Weaving
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After the
medicine woman told the people about the prayersticks she told them that there
was a place in the underworld where two rivers crossed. It was called ni tqin'kae
tsosi, fine fiber cotton (Indian hemp). There were two persons who brought the
seed of that plant, they were spiders. They said that the people were to use the
plant instead of skins for their clothing. So this seed was planted in the earth.
When the seeds were planted, the plant ripe, and the cotton gathered, the people
shaped a little wheel, 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and they put a slender stick
through it. This was used in the spinning of cotton. When they began spinning
they pushed away from the body toward the knee. Then the chief medicine woman
said: "You must spin towards your person, as you wish to have the beautiful
goods come to you; do not spin away from you." For it was in their minds
to make cloth which they could trade for shell and turquoise beads and she knew
their thoughts. She said :"You must spin towards you, or the beautiful goods
will depart from you." There were two names given to the spindle, yudi yilt
ya'hote, meaning, turning or shooting around with the beautiful goods. This the
Spider Man suggested; but his wife said: "It shall be called by another name,
ntl is yilt ya'hote, turning with the mixed chips." After they had spun the
thread they rolled it into good-sized balls. They brought straight poles and laid
them down; one down, one opposite. They tied two other poles at the ends, making
a rectangular frame. They rolled or wound the thread on two of the poles as the
sun travels, east to west, over and under the poles. The Spider Man said that
the ball of thread should be called, yudi yilt nasmas agha, rolling with the beautiful
goods. His wife said: "No, it shall be called ntsli yilt nasmas agha, rolling
with the mixed chips." After the loom was finished the cross poles were erected
and other poles placed on the ground to hold the loom frame solidly, and the loom
was stretched and lifted into place. Then the Spider Man said: "It will be
called yoteblitz nes thon, looping with the beautiful goods." His wife said:
"From hence forth it shall be called nil tliz biltz nes thon, looping with
mixed chips." Then they used a narrow stick about two and a half feet long,
and they wound the yarn or thread over it, and where there is no design they ran
it along. That was given the same name as the ball of thread. The Spider Man held
that it should have the same name as the ball; but his wife said: "No, it
shall be called nil tliz nasmas agha." Then they used the wide flat stick
for tapping down the thread. The Spider Man said: "It shall be called nil
tliz na'ygolte" ; but his wife said: "It shall be called nil tliz na'ygolte,
twining with the mixed chips". When they got this far with the weaving, the
threads of the warp mixed together and were too near or too far apart. So another
kind of stick was used. It had long, narrow teeth. It was also used for the purpose
of tapping down the thread. The Spider Man said: "It shall be called yote
yo'golte, hoeing with the beautiful goods." His wife said: "It shall
be called nil iltz yo'golte." The Spider Man said: "Now you know all
that I have named for you. It is yours to work with and to use following your
own wishes. But from now on when a baby girl is born to your tribe you shall go
and find a spider web which is woven at the mouth of some hole; you must take
it and rub it on the baby's hand and arm. Thus, when she grows up she will weave,
and her fingers and arms will not tire form the weaving." To this day that
is done to all baby girls. The weaving progressed, and they made all kinds of
articles. They used cotton and yucca fiber and Indian hemp. These were the thread.
They raised turkeys, and they used the feathers for feather blankets. They ate
the turkey flesh for their meat. They killed rabbits and cut the fur into strips,
and they made fur blankets. They wove different kinds of grass into mats for their
floors, and also, to hang in front of the openings of their houses. There were
many kinds of weaving. The people lived peacefully and were happy in working out
designs in the new art. They raised great quantities of corn. All this made them
grow in number; they became a very strong people and their past troubles were
forgotten; but this was not to last. Pg. 37, 38
The Dine': Origin Myths of the Navajo Indians; 1956,
Aileen O'Bryan.
Weaving has been carried to a high degree of perfection
by the Navaho. The art as it exists among them today is not an invention of
their own, as nothing similar is found among any other tribe of the Athapascan
stock. It is pretty safe to say that the Navaho learned the art of weaving from
the Pueblos. Their own legends, however, account for it in their own way. The
hanelnaeheke hani', or moving upward chant legend, records that the art of weaving
was taught by the Spider Man and Spider Woman in the following manner. "The
Spider Man drew some cotton (ndaka') from his side and instructed the Navaho
to make a loom. The cotton-warp was made of spider-web (nashjei bitlol). The
upper cross-pole was called yabitlol (sky or upper cord), the lower cross-pole
ni'bitlol (earth or lower cord). The warp-sticks were made of shabitlol (sun
rays), the upper strings, fastening the warp to the pole, of atsinltlish (lightning),
the lower strings of shabitlajilchi (sun halo), the heald was a tsaghadindini
isenil (rock crystal heald), the cord-heald stick was made of atsolaghal (sheet
lightning), and was secured to the warp strands by means of nltsatlol billdestlo'
(rain ray cords)." "The batten-stick was also made of shabitlajilchi
(sun halo), while the beidzoi (comb) was of yolgai (white shell). Four spindles
or distaffs were added to this, the disks of which were of cannel-coal, turquoise,
abalone and white bead, respectively, and the spindle-sticks of atsinltlish
(zigzag lightning), hajilgish (flash lightning), atsolaghal (sheet lightning),
and nltsatlol (rain ray), respectively." "The dark, blue, yellow and
white winds quickened the spindles (beedizi) according to their color, and enabled
them to travel around the world."
Presumably, this legend accounts for the now vanishing
tradition that weaving should be done with proper moderation. Overdone weaving
(akeitlo) is ameliorated by a sacrifice offered to the spindle (beedizi). Its
prayerstick (bik'et'an) consists of yucca, precious stones, bird and turkey
feathers, tassels of grass (tlo'zol) and pollen, and forms part of the blessing
rite (hozhoji). The hach'eyatqei, or ch'aeyatqei (prayer to the gods), is recited
with the sacrifice. The custom withholding maidens from weaving before marriage,
which was formerly observed, is also explained by the fear of overdoing weaving.
Little or no attention, however, is paid to this tradition today. Pgs. 221,
223
For references to steps in weaving, coloring and dyeing
of wool, setting up of loom, weaving, Implements, use of loom, designs and knitting
refer to below Pgs. 223-256
An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language; 1910,
The Franciscan Fathers.
Take, for instance, the famous art of Navajo weaving.
If you ask a member of the tribe today when weaving was learned, she - for Navajo
weavers are women - will tell you that they were taught by Spider Woman, "in
the beginning." Yet the Navajo weaving technique, point for point, exactly
duplicates that of the Pueblos, who have been weaving since A.D. 600. It is
a complicated art, and Navajo girls today need years to learn it from a female
relative, practicing every day. It is difficult to believe that the Navajos
had worked out the loom, the spindle, and all the other equipment before this
era of "learning by marriage." A blanket got in trade, a loom glimpsed
on a visit to some pueblo would never have given them enough information. Then
there is the problem of sex etiquette, for most Pueblo weavers today are men.
Indian proprieties would surely forbid a Navajo woman to receive daily instruction
from a strange man. But if she married him! It is possible to imagine the skilled
weaver working in a Navajo home, trying to teach his sons who were still wedded
to the life of hunting and fighting and, finally, imparting the art to his daughters.
That this did not happen too early in Navajo history can be gathered from the
fact that all known specimens of Navajo weaving are in wool. Therefore they
were made after the Spaniards had come and after the Navajos had sheep. And
sheep did not come to the Navajos in any quantity until after the Pueblo revolt.
Pgs. 46-47
The Navajos; 1956, Ruth M. Underhill.
Even such everyday tasks as weaving must be done only
in moderation. Many women will not weave more than about two hours at a stretch;
in the old days unmarried girls were not allowed to weave for fear they would
overdo, and there is a folk rite for curing the results of excess in this activity.
Closely related is the fear of completely finishing anything: as a "spirit
outlet," the weaver leaves a small slit between the threads. Pgs. 225-226
The Navaho; 1946, Clyde Kluckhohn and Dorothea Leighton.
The Navajos believe in the Greek maxim "Nothing
to excess " believing that overdoing a thing brings bad luck as an offense
to the spirits. For the same reason nothing must be too perfect. A rug or basket
design with a solid border must have a break in it or flaw to let the spirit
of the maker, who has spent so much time and energy, escape. It is natural that
things which bring one a livelihood should also have some restrictions. Many
commercially minded weavers and other craftsmen have begun to ignore the taboos
of their trades as being too restrictive. The large number of taboos relating
to pottery making have been given credit for the decline of that craft, and
none are listed here.
Don 't
hit anyone with weaving tools - crack the tools.
They will
be paralyzed in the future.
Don't spank
your children with weaving tools.
They'll
get sick.
Don't have
a weaving comb with six points.
Your baby
might have six fingers.
Don't go
between the poles of the loom when a woman is weaving.
You won't
grow - cause evil - won't get much for the rug.
Don't have
the loom of the weaving stand too long.
It will
tire and hurt you.
Don't eat
or drink while you prepare the loom for the rug.
You'll
get poor - won't get much for the rug.
Don't eat
while you are weaving.
It will
go slow - won't be any good.
Don't weave
a Yei figure with one eye smaller or one leg shorter.
It will
affect you that way in later life - affect your baby.
Don't leave
a Yei figure in a rug unfinished.
The Yeis
will get angry - bring bad luck.
This is
interesting as a compromise taboo. Yeis are Holy People and as such are supposed
to be represented only in the sandpaintings which are used and destroyed before
sundown but never done in any permanent form. The famous hermaphroditic medicine
man Hosteen Clah was one of the first to weave rug versions of the sandpaintings.
In the Shiprock area Yei rugs and other pictorial tapestries became increasingly
popular after WWII.
Don't be
stubborn while weaving a rug.
It won't
be worth much.
Don't throw
weaving tools.
You 'II
never finish the weaving.
Don't burn
weaving tools.
The "Yeis"
will get angry - bad luck.
Don't weave
if you don't know a weaving song.
It won't
be any good.
Don't leave
tools in the loom when they are not in use.
You won't
finish right away.
Don't weave
when it is raining.
It will
cause the loom to fall.
Don't stand
by the loom when it is raining.
Lightning
will strike you.
Don't pass
things through the loom.
Anything
you pass through will be lost -food, yarn, beads.
Don't bump
into or move around a loom you are preparing for a rug.
It will
be crooked - you won't be able to get it straight.
Don't leave
carded wool too long.
When you
start weaving it won't like it and you'll have trouble.
Don't make
fun of your weaving.
It will
get worse - you'll be poor.
Don't leave
a loom outside.
It will
collect bad things.
Don't cut
off a loom once it is made.
You will
have a short life.
Don't steal
a rug - wool - weaving tools.
You'll
never be lucky - always have bad luck.
Don't weave
immoral things in a rug.
You'll
be sterile.
Don't weave
any taboo animal into a rug.
You will
have all the bad luck associated with that animal.
Don 't
hang rugs out in the sun.
The sun
will take it as an insult.
Don't weave
at all (boys).
It will
affect the reproductive organs.
Don't weave
on the north side of the hogan.
The rug
won't be worth anything.
Don't drag
your rugs on the ground.
Causes
poverty.
Don't leave
an unfinished rug outside at night.
It might
be witched - you won't be able to finish it or sell it.
Don't put
a rug over your horse's face.
It will
go blind.
Pgs. 179-183
Navajo
Taboos; 1991, Ernie Bulow.
The principal
occupation of the present-day Navajo is raising sheep, goats, and a few cattle.
And yet four hundred years ago he had seen no sheep or horses. Under the treaty
of 1886, each Navajo was given two sheep - about twelve thousand sheep altogether,
since not more than sic thousand Navajos survived Bosque Redondo. Now a million
sheep graze on the Navajo land. Since the introduction of sheep to this country
by Coronado's men, Navajo women have been weaving rugs on crude hand looms -
an art which was not entirely new to them, since they already wove with yucca
and other vegetable fibers. Pg. 167
Navajos,
Gods, Tom-toms; By S.H. Babington, 1950.
There is
a saying that a rug is not good unless a weaver puts her "soul" in
it. Like Changing Woman, the Holy Person whom the Navajo woman personifies,
the weaver is an eternal creator who weaves both an individual product of her
own mind and a more universal product from the mind of the tribe. Pgs. 10-11
Sitting
on the Blue-Eyed Bear, Navajo Myths and Legends; 1975, Gerald Hausman.
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