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Birds are
not endowed with the faculty of speech excepting in their mythical character.
The zahalani, mocking-bird, alone is said to speak (yaltqi). Neither do they
sing, properly speaking (hatqal, he sings, being used of humans). Their song,
cry or call is universally expressed tsidi ani (adani) the bird says or sounds.
Pg.163
The eggs of birds are not eaten. Some birds, as the turkey, the bluebird, the
yellow warbler, the mourning dove, and some snow-birds, are occasionally eaten.
Pg. 163
When all the birds and amimals had started out on their way, First Man called one little, gray bird back. It was tse na'olch' oshi, the little rock wren, who had carried the cliff rock up from the Yellow World. First Man told him that, since he had been responsible for the cliffs he should make his home among the cliff rocks. And should anyone ever harm him he would have the power of getting even with him. That is why falling rocks sometimes harm people or animals. Pg. 34
Hummingbird:
Sacred bird of the Navajo and other Southwestern tribes, Hummingbird is believed
to be a medicine person, the first healer of birds. The sound of Hummingbird's
wings reminds The People of little bells ringing in the wind. Pg. 196
Magpie: One of the many Native American tricksters, Magpie is a n audacious,
clever, fun-loving, trick-playing bird. He has been known to hoodwink Coyote
by appealing to Coyote's vanity. Some tribes consider the Magpie's white and
blue-black feathers sacred and use them in ceremonials. Pg. 196
Don't put food in a bird's mouth. You will have a sore throat. Pg. 82
The Dawn or Washing Songs contain such ideas as "Since he talks to it now, now it listens to him . . . . . . Blessedness comes out of his mouth." The Racing Songs mention other sounds: sounds of the running "fading into the distance" and the returning; sounds of "small blue male" and "female birds who call with beautiful voices as they are playing in the tip of the girls head plume"; sounds of the "breeze coming from her as she runs"; and the sounds of the Corn Beetle and all kinds of small birds, including dark-colored ones." The sounds of some of these birds are also present in the Combing Songs and the Painting Songs. In other Kinaalda songs, some of the syllables previously thought to be meaningless have now been shown to be imitations of the sounds and calls associated with particular deities. Pg. 376
The Human-shaped agates are closely associated with flint. After Gila Monster conducts the ceremonial for the hero, he makes representations of his own pouch in the form of two cranebill pouches for the Earth Surface People. To the outside of these pouches are tied arrowhead-shaped flints (preferably agate flint), and other flints are jingled during the songs. Today, Cranebill pouches are carefully prepared in a specific ceremony from the bodies of cranes, who themselves represent both the power of restoration and the return of life. In using the cranebill pouches ceremonially, the one-sung-over is told by the singer to tie an offering on to the appropriate (male or female) pouch. Men use flint arrowheads or jewels and women use beads or shell. These offerings are not removed; thus, in time, the pouches become heavily decorated. These pouches are held by the one-sung-over with the cranebill heads turned toward the self during the litany-type prayer. "Through their structure and composition the cranebills . . . are homologous with the pouches of Gila Monster.
Bluebirds
(doli) (H), a symbol of peace and happiness, is generally beloved by the Navajo,
being herald of the dawn and a manifestation of Talking God, who told co, hero
of the Night Chant, he would appear among the Navajo as bluebird. His feathers
are a requisite of many ceremonial properties (Prayersticks, Con. C; Matthews
1902, p. 205).
Big-prairie-hawk (ginitsoh, gin' tsoh) (H) helped to scratch through the sky
from the fourth to this world (Matthews
1897, p.75).
Birds enter into various phases of ritual, especially in the manufacture of
bundle properties and prayersticks. Many birds were helpers of the Navaho, even
in their early prehuman existence. Some are sufficiently characterized to be
listed with deities and helpers; many others are more or less taken for granted
except as they enter incidentally into ritual. They are closely associated with
game and hunting, and with snakes (Matthews 1897, pp. 81, 88, 191, 193, 195;
1902,p. 151).
A systematic study of birds should be made, but until it is, the superficial
identifications at my disposal will have to do. In 1942 I took YL, who knew
the Shooting Chant, to the Museum of Northern Arizona, where, through the kindness
of Edwin McKee, we were able to work for a short while on the bird collections.
YL identified some of the birds most common in the ceremonies. This was an exhilarating
experience, for he was from the western part of the reservation, yet he said
nothing that conflicted with information I had obtained in the eastern part.
However, we were able to test several chanters in this way, their identifications
would probably not be in complete agreement. Wyman found differences in his
identification of plants and there are local differences in all fields of Navaho
teaching.
I showed a copy of Taverner's Birds of Western Canada (abbreviated Tav.) to
RP and tla'h, who were much interested and gave a few identifications from plates
which I include when they differ from those given by YL. I usually find that
Indians are unable to make trustworthy identifications from pictures. However,
these two chanters were so graphic-minded and attended to the least detail in
sandpaintings, even in copies on paper, so carefully that their identifications
may be trusted to a degree. An interesting phase of YL's classification is his
calling birds of different genera 'male' and 'female' of the same Navajo category.
In the Flint Chant the following associations are made (Haile 1943a, p. 173):
|
BIRD Red bird Eagle Big hawk Bluebird Hummingbird Cornbeetle Heron |
ASSOCIATED
WITH sun mountain rocks trees plants ground water |
Hummingbirds
(dahi'tihi) (H) and Chickenhawks were great hunters who lived together in the
same camp.
Hummingbird (bita' 'aya'hi', 'One-whose-wings-whir') brought beeweed sauce to
Rainboy of the Hail Chant, and gave him a bead that tinkled like a little bell
to wear around his neck (Matthews 1897, p.88; Reichard 1944d, p. 135).
Meadowlark (tsiya'yo'ji') (U) was a companion of Spider Woman, whom The Twins
encountered on their first visit to Sun. She was commissioned by Black God to
bring the plants for blackening in the War Ceremony (Reichard, Shooting Chant
ms.; Haile 1938b, p. 193).
Mourning Dove (xasbidi') (H), like roadrunner and turkey, is idealized. Mourning
Dove was said to report things reliably and to have no equal in speed.
Later, when he was sent to spy on Box Turtle and Long Frog, he brought back
an accurate report, since he could understand the special war language. He jerked
his head back and forth to imitate the enemy and has retained this, a war habit,
to this day.
A pair called Dove Man and Dove Woman aided Monster Slayer and his two wives
when he performed his first Eagle Chant (Ch. 16; Haile 1938b, p. 148; Newcomb
1940b, pp. 70ff.).
Roadrunner (na'tsedlozi') (H) is said to have been without fault of any kind
(Haile 1938b, p. 193).
Swallows (tactciji') (U) are often introduced into a tale and seem to have great
power, but are not thoroughly described. They helped the Spiders overcome Coyote.
As a reward they got pieces of his skin, which they laid as ornaments on their
wings (Reichard, Endurance Chant ms.).
Turkey Buzzard (dje'co") (U) is allied with Crow, Magpie, and other carrion-eating
birds. Monster Slayer succeeded in overcoming Turkey Buzzard, who offered his
feathers as the soot for the War Ceremony blackening (Chi 4; Haile 1938b, pp.95-7,
193).
White Goose (tcj'clgaihi) (P) was an important and respected (feared) member
of Winter Thunder's party in the Hail Chant. When the party had been brought
under control and Rainboy was observing his period of restriction after the
ceremony, White Goose brought him a dish of food made of parched corn and pinion
nuts, and spread over him the blanket of Old Age (Reichard 1944d, p. 135).
Woodpecker (tsiyikali') (H) helped the people from the third to the fourth world
by pecking through the sky.
Later he hid in a ball of mud, 'loaded 'for the contest with Gambler, and was
rewarded with a whiteshell.
In the vast Navaho mythology, woodpecker is not much in evidence, though he
is ubiquitous in Apache myth as the 'carpenter' bird (Goddard, pp. 131, 143;
Opler 1940).
Water animals are sacred and figure in many rites. The skin of the beaver and otter were used in making highly prized headbands, while the fur of beaver and muskrat still decorates some rattles. It is said that these animals were quite plentiful on the banks of the rivers, and the skins were often bartered from neighboring Indians. Pg.156
Four Sacred Plants are assigned to the cardinal points, and amongst the Navajos Maize is the plant of the North, Beans of the east. This means that both are male and as both are grown for edible seeds, recognition of the physiological function of the male was probably involved in the selection. This is entirely possible since the convention could have been established only very late, after settlement in America. Squash, for the Navajos, is the plant of the South, which is fitting since its fruit is called "eight-sided" and the eight-sided earth (an alternative to the square earth, taking account of the diagonal directions) is female. Also the stalk is angled in sections, a feature deliberately exaggerated when the plant is depicted in sand paintings, and crooked things are female. Tobacco, which the Navajos put on the west, is female because it is used to make smoke which is blown out with the breath, and that is female. Below the Plants are white roots, the significance being that these plants still have their roots in the lower world.
First Man
called the people together. He brought forth the white corn which had been formed
with him. First Woman brought the yellow corn. They laid the perfect ears side
by side; then they asked one person from among the many to come and help them.
The Turkey stepped forward. They asked him where he had come from, and he said
that he had come from the Gray Mountain. He danced back and forth four times,
then he shook his feather coat and there dropped from his clothing four kernels
of corn, one gray, one blue, one black, and one red. Another person was asked
to help in the plan of the planting. The big snake came forward. He likewise
brought forth four seeds, the pumpkin, the watermelon, the cantaloupe, and the
muskmelon. His plants all crawl on the ground. Pg. 6
7- Informant's note: Rarely is much white or yellow corn planted at one time
because it is the most sacred. Pg. 103
Corn Boy, Corn Girl, Cornmeal Carrier: Corn is the most sacred of all Native American plants. Originally, it came from native grasses of Mexico and Guatemala and was brought to Turtle Island by Mexican Indians and Carib people. Standing straight and tall, corn resembles human beings standing in rows. White corn is thought, by the Navajo, to be male, yellow corn is female. Round-headed corn symbols are men, square-headed are female. Food made from corn especially cornmeal is symbolic of the goodness of Mother Earth and Father Sky. Corn Pollen is used in many blessing ceremonies, as is cornmeal. Strings of hardened corn kernels are made into necklaces. Corn, as Jay de Groat has put it, is "Mother Earth's workmanship." Pg. 191
Harry Walters explained that corn is a metaphor for human life because both of through the same stages of life. Both corn and humans reach a stage of fruition when they blossom: the corn bursts forth with pollen while humans also achieve a peak of development associated with sa'a naghai bik'e hozho. Harry Walters (personal communication, 1990) described this state of being: "Every time he talks, thinks, or acts, he does so in radiance, in a state of wisdom and perfect harmony." Just as the corn disseminates its pollen for the continuation of corn plants, so too humans have been entrusted with sacred responsibility to disseminate their knowledge for the benefit and continuation of future generations. Because both corn and humans need nurturance from the four directions (four cardinal light phenomena) in order to reach old age, both possess knowledge from the four directions; it is this knowledge that they take into their beings and then have a responsibility to return to those that come after them.
Corn, the symbol of food, fertility, and life itself, is of major importance. "Corn is more than human; it is divine; it (is) connected with the highest ethical ideals." Pgs. 375-76
The old
sunwise and other ceremonial ways of planting have almost disappeared, but most
Navahos still use the Indian method of planting corn in hills rather than in
rows. Planting dates are determined by various means at Navaho Mountain,
for instance, by the position of the Pleiades and simple folk rites continue
to be a basic part of agriculture. Pg. 30
Many ritual practices are an everyday adjunct of agriculture. Seeds are mixed
with ground "mirage stone" and treated in a variety of other ways.
To prevent early frosts, stones from the sweathouses are planted in the fields
or at the base of fruit trees. If the crop is being damaged by wind, the wind
is called by its secret name and asked to leave the corn alone. Cutworms are
placed on fragments of pottery, sprinkled with pollen, and given other "magical"
treatment. When the harvest is stored, a stalk of corn having two ears is placed
in the bottom of the storage pit to ensure a healthy crop for the next year.
At intervals while the corn is growing the farmer should go to his field, walk
around and through it in a special way, singing the appropriate song. Not every
Navaho farmer follows every one of these of the hundreds of other negative or
positive agricultural folk rites which could be mentioned, but the writers have
not known any Navaho families who do not observe some simple rituals. Pg. 143-144
From the Puebloans they gained their first knowledge of corn and soon learned to grind it and use the meal for food and for ceremonial purposes. In order to save the best corn for themselves the owners created a taboo that the Navajos must not touch any ears except the two small ones that grew at the very top of the cornstalk, and these were likely to be small nubbins. The other, larger ears were said to belong to the gods. Pg. XXII
A Navajo from Coalmine stated that "cased" squirrelskins were also sometimes used as containers for ceremonial materials. Bags of this type were made by both men and women and were used for storing sacred materials such as the seed corn to be planted ritually first in the center of the field.
Parched corn has been mentioned as an effective absorptive device. Cake [sweetened cornbread baked in a pit oven] is a treat of the Girl's Ceremony and the Flint Chant; in both it is an offering to Sun.
Farm songs belong to the entire tribe and are sung for the planting and maturation events rather than for a particular ceremony. The initial song refers to seed planting; it describes the place for planting, the seed, and offerings made to the seed [or perhaps to the earth]. The verbs are first in the form "I wish it to be...." and change later to 'It is becoming....' The second song repeats the sentiments of the first, but in the form 'It has become so.'
The songs of the second interval refer to the sprouting of the corn in terms corresponding with those of the first interval. Time is allowed for growth, then song indicates the appearance of tiny blades above the ground, another the fresh yellow-green appearance of the field; another celebrates the normal growth of the corn; a song states that the 'corn loves me' and is therefore doing well under my hand; another, that the leaves are large enough to touch one another when the wind blows; still another, that some plants are large and cast uniform shadows over the field, that red silk has appeared, that pollen has formed. Subsequent songs refer to the harvested ears, emphasizing the crackling sound made when the fully developed stalks are pulled. There are songs to describe the plucking of the ears and the piling of bundles gathered and dumped in the center of the field. The next song describes the extension of the piles of corn -'It increases by spreading'; another summarizes by describing the harvest as a whole. The pattern does not change for the husking, which is again described by sound--'now from my hands it gives forth a sound' - or for the drying, which completes the harvest.
Several
versions ascribe human beings to a supernatural transformation of corn which
existed primordially with First Man. Sun was said to be corn's father, Lightning
its mother. According to one version, the results of the transformation were
persons called First Man and First Woman, who are also referred to as `our ancestors.'
From this account we may conclude that First man and first woman not only had
corn in the early worlds but also were corn and came to symbolize transformation
into human form. One origin is attributed to the transformation of turquoise
and whiteshell images by deific ceremonial. Since, however, the jewels were
laid beside corn ears, the significance is in the association between corn and
precious stones rather than in the gems themselves. According to Navajo interpretation,
the two would be the `the same'.
However, in contrast to the numerous etiologies of corn, accounts of the origin
of particular plants are few. In some myths corn is considered primeval, for
First Man had some in the first world. Other myths account for it as the gift
of a god or a neighboring people. Whatever its origin, its value is constantly
emphasized. According to one myth, Talking God gave corn to Whiteshell Woman
and her sister, Turquoise Woman, saying, "There is no better thing than
this in the world, for it is the gift of life." Later, when he visited
them again and they told him they still had it, he said, "That is good,
for corn is your symbol of fertility and life."
The hunting animals carried packs of corn on their backs, for they had charge
of the corn-growing rite of the Fire Dance.
The complementation of corn by game is brought out by Talking God, who, in the
myth of the Night Chant, instructs the her: "Never give corn to eat of
its own substance. If you give it, corn will thereafter ever eat corn until
all the land is destroyed. Then men will starve and have to eat one another,
and thus destroy their own race. Give corn flesh to eat. For like reasons corn
must be fed to the masks in the ceremonies. Should meat be fed to them, men
would, thereafter, eat men." The masks of sacred buckskin represent game
animals. According to tradition punishment was inevitable if the injunction
was disobeyed.
Once, many years ago, when the ceremony of the corn was taking place and a young
virgin was grinding meat to feed the corn, a wicked woman went out from the
lodge and fed corn to the corn hanging on the poles of the drying frame. That
year the people starved and men ate the flesh of other men.
Corn (na'da'), in myth and ritual at least, is reaffirmed as belonging to the
Navaho from time immemorial and there is probably no rite or ceremony in which
corn does not function in some form or other. The feeling about corn is expressed:
"Corn is more than human, it is divine; it was connected with the highest
ethical ideals."
When Talking God gave corn to the lonely sisters of the Eagle Chant legend,
he directed that they should never give it away. "Because," he explained,
"there is no better thing in the world, for it is the gift of life."
Later, when through ritualistic instruction their lot had improved, he said
again, "Corn is your symbol of fertility and life."
Of the many representative references that might be given, a few follow: Hill
1938, pp. 20-95; Newcomb 1940b, pp.51, 71, 73, 76; Matthews 1897, pp. 137, 140,
183; 1902, pp.27, 29,106, 187-93; Haile 1938b, pp. 87, 191, 231; 1943a, pp.
162, 313, 174n; Reichard 1939, pp. 27, 30, 34, PI. IV-VII; 1944d, pp. 19, 81,
91, 113, 135; Shooting Chant ms.; Sapir-Hoijer, p. 31; Goddard, p. 174; Wheelwright
1942, p. 122, Set I, 1-4; II, 2; III, 1-4.
Corn meal (na'da'ka'n) is one of the commonest forms of corn in ceremony. It
is coarsely ground, white for a man, yellow for a woman, mixed if there is a
patient of each sex. Sometimes it must be ground by a virgin or at some particular
place or time in the ritual cycle. It is invariably used for the hogan blessing,
for sandpainting sprinkling, and as a drier after the bath in all the rites
I have seen, Evil as well as Holy. Often it serves as a substitute for pollen,
since corn meal is plentiful and pollen is scarce. It usually denotes the same
thing, life and success along the road, exemplified by footprints laid in corn
meal.
With Big Fly's help, people overcome by Spider Man heaped corn pollen and white
corn meal on Spider Man until he could no longer move. Big Fly took some of
these substances for future rituals.
The corn-meal drier of the Night Chant bath was said to stand for the patient's
body and blood (Haile 1938b, pp. 180-3; Sapir-Hoijer, p. 251).
Corn smut (da 'a' tca'n, 'corn excrement') was the paint for the black hail
spots of the Shooting Chant figure painting.
Hill describes cooked corn smut as a food. The eater applied some to his feet
with the formula, "We are going to have much rain and large crops, but
hail will not ruin the crops."
Corn smut was a part of the Feather Chant blackening.
Cornsmut Man was one of the Eagle Chant characters; he blackened himself with
corn smut before starting to catch eagles (Hill 1938, p. 46; Newcomb 1940b,
pp. 63, 65).
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
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
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 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
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
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
