this figure is the bowl of water covered with black powder, to which I referred before. The edge of the bowl is adorned with sunbeams, and external to it are the four caacbitlol, or sunbeam rafts, on which seem to stand four Gods, or Yays.

The divine forms are shaped alike but colored differently. They lie with heads extended outward, one to each of the four cardinal points of the compass, the faces looking forward, the arms half extended on either side, with the hands raised to a level with the shoulders. They wear around their loins skirts of red sunlight, adorned with sunbeams. They have ear pendants, bracelets, and armlets, blue and red (of turquoise and coral), the prehistoric and emblematic jewels of the Navajo.

Their forearms and legs are black, showing in each a zigzag mark to represent lightning on the surface of the black rain clouds. In the north god these colors are, for artistic reasons, reversed. Each bears, attached to his right hand with a string, a rattle, a charm, and a basket. The rattle is of the shape of those used by the medicine men in this particular dance, made of raw hide and painted to symbolize the rain cloud and lightning. The left hand is empty; but beside each one is a highly conventionalized picture of a plant. The left hand remains empty, as it were, to grasp this plant, to indicate that the plant at the left hand belongs to the god whose corresponding hand is unoccupied and extended towards it.

The proprietorship of each god in his own particular plant is further indicated by making the plant the same color as the god. The body of the eastern god is white; so is the stalk of corn at his left, in the southeast. The body of the southern god is blue; so is the beanstalk beside him, in the southwest. The body of the western god is yellow; so is his pumpkin vine, in the northwest. The body of the north god is black; so is the tobacco plant, which is under his special protection, in the northeast.

Each of the four sacred plants is represented as growing from five white roots in the central waters and spreading outwards to the periphery of the picture. The gods form one cross whose limbs are directed to the four cardinal points; the plants form another cross having a common center with the first named cross, but whose limbs extend to the intermediate points of the compass.

Navajo Sandpainting Mountain Chant Ceremony Second Day

Navajo Sandpainting Mountain Chant Ceremony Second Day

On the head of each yay is an eagle plume lying horizontally and pointing to the right. A similar arrangement of four plumes, all pointing in one direction (contrary to the sunâcs apparent course), may be observed on the baskets carried by the gods.

The gods are represented with beautiful embroidered pouches, each of a different pattern. In old days the most beautiful things in art the Navajo knew of were the porcupine quill embroideries of the northern races. The art of garnishing with quills, and later with beads, seems never to have been practiced to any extent by the Navajo women. They obtained embroideries of the Ute and other northern tribes, and their ancient legends abound in allusions to the great esteem in which they held them.

Surrounding the picture on about three-fourths of its circumference is the anthropomorphic rainbow or rainbow deity. It consists of two long stripes, each about two inches wide in the original picture, one of blue, one of red, bordered and separated by narrow lines of white. At the southeastern end of the bow is a representation of the body below the waist, such as the other gods have, consisting of pouch, skirt, legs, and feet. At the northeastern end we have head, neck, and arms. The head of the rainbow is rectangular, while the heads of the other forms in this picture are round. In the pictures of the Yiabichy dance we frequently observe the same difference in the heads. Some are rectangular, some are round; the former are females, the latter males; and whenever any of these gods are represented, by characters, in a dance, those who enact the females wear square stiff masks, like our dominoes, while those who enact the males wear roundish, baglike masks, of soft skin, that completely envelop the head. The rainbow god in all these pictures wears the rectangular mask. Iris, therefore, is with the Navajo as well as with the Greeks a goddess.

All the other gods bear something in their hands, while the hands of the rainbow are empty. This is not without intention. When the person for whose benefit the rites are performed is brought in to be prayed and sung over, the sacred potion is brewed in a bowl, which is placed on the outstretched hands of the rainbow while the ceremony is in progress and only taken from these hands when the draught is to be administered. Therefore the hands are disengaged, that they may hold the gourd and its contents when the time comes.

In the east, where the picture is not inclosed by the rainbow, we see the forms of two birds standing with wings outstretched, facing one another, their beaks close together. These represent certain birds of blue plumage called by the Navajo çòli (Sialia arctica). This bluebird is of the color of the south and of the upper regions. He is the herald of the morning. His call of “çòli çòli” is the first that is heard when the gray dawn approaches. Therefore is he sacred, and his feathers form a component part of nearly all the plume sticks used in the worship of this people. Two bluebirds, it is said, stand guard at the door of the house wherein these gods dwell; hence they are represented in the east of the picture.

Here is an appropriate occasion to speak of a part of Navajo symbolism in color to which reference has already several times been made. In the majority of cases the east is represented by white, the south by blue, the west by yellow, the north by black; the upper world by blue and the lower by a mixture of white and black in spots. The colors of the south and west seem to be permanent: the south is always blue and the west is always yellow, as far as I can learn; but the colors of the east and north are interchangeable. The cases are rare where white is assigned to the north and black to the east; but such cases 450 occur, and perhaps in each instance merit special s

Filed Under: Navajo Art Tagged With: , ,

Navajo Sandpainting Mountain Chant Ceremony First Day

October 25, 2009 by

THE GREAT PICTURES OF DSILYÍDJE QACÀL.

A description of the four great dry-paintings  (sandpainting) pictures drawn in these ceremonies has been deferred until all might be described together. Their relations to one another rendered this the most desirable course to pursue. The preparation of the ground and of the colors, the application of the sacred pollen, and some other matters have been already considered.

The men who do the greater part of the actual work of painting, under the guidance of the chanter, have been initiated, but need not be skilled medicine men or even aspirants to the craft of the shaman. A certain ceremony of initiation has been performed on them four times, each time during the course of a different dance, before they are admitted into the lodge during the progress of the work or allowed to assist in it. The medicine man receives a good present in horses for his work; the assistants get nothing but their food. This, however, is abundant. Three times a day the person for whose benefit the dance is performed sends in enough mush, corn cake, soup, and roasted mutton to satisfy to the utmost the appetites of all in the lodge. There are some young men who live well all winter by going around the country from dance to dance and assisting in the work of the lodge.

The picture of the first day  is said to represent the visit of Dsilyi‘ Neyáni to the home of the snakes at Qocestsò.

first-dry-painting

Navajo dry-painting (Sandpainting) Mountain Chant Ceremony First Day

In the center of the picture was a circular concavity, about six inches in diameter, intended to represent water, presumably the house of water mentioned in the myth. In all the other pictures where water was represented a small bowl was actually sunk in the ground and filled with water, which water was afterwards sprinkled with powdered charcoal to give the impression of a flat, dry surface. Why the bowl of water was omitted in this picture I do not know, but a medicine man of a different fraternity from that of the one who drew the picture informed me that with men of his school the bowl filled with water was used in the snake picture as well as in the others.

Closely surrounding this central depression are four parallelograms about four inches by ten inches in the original pictures. The half nearer the center is red; the outer half is blue; they are bordered with narrow lines of white. The same figures are repeated in other paintings. They appear in this drawing, and frequently in others, as something on which the gods seem to stand.

They are the ca‘bitlòl, or rafts of sunbeam, the favorite vessels on which the divine ones navigate the upper deep. In the Navajo myths, when a god has a particularly long and speedy journey to make, he takes two sunbeams and, placing them side by side, is borne off in a twinkling whither he wills. Red is the color proper to sunlight in their symbolism, but the red and blue together represent sunbeams in the morning and evening skies when they show an alternation of blue and red. It will be seen later that the sunbeam shafts, the halo, and the rainbow are represented by the same colors.

In form, however, the halo is circular, and the rainbow is distinguished by its curvature, and it is usually anthropomorphic, while the sunbeam and the halo are not. External to these sunbeam rafts, and represented as standing on them, are the figures of eight serpents, two white ones in 447 the east, two blue ones in the south, two yellow ones in the west, and two black ones in the north. These snakes cross one another (in pairs) so as to form four figures like the letter X.

In drawing these X’s the snake which appears to be beneath is made first complete in every respect, and then the other snake is drawn over it in conformity with their realistic laws of art before referred to. The neck, in all cases, is blue, crossed with four bands of red. The necks of the gods in all the pictures, it will be observed, are made thus, but the bars in the manlike figures run transversely, while those in the snake-like run diagonally.

Three rows of V-shaped figures, four in each row, are seen on the backs of the snakes; these are simply to represent mottling. Outside of these eight snakes are four more of much greater length; they form a frame or boundary to the picture, except in the west, where the mountain of Dsilyà-içín lies beyond them. There is a white snake in the east, lying from north to south and bounding the picture in the east; a blue snake, of similar size and shape, in the south; a yellow one in the west, and a black one in the north. They seem as if following one another around the picture in the direction of the sun’s apparent course, the head of the east snake approximating the tail of the south snake, and so on.

In the northeast is seen the yay, Niltci, who accompanied the Navajo prophet to the home of the snakes. In the extreme west is a black circular figure representing the mountain of Dsilyà-içín. In the original picture the mountain was in relief which I have not attempted to represents a little mound of about ten or twelve inches high. The description of the mountain given in the myth is duly symbolized in the picture, the halo added. The green spot in the center is designed to represent a twig of spruce which was stuck in the mound of sand to indicate the spruce tree door.]

From the summit of the mountain to the middle of the central waters is drawn a wide line in corn meal, with four footprints, depicted at intervals, in the same material. This represents the track of a bear. Immediately south of this track is the figure of an animal drawn in gray pigment. This is the grizzly himself, which here, I have reason to believe, is used as a symbol of the Navajo prophet. The bear, in the sacred language of the shamans, is appropriately called Dsilyàiçín, since he is truly reared within the mountains. His track, being represented by a streak of meal, has reference to the same thing as the name aka¡ninili and the practice of the couriers , who are dressed to represent the prophet, throwing corn meal in front of them when they travel.

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