The Indians of the Painted Desert Region: Hopis, Navahoes, Wallapais, HavasupaisJames, George Wharton
Religion
The Indians of the Painted Desert Region: Hopis, Navahoes, Wallapais, Havasupais
James, George Wharton
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New
The taboo is in existence in all its force among the Navahoes. The
most singular of these is that which forbids a man ever to look upon
the face of his mother-in-law. Among civilized people it is a standard
subject for rude jesting, this relationship of the mother-in-law,
but with the Navahoes, the white man's jest is a subject of great
earnestness. Each believes that serious consequences will follow if
they see each other; hence, as it is the custom for a man to live with
his wife's people, constant dodging is required, and the cries of
warning, given by one or another of the family to son or mother-in-law,
are often heard. I was once photographing the family of Manuelito, the
last great war-chief of the Navahoes. The widow of the chief, her two
daughters, their husbands and children, made up the group. But there
was no getting of them together. I would photograph the mother with her
daughters and grandchildren, but as soon as I called for the daughters'
husbands, the mother "slid" out of sight, and when I wished for her
return, the men disappeared.
Then, too, a Navaho will never touch fish, much less eat it. According
to one of the shamans, the reason for this is, that some of their
ancestors were once turned into fish in the San Juan River, and, were
they to eat fish, they might thus become cannibals, and eat descendants
of their own ancestors. As neither Matthews nor Stephen refers to this
cause of the taboo, I merely give it for what it may be worth. The
former tells of a white woman, who, in a spirit of mischief, threw a
pan of water in which fish had been soaked over a young Navaho. He
changed his clothes and bathed himself carefully, in order that no
taint of the tabooed fish might remain upon him. I have had a great
deal of fun by innocently offering candy in the form of fish to
Navahoes. As they are fond of candy, it was a strong proof of the power
of the taboo that they invariably refused to touch it.
Superstition naturally forms a large part of the Navaho's thought. He
believes in charms, amulets, fetishes, witchcraft, taboos, magic, and
all the wondrous things he can conceive. His name for a personal fetish
is _Bizha_, "his treasure, something he especially values; hence his
charm, his amulet, his personal fetish, his magic weapon, something
that one carries to mysteriously protect himself."
The talisman or amulet for the gambler is a piece of fine turquoise,
because Noholipi, a gambling god, who appears in their Origin Legend,
was made successful always with a large piece of this precious stone.
There are quite a number of medicine-men, or shamans, among the
Navahoes, some good, others bad. It has been my privilege to know
several who are men of dignity and character.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account