Navajo Pottery by Lester Denetsosie (#01)
Navajo Pottery
Pitch Pot
8" tall x 7 1/4" wide
$175.00
Pitchpot
In addition
to the basket just described, the water bottle and carrying basket are the only
other objects of wickerwork made by the Navaho. Tqoshje is probably a contraction
of tqo, water, and yishje, it is closed with gum, from the fact that the wicker
bottle or jar is covered with a layer of gum or pitch. These bottles are made
of, or sewed with sumac, willow, or other pliable twigs, in the shape of a large
vase with a rounded bottom, a globular body, and a long, narrow neck with a flaring
rim. A small loop of plaited horsehair is woven into the jar at either side. An
awl is the only instrument used, and no particular care is taken to weave very
closely, as the jar is rendered water-tight by a covering of pine of pinon gum
over the whole inner and outer surface. The gum is heated and poured into the
jar, and by inclining and turning is brought in contact with the whole inner surface,
after which the surplus pitch is poured off. A heated pebble is then thrown inside
and vigorously shaken, which is said to remove any hardened lumps, and gives the
interior a smooth surface. The exterior, too, is now covered with gum, which in
addition is daubed with red clay to obtain a reddish hue. Any unevenness is then
removed from the surface by pressing a heated pebble over it. These jars have
no lid, but a bunch of grass or sage bark is stuffed into the neck of the jar
to prevent the water from splashing out. A cord or rope attached to the loops
on the sides of the jar is slipped over the shoulders, or across the forehead,
with the jar resting on the small of the cask, so that it can be conveniently
carried in this manner for a considerable distance. Their capacity is from one
to two gallons, though the larger sizes have a greater capacity. They are not
plentiful, and are being displaced more and more by the modern pail and bucket.
Pgs. 297-298
In earlier days a waterbag was also used. This consisted
of a piece of buckskin stretched over a hoop to form a bottom, with the ends
of the buckskin brought upward and secured to a very small hoop for an orifice.
It was called tqo azis, waterbag, or tqo abid, water paunch, as later the paunch
of a cow or sheep was employed instead of buckskin. The modern bottle is tqozis.
Pg. 298
An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language; 1910,
The Franciscan Fathers.
