An Unforgetable Memory. Thus we had come over a large part of the historic
Hopi trail, never designed or planned for a wagon, with our ambulance; and
the memories of the trip, arduous though it was, linger in the mind, side
by side with experiences of the Snake Dance, and other unforgettable and
delightful remembrances.
CHAPTER XXI. The Navaho And His Desert Home
The Navaho Reservation. To see the Navaho in the Hopi House making
silverware, or watch his wife weaving blankets, is one thing. To see him on
his native heath in the heart of the Painted Desert - is another. With the
conveniences of travel now made possible by the excellent equipments of the
El Tovar transportation department, any visitor who is not afraid of a
strenuous trip may now visit these people with the minimum of discomfort.
Indeed, the Navahos and Hopis may be seen together, on the one excursion
described in an earlier chapter. The Navahos are the warlike nomads of the
desert. They occupy an extensive reservation in northern Arizona and New
Mexico, that adjoins the Hopi reservation on the north and east. They now
number some twenty thousand souls, and are slowly on the increase. They are
proud, independent, and desirous of being left alone by the United States
Government.
Punishment for Depredations. In the early days, before they had learned the
power of the new people who had flocked into the land, they committed many
depredations upon Americans, and when remonstrated with were insolent and
defiant. So an expedition was sent against them, and large numbers - the
major portion of the tribe were arrested and moved near Fort Bayard - the
Bosque Redondo - in New Mexico, on the Pecos River. Here the conditions were
so adverse that many scores of them died, and when, finally, they were
allowed to return, it was an humbled people that wended its way back to the
high mesa lands they had for so many centuries called their own.
Navaho Customs. Linguistically, the Navaho is akin to the Apache and the
Tinneh of Alaska; indeed, he calls himself Tinne. In winter he lives in a
rude shelter of logs and mud called a hogan. In summer this is changed for
a simple brush stack, which affords shade from the sun, and yet allows free
course of the cooling air. He is a polygamist, and lives with his one or
more wives, as he can afford. His chief industries are cattle, horse and
sheep-raising. The latter supply his wife (or wives) with the wool needed
for blanket-weaving, which is her chief industry.
Navaho Superstition. The Navaho is superstitious about several things: If
any one dies in the hogan it is henceforth "tabu." The body is burned and
the building with it, and whatever fragments of poles, etc., withstand the
fire are regarded with distrust.
Dislikes and Fears. Another tabu of the Navaho is his fear of seeing his
mother-in-law. Whenever she comes in sight, he disappears. Technically he
never sees her, and I have often had great fun in trying to bring them
together. Fish is another object placed under the Navaho ban. He will
neither eat, see, nor smell fish, if he can help it.
Essentially Religious. He is an essentially religious being, and has a
large number of ritualistic ceremonies. He has many dances for various
purposes, the most exciting of which is locally known as the HoshKon. It is
a healing ceremony. Dr. Matthews calls it the Mountain Chant. It requires
many days for its complete performance, and one of its final ceremonies
consists of a wild fire dance which is thrilling in the extreme.
Superior Horsemanship. But perhaps it is in his every-day horsemanship that
the Navaho shows himself the superior man. Oftentimes he introduces feats
of skill on a horse into his ceremonies. A few years ago at Tuba City, I
saw a large band of Navahos unite with the Hopis in their dances and
ceremonies of harvest thanksgiving. The Hopi director of the dances was
Mootchka, whose costume was as astoundingly frightful as he could possibly
make it. His naked body was smeared over with whitewash, some of which
adhered and some of which did not. On his head was a mass of rudely woven
black wool, crowned with the duplex pads of some wild flower. Around the
waist was a similar black wool mat, fastened on with a Navaho belt of
silver disks. When all was ready the dancers began. The trader's store-yard
was the plaza, and the roofs of all the buildings on the three sides of the
square were covered with Navaho spectators. Hour after hour they continued.
Some of the dancers were decorated, others were in ordinary costume, but
all danced and sang with fervor.
Dancing. The chief instrument was a large drum, made by hollowing out a
section of a tree trunk, and covering the ends with rawhide, which were
tightly laced on with strips of the same material. The dull monotonous
thump of the drum kept time, while dancers sang and rattled. Their songs
are invocations to "Those Above" to continue their good gifts, and at the
same time accept thanks for all that had been given. One dance was
particularly beautiful. It was supposed to represent the movements of the
planets in and out of the fixed stars. Two little girls, brightly and
beautifully dressed, waving feather plumes in their hands, threaded their
way in and out of the lines of the dancers, themselves moving with an easy
graceful swing.
Origin of Dances. To seek to penetrate the origin of these dances is to
find ourselves in the darkness of antiquity.
