Navajo 2 Yei Pictorial Rug - Shirley Comb (#01)
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Yeibichai
39" x 44"
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A yei’i is a Navajo holy person. As early as the mid-1800’s, Navajo
weavers were placing pictorial elements into their weavings. Yei’i
figures first appeared in Navajo weavings before the turn of the
twentieth century. Considered highly controversial because of their
sacred imagery, Navajo weavers nonetheless persisted in incorporating
these religious figures into their rugs.
Four areas of influence
contributed to the development of Navajo yei and yeibichai weavings.
In the early 1900’s, Yanapah, a Navajo weaver married to trader Richard
Simpson and living near Farmington, New Mexico, started weaving large
single and double figure vertical yei rugs.
Another area of
influence in northwest New Mexico came from the Newcomb Trading Post’s
partnership with a prominent medicine man named Hastiin Klah who was
responsible for the creation of rugs depicting Navajo sandpainting
designs. Highly controversial because of their sacred depictions,
Klah’s weavings nonetheless had a tremendous influence on weavers of
that area and eventually weavers in northwest New Mexico started
weaving sacred figures and other design elements into their own Navajo
rug creations.
In
the early 1920’s, traders in the Lukachukai, Arizona and Shiprock, New
Mexico area were encouraging weavers to create multiple figure yei
weavings. These early Navajo yei weavings typically had a white or
other light-colored background and used a plethora of aniline-dyed
yarns for the creation of the yei figures.
Today, this popular
style of weaving graces many a fine collection of Navajo rugs. The
difference between a yei and yeibichai weaving depends on the depiction
of the holy Navajo beings. Yei weavings tend to have static, front
facing figures, depicted either singly or more frequently with multiple
figures in a horizontal row often surrounded on three sides by a single
rainbow yei.
Yeibichai weavings depict the actual ceremonial dance
performed in the winter months. An elaborate nine day ceremony, it
features male and female yei’i, Talking God, the water sprinkler,
fringe mouth yei’i, medicine men and patients. All or some of the
above mentioned deities and people will appear in a yeibichai weaving,
typically in a more animated form to portray the dancing of the yei
during the ceremony.
About the artist:
See all items by Shirley CombRelated categories:
Navajo Contemporary Rugs See all items in this categoryNavajo Yei Rugs See all items in this category
Related legends:
Yeis
Every creature,
every aspect of nature has its holy people . . . . even the stinkbug. Sometimes
you can see them, if only for an instant. They are represented, some of them,
by colors: the blue sky, the evening dusk, the night these are holy people and
one prays to them. There are iron people, crystal people, then the other rocks
" and such people." There are dawn people, twilight people, air, thunder,
and cloud people. One does not talk about such things in nature when they and
their holy people are present. More about this legend
Weaving
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? More about this legend
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