The spindle consists of a round stick, pointed at both ends, about twenty-five to thirty inches long. The spindle fits into the center hole of the whorl which is a flat disk, four or five inches in diameter. The whorl acts as a balance and is securely fastened to the stick about five inches from the butt end. The skill of spinning lies in the steady motion of the spindle as the spinner twirls it with her right hand, while at the same time she exerts the right amount of pull to stretch the strands. As a given length of roving is twisted and stretched into yarn, the spinner winds it onto the spindle just above the whorl, where it is stored until there is a sufficient amount to wind off into a ball. Each successive spinning makes the yarn finer and stronger. All Navajo yarn is spun at least twice until it is smooth and fine.

Hairdressing

Hairdressing was a frequent activity and generally done by women for both sexes. In the traditional hairstyle, the hair is brushed back, folded up, and tied in the middle with a variety of hair ties. Here a skein of yarn or a chongo is used which can sometimes be decorated with a bead of turquoise or shell. Drawing upon this image 30 years later, artist Bettina Steinke painted Tying the Chongo, a 22×26 inch oil, for the 1985 National Academy of Western Artists exhibition.

The loom consists of two parts: the weaving frame and the stationary upright poles and cross beams that hold the frame during use. Several sized combs and battens are the only tools required. Made of a hard wood into which three-inch tines are cut and a handle carved, the comb is used to beat down the weft as it is passed through the shed. The batten, a curved piece of hardwood about thirty inches long and three inches wide, is inserted into the shed and then turned edgewise to make the opening wide enough for the weft to be passed through.

This windowless, polygonal cribbed log hogan, constructed by vertically stacking parallel logs, is energy efficient in winter, cool in summer, and offers a retreat from strong winds. Round, or nearly round, the hogan faces East to the rising sun.

The Navajos believe that the use of a cradleboard promotes strong and straight backs in their children as well as calm and poised personalities due to the security of being bound. Cradleboards can be transported by carrying, worn on the back, or placed in front of the rider of a horse.

Prayer sung when a baby is placed on the cradleboard:

I make a baby-board for you, my son.
May you grow to a great old age.
Of the rays of the earth I make the back,
The blanket, I make of the black clouds,
The bow, I make of the rainbow,
The side-loops, I make of the sun beams,
The foot board, I make of the sun-dogs,
The covering, I make of the dawn,
The bed, I make of the black fog.

Navajo man sporting an ornamented belt with several conchas (oval silver disks) and a buckle with a turquoise inclusion. Silverwork, a relatively new craft among the Navajo, differs from weaving in that it usually is not a family-taught craft.

The Navajo treat their children, even the little ones, as little people. Children learn to make their own decisions early. Usually around the age of five, children begin sharing in the tasks of caring for the sheep and are given lambs to begin their flocks.

Elderly Navajo man wearing straw hat, velveteen shirt, concha belt and denim jeans. Obtaining silver ornaments as loot, the Navajo derived the concha from their traditional enemies the Ute, Kiowa, and Comanche. These Southern Plains tribes wore round and oval plaques of German silver as hair decorations and as ornaments strung around their waists.

The closest and strongest of all relationships in the Navajo social system is the mother-child bond. Motherhood in Navajo culture is defined in terms of the reproduction and the sustenance of life, and it is expressed in affection, care, kindness, and sharing.

Navajo woman wearing a long, fluted skirt and a velveteen blouse reflecting the Spanish influence. Adorning her blouse are Winged Liberty Head dimes also known as Mercury dimes. Minted between 1916 and 1945, each dime weighs 2.5 grams and is 90% silver and 10% copper. Its designer, Adolph A. Weinman, intended the wings surrounding her cap to symbolize liberty of thought.

 “I am sitting outside my hogan.

I am thinking,
Looking at the red rocks,
the ridges, the sheep,
the plants,
and all in my world.
I am thinking
What it will be like here
In the Future.”

Thomas Littleben, Rock Point Community School, Rock Point, Arizona

The Navajos call themselves Dineh, “the People.” Related to the Athabaskan tribes that live along the northwest Pacific coast and in Canada, the Dineh traveled eastward from the Pacific coast reaching what is now Farmington, New Mexico. Dinetah, a term referring to the Navajo territory of canyons and mesas, means “among the people” or “Navajo homeland.”

Navajo diet changed greatly since their contact with whites. Coffee or tea became an indispensable part of every meal. Bread and meat (usually mutton or goat) are the staples of the Navajo diet.

Philosophically, the primary goal of Navajo ceremonialism is to restore universal harmony once it has been disturbed. Practically, however, ceremonialism serves three purposes: first, to restore and maintain health; second, to obtain increase of wealth, the well-being of home, flocks, and fields, and security for the residence group; and third, to acquire ceremonial property such as a token to be worn as protection from lightning and snakes.

Sheep and wool have become a major resource for the Navajos since they first acquired sheep and horses from the Spaniards in the seventeenth century. Residence groups, consisting of a number of households and organized around a sheep herd, place their sheep in a common and share caring tasks. A cooperative enterprise, the sheep herd is closely linked to the identity, welfare, and status of the resident group.

This co-educational group plays a game perhaps similar to the stick dice game. Usually played by women only, this game uses three dice that are tossed on a flat rock in the center of a circle formed by pebbles. The Pomo Indians of California stick dice game includes 6 stick dies and 12 counting sticks. One side of each of the 6 sticks is decorated with the same design. Players take turns tossing the stick dice and keep score using the counting sticks. Different combinations will score different point values. Examples are: 6 blank side up sticks and 0 painted side up sticks, score 2 points; 3 blanks and 3 painted sides, score 1 point. The first player to earn all 12 counting sticks is the winner.

The social and economic residence group is the fundamental unit of Navajo social organization. It is organized around a head mother, a sheep herd, and a customary land-use area, all of which are called mother. Navajo communities are organized around a head mother. From her all residence rights are derived. The husband of the head mother resides in the unit on the basis of his marriage; the spouses of the children reside in the unit by virtue of their marriages.