Chapter 11 - Navajo

Diné ("The People")

the Navajo people

Holy People (Diyin Dine'é)

superbeings who are the subjects of Navajo stories and the recipients of Navajo prayers and ceremonies

Diné Bikéyah

Navajo homeland, also known as Navajoland, set amid the four sacred mountains, as distinct from the legal boundaries of the Navajo reservation

inner form

wind-animated life force inside the outer form of a living thing; ceremonies are addressed to the inner forms of Holy People, whose outer forms are no longer in this world

medicine bundle (jish)

pouch containing powerful objects (stones, herbs, feathers, animal parts) wrapped up and used by a medicine person

ceremony

central religious activity of the Navajos, intended to restore harmony and balance

hocho

ugliness, disharmony, chaos; characteristic of the lower worlds of death

Earth Surface People

human beings, so named because they were created and live on the surface of the earth

hózhó

beauty and harmony, characteristic of the upper world at its best; the central value in Navajo life

Sa'a Nághaí Bik'e Hózhó (SNBH)

Navajo goal of life, often expressed in stories, songs, prayers, and everyday conversations; translations include "walking in beauty"

hogan ("place home")

domestic and religious structure that opens to the east and is used for ceremonies

singer (hataalii)

medicine person, also known as a chanter, who conducts ceremonies to restore individual health and community harmony

Changing Woman

epitome of goodness who brought the Diné into being and embodies the cycle from birth to puberty to maturity to happy old age

First Man and First Woman

first male/female pair, they planned, modeled, and brought into being the Earth Surface World after emerging from the lower worlds

corn

staple; food of the Holy People; crucial element (as pollen or cornmeal) in ceremonies; symbol of fertility; and repository of the powers of creation

Father Sky and Mother Earth

embodiments of masculine and feminine energy and of the gender complementarity that makes beauty and harmony possible

Coyote

key figure in Diné stories; dangerously entertaining wanderer known for stirring up chaos through his lies, lust, greed, gluttony, and impatience

Holy Wind (Nilchi)

animating life force and a source of movement for all living things, associated with breath, speech, thought, and action

Peyotism

pan-tribal religious tradition that uses the mildly hallucinogenic cactus peyote in its meetings

Native American Church

pan-tribal Peyotist organization established in 1918 and now called the Native American Church of North America

one-sung-over

patient in a Navajo ceremony

diagnostician

ceremonial practitioner who diagnoses the illness of a particular individual and recommends an appropriate course of healing (often a ceremony)

Blessingway (hozhooji)

most popular and important Navajo ceremony; preventive ritual that aims at health, good fortune, and long life

sand painting

Diné ceremonial tool made of sand and ground minerals that serves as a portal for Holy People to enter and exit a ceremony