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
were placed on the pieces of cloth, not, however, until a bit of pollen
had been sprinkled on the beads which lay on the cloth. The pollen end of
the tube pointed to the east. The four bunches of feathers were then laid
on the tubes. The song-priest rolled up each cloth and holding the four
parcels with both hands he placed them horizontally across the soles of
the feet, knees, palms, breast, back, shoulders, head, and across the
mouth of the invalid, and the invalid drew a breath as the parcel touched
his lips. He sat to the north of the rug facing east. The sick man then
received the parcels from the song-priest and held them so that the ends
projected from between the thumbs and forefingers, and repeated a prayer
after the theurgist, who sat facing the invalid. The prayer ran thus:
People of the mountains and rocks, I hear you wish to be paid. I
give to you food of corn pollen and humming-bird feathers, and I
send to you precious stones and tobacco which you must smoke; it
has been lighted by the sun’s rays and for this I beg you to give
me a good dance; be with me. Earth, I beg you to give me a good
dance, and I offer to you food of humming-birds’ plumes and
precious stones, and tobacco to smoke lighted by the sun’s rays,
to pay for using you for the dance; make a good solid ground for
me, that the gods who come to see the dance may be pleased at the
ground their people dance upon; make my people healthy and strong
of mind and body.
The prayer being offered, the parcels were given by the theurgist to an
attendant, who deposited them in line three feet apart along the side of
the dancing ground in front of the lodge. Their proper place is
immediately on the ground that is to be danced upon, but to prevent them
from being trampled on they are laid to one side. The black tubes are
offerings to the gods and the blue to the goddesses of the mountains and
to the earth.
THIRD DAY.
FIRST CEREMONY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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