Navajo Storm Pattern Rugs
Navajo Black Grey & Red Storm Rug - Edith Martin (#161)
Navajo Rugs $275.00
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Navajo Square Storm Rug - Eleanor Yazzie (#095)
Navajo Rugs $1,375.00
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Grey Day Storm Rug - Edith Martin (#159)
Navajo Rugs
"Grey Day" Storm 21 1/2" wide x 24 1/2" tall Aniline Dyed Wool $325.00
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Navajo Grey Storm Rug - Bernita Martin (#021)
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Navajo Orange Colored Handspun Storm Rug - Pauline Deswudt (#031)
Navajo Rug
Handspun Storm 15" x 24" $225.00
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Navajo Red & Grey Storm Rug - Bernita Martin (#20)
Navajo Rug
Red and Grey Storm 16" x 21" $250.00
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Explaining the Navajo storm design presents a bit of a dilemma. The
pattern is created by weaving artists from all corners of the Navajo
reservation and beyond, yet pinpointing its origin and meaning is a
different story, or I will say, several stories.
Although
storm pattern rugs later became associated with Tuba Trading Post on
the western side of the Navajo reservation, many feel it first made its
appearance and was first popularized by J.B. Moore, a short-lived but
influential trader at the Crystal Trading Post in the nineteen-teens.
In his first catalogue published in 1911, he featured two weavings with
the quincunx (I love this word...it was one of Kira’s spelling bee
words last year) layout and attributed the pattern to one family
designated specifically to weave what became known as the storm design.
Our
culture loves asking the question, “...but, what does it mean?” The
first story comes from Cameron Trading Post: Jean Mann, a weaver from
the area explained that the center of the rug, in the square part, was
the weaver’s home or the weaver’s hooghan. Lightning connects the
weaver to the four sacred mountains that form the border of Dinetah.
These mountains are the squares in each corner of the rug. The rain is
the warp of the rug. Centipedes flank the hooghan on each side. In
early versions of storm weavings, above and below there were whirling
logs close to the hooghan. This symbol, similar to and because of, the
Nazi swastika was later changed to look like another centipede.
Outward from this element is the 6-legged water bug. The whole rug
symbolizes a storm and also portrays the storm as a sacred occurrence.
My
understanding is that J.B. Moore had a fondness for Oriental weavings
and possibly introduced Eastern rug patterns to the local weavers. An
explanation given by the Navajo Rug Repair Company, experts in cleaning
and repairing Oriental and Navajo weavings, lends credence to this
theory. They state, “One story about the design origin is that it was
derived from the labels on flour sacs sold to Navajos in the early
years. This author has not been able to find any flour sac labels that
show anything like this design (the same story is often written
concerning the swastika design as found in some Navajo rugs). I
theorize that the Storm Pattern's origin lies within Kufic script that
is found in Persian, Caucasian and other Mid-eastern rugs, particularly
in the borders of those rugs. The "Storm Pattern" design shows the
favored quincunx pattern, a ubiquitous design styling in the Orient.”
I
like what Ann Hedlund, a cultural anthropologist and director of the
Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies at the Arizona State Museum
in Tucson has to say about J.B. Moore’s introduction of the design:
“In
1911, trader J.B. Moore published a catalogue showing a Navajo rug with
a central rectangle, four zigzag arms radiating to the corners, and
bold, isolated geometric motifs along the ends and sides. Stating,
‘This pattern is one of the really legendary designs embodying a
portion of the Navajo mythology,’ Moore started his own legend that has
yet to be unraveled or understood. No earlier Navajo design resembles
this one—in weaving, sandpainting, or any other medium.” Professor
Hedlund’s explanation supports the idea of outside influences on Navajo
weaving and to me, belongs in the category I have endearingly titled
“Great White Trader Stories”.
Ann Hedlund chimes in again with the following thoughts:
“Weavers
today differ in their interpretation of the motifs and layout. Some
deny knowledge of any symbols and say the stories came from traders.
Others suggest that maybe the center symbolizes a Navajo hogan, a lake,
or the center of the universe; the corner elements are spoken of
variably as the four sacred mountains, the four winds, or the four
cardinal directions. The radiating zigzag lines are usually called
lightning lines or whirling logs. The individual motifs at both ends
are called water bugs or pinon beetles.”
---Georgiana Kennedy Simpson
Artists who create Navajo Storm Pattern Rugs:
Twin Rocks Trading Post · P.O. Box 330 · 913 E. Navajo Twins Dr · Bluff,
UT 84512
Phone:
435-672-2341 · Toll-free
1-800-526-3448
Contact Twin Rocks Trading Post
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