Chapter 10: Navajo Religion "The Way of Beauty"

Problem

hocho, or ugliness, chaos, disequilibrium, and all that is bad

Solution

hozho, or harmony, beauty, balance, and all that is good

Techniques

prayers, offerings, and ceremonies meant to restore individuals and the community to health and harmony

Exemplars

Changing Woman and other creation story heroes who turn ugliness into beauty and sickness into health

What is the most important number in Navajo thought?

Four

What is the Navajo Homeland called?

Dine Bikeyah

Where does the term Navajo originate?

Spanish settler-colonists derived it from Tewa-speaking Pueblo people, members of the Navajo Nation

Hocho

the central problem of human life, which refers to disease, disharmony, and ugliness

Hozho

the solution to hocho, by restoring the individual and the community to beauty, harmony, and balance

Who are the Earth Surface People

the Dine

What does Sa’a Naghai Bik’e Hozho translate to?

“In old age, walking his trail beautiful'.”

Hogan

Home where ceremonies occur whenever someone needs protection or healing

Hataalii

medicine person also called a singer

Who is the most beloved Holy Person?

Changing Woman

A creature of chaos who lies and disrupts whatever harmony he might encounter

the Coyote