Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo Indians — John Shaqi
Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo IndiansStevenson, James
Religion
Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo Indians
Stevenson, James
Navajo Indians -- Rites and ceremonies
The attendant who colored the reeds sat facing west; and as each reed was
colored it was placed on the rug, the yucca end being laid on a slender
stick which ran horizontally. The first reed painted was laid to the
north. Three dots were put upon each blue reed to represent eyes and
mouth; two lines encircled the black reeds. Four bits of soiled cotton
cloth were deposited in line on the east of the rug. The three attendants
under the direction of the song-priest took from the medicine bag, first
two feathers from the Arctic blue bird (_Sialia arctica_), which he placed
west of the bit of cloth that lay at the north end of the rug; he placed
two more of the same feathers below the second piece of cloth; two under
the third, and two below the fourth, their tips pointing east. Then upon
each of these feathers he placed an under tail-feather of the eagle. The
first one was laid on the two feathers at the north end of the rug; again
an under tail-feather of the turkey was placed on each pile, beginning
with that of the north. Then upon each of these was placed a hair from the
beard of the turkey, and to each was added a thread of cotton yarn. During
the arrangement of the feathers the tube decorator first selected four
bits of black archaic beads, placing a piece on each bit of cloth; then
four tiny pieces of white shell beads were laid on the cloths; next four
pieces of abalone shell and four pieces of turquois.
In placing the beads he also began at the north end of the rug. An aged
attendant, under the direction of the song-priest, plucked downy feathers
from several humming-birds and mixed them together into four little balls
one-fourth of an inch in diameter and placed them in line running north
and south, and south of the line of plume piles. He sprinkled a bit of
corn pollen upon each ball; he then placed what the Navajo term a
night-owl feather under the balls with its tip pointing to the northeast.
(See Pl. CXIII). The young man facing west then filled the colored reeds,
beginning with the one on the north end. He put into the hollow reed,
first, one of the feather balls, forcing it into the reed with the quill
end of the night-owl feather. (A night-owl feather is always used for
filling the reeds after the corn is ripe to insure a warm winter; in the
spring a plume from the chaparral cock, _Geococcyx californianus_, is used
instead to bring rain). Then a bit of native tobacco was put in. When the
reed was thus far completed it was passed to the decorator, who had before
him a tiny earthen bowl of water, a crystal, and a small pouch of corn
pollen. Holding the crystal in the sunbeam which penetrated through the
fire opening in the roof, he thus lighted the cigarettes which were to be
offered to the gods. The forefinger was dipped into the bowl of water and
then into the corn pollen, and the pollen that adhered to the finger was
placed to the top of the tube. After the four tubes were finished they
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