Navajo Culture Research Paper
Navajo Culture
Dustin Goins
Anthropology
Instructor Douglas
June 10, 2013
The Navajo, or Dine`, cultures are pastoralists. Pastoralists are those who regularly move in search of naturally occurring grass and water (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Navajo’s are an Indian tribe that reside on reservations and sometimes live on public domains outside of the reservations. These people have lived among us for centuries and have paramount survival skills for the desert area. This pastoralist culture has many fascinating characteristics. The primary aspects of this paper will focus on three of those characteristics, the Navajo’s beliefs and values, kinship, and their social organization.
Pastoralists depend on animals for their survival, …show more content…
spending much of their time and energy caring for them and subsisting on the products derived from them (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Until the early seventeenth century, Spanish chroniclers wrote only vaguely about those living in the mountains or on the plains outside the familiar realm of the Rio Grande Valley; however, even after the Spaniards clearly recognized the Navajos, little information emerged. The Navajo obtained sheep and other livestock from Spanish colonists in the seventeenth century, and were able to incorporate a mobile herding lifestyle into their culture, making use of highlands and lowlands seasonally. Before long, families spread out across the region and upheld the adoption of an ancient pastoral pattern known as transhumance, the seasonal migrations from one ecological zone to another that made herding in this arid land possible (Weisiger, M. 2004). A transhumant community moves to pre-set camps according to the yearly seasons. The Navajo people are rich spiritually, in culture and customs, these Pastoralist people have stood resilient through many hardships to make their way into the 20th century.
The Navajo culture has many beliefs and value. Centuries ago, the Navajo people were taught by the Holy People to live in harmony with Mother Earth and how to conduct their countless activities of everyday life. The Dineh believe there are two classes of beings: the Earth People and the Holy People. The Earth People are ordinary mortals, while the Holy People are spiritual beings that cannot be seen. Holy People are believed to have the power to help or harm Earth People. The Navajos believe that the physical and spiritual world blend together, and everything on Earth such as plant and animals, rocks and soil, wind and rain, is alive and sacred. The Holy People, who live in the four sacred mountains in four directions of the Navajo’s land, has power to affect the lives of humans, guard people, and discipline wrongdoers. The four directions are represented by four colors: White Shell represents the east, Turquoise the south, Yellow Abalone the west, and Jet Black the north. The number four permeates traditional Navajo philosophy. In the Navajo culture there are four directions, four seasons, the first four clans and four colors that are associated with the four sacred mountains. In most Navajo rituals there are four songs and multiples thereof, as well as many other symbolic uses of four (Natani, 2002). The Holy People taught the Navajos how to live the right way and to live in harmony with many other forms. Being a pastoralist culture, this sense of direction and faith would have been imperative to aid in their livelihood.
In conjunction with the Navajos beliefs are their ceremonies. The Holy Ones are attracted by the Navajo songs, prayers, stories and paintings, and visit the people during the ceremonies and in their daily lives. When chaos develops in a Navajo 's life, such as illness; prayers, medicine men (diagnosticians), herbs, music and ceremonies are used to help remedy the problem. Some tribal members favor modern day hospitals on the Navajo Reservation; some seek the support of a traditional Navajo medicine man; while some combine both methods. Navajos trust that a medicine man has supernatural means of healing people.
Navajo tribes of the Southwest are centered on family life, traditions and events that shape their lifestyle.
This resilient value of family is the foundation of the kinship bond between the Navajo. They are a people that love their homeland and are spiritual connected to it. The Navajo Nation is one of the largest tribes in the United States, and the Navajo reservation encompasses over 16 million acres (Davina, R. T. B. 2006). As for kinship, the Navajos are a matrilineal society, where property, status, etc. are inherited through women. The Navajo people have a kinship system that follows the lineage of women (Carey, 2013). Women either bring a clan name with them, or are assigned a clan on acceptance into the tribe. Some come from existing clans of other tribes, while others may be created out of circumstance. The Diné society is based primarily upon kinship arising from clan affiliation, as each person is a member of the tribe by reason of his or her affiliation to one of the numerous clans (Carey, 2013). Each Navajo belongs to four different, unrelated clans. He or she belongs to his or her mother’s clan. He or she is born from his or her father’s clan. He or she has maternal and paternal grandfather’s clans. Traditionally, the people were forbidden to marry into the first two clans; today they are still strongly discouraged from doing so. The Navajo people are always living among relatives. This is an essential element that bonds this pastoral culture. Caring for and raising animals is a fundamental part of the culture. Younger family members learn the pastoral ways from grandparents, mothers and fathers. Even today, many Navajo children raised on the reservation continue to herd sheep and livestock. Although Navajo traditional life remains strong, like many cultures they’ve adapted to modern
society.
The Navajo is one of a handful of matrilineal pastoral societies. Socially among the Navajo, the principal instrument for the preservation of order has always been the model of collective responsibility, which makes all members of a family, or even of a clan, responsible for the moral behavior of any individual member. Maintaining the good name of the family or clan within the community is an imperative consideration for all Navajo.
Politically, there was no system of formal authority among the Navajo except that embodied in kinship relationships. At times, the population was divided into a number of localized bands, and each of these had its recognized leader, although he had no forcible powers. Medicine men may act informally as local community leaders and as arbitrators of disputes. Today, there is a tribal chairman and a vice chairman, a tribal council made up of elected and an executive committee elected by the members of the council. In most parts of the reservation there are also locally elected chapter officers who attend to the political needs of the local community (Pettigrew, 2004).
Navajo society is structured around the nuclear family, the mother 's extended family, and her clan. A loosely organized network of overlapping ties links people throughout the Navajo community and insures that cultural traditions are passed from one generation to the next, this is a society that worked together to raise crops and livestock. The family worked together, but Navajo women were the core of social and economic control. Men and women did different jobs in Navajo society. Navajo men were hunters, warriors and political leaders. Navajo women were farmers, tended livestock and did most of the child rearing and cooking. Even artwork was separated by gender. Men made jewelry and women made clay pots and wove rugs. Today these roles are still recognized, but not as prominent.
The Navajo are a people rich in culture, customs and spiritual awareness. The Navajo roots are pastoralists and took to herding sheep for sustenance and economic growth. This is a matrilineal culture: where property, status and etc. are inherited through women. They practice spiritual rituals in which they restore balance and harmony to a person’s life.
References
Birchfield, D. L. "Navajos." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 2000.
Retrieved May 23, 2013 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3405800112.html Carey, H., Jr. (2013, April 22). Navajo kinship system [Fact sheet]. Retrieved May
23, 2013, from http://navajopeople.org/blog/ke-dine-navajo-kinship-system/
Davina, R. T. B. (2006). Navajo archaeologist is not an oxymoron: A tribal archaeologist 's experience. American Indian Quarterly, 30(3), 381-387,664. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216859764?accountid=32521
Natani, L., & Natani, S. (2002, November). Navajo beliefs. Retrieved
May 23, 2013, from Navajo Cultural History and Legends website: http://www.redshift.com/~bcbelknap/natani/navajovalues.htm Nowak, B., & Laird, P. (2010). Cultural Anthropology. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUANT101.10.2/sections/
Pettigrew, Dawn Karima. (2004, July 1). The Navajo Political Experience. The Free Library.
(2004). Retrieved June 10, 2013 from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The Navajo Political Experience.-a0130283534
Weisiger, M. (2004). The origins of Navajo pastoralism. Journal of the Southwest, 46(2), 253-
282. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/210899331?accountid=32521
Dustin Goins
Anthropology
Instructor Douglas
June 10, 2013
The Navajo, or Dine`, cultures are pastoralists. Pastoralists are those who regularly move in search of naturally occurring grass and water (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Navajo’s are an Indian tribe that reside on reservations and sometimes live on public domains outside of the reservations. These people have lived among us for centuries and have paramount survival skills for the desert area. This pastoralist culture has many fascinating characteristics. The primary aspects of this paper will focus on three of those characteristics, the Navajo’s beliefs and values, kinship, and their social organization.
Pastoralists depend on animals for their survival, …show more content…
spending much of their time and energy caring for them and subsisting on the products derived from them (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Until the early seventeenth century, Spanish chroniclers wrote only vaguely about those living in the mountains or on the plains outside the familiar realm of the Rio Grande Valley; however, even after the Spaniards clearly recognized the Navajos, little information emerged. The Navajo obtained sheep and other livestock from Spanish colonists in the seventeenth century, and were able to incorporate a mobile herding lifestyle into their culture, making use of highlands and lowlands seasonally. Before long, families spread out across the region and upheld the adoption of an ancient pastoral pattern known as transhumance, the seasonal migrations from one ecological zone to another that made herding in this arid land possible (Weisiger, M. 2004). A transhumant community moves to pre-set camps according to the yearly seasons. The Navajo people are rich spiritually, in culture and customs, these Pastoralist people have stood resilient through many hardships to make their way into the 20th century.
The Navajo culture has many beliefs and value. Centuries ago, the Navajo people were taught by the Holy People to live in harmony with Mother Earth and how to conduct their countless activities of everyday life. The Dineh believe there are two classes of beings: the Earth People and the Holy People. The Earth People are ordinary mortals, while the Holy People are spiritual beings that cannot be seen. Holy People are believed to have the power to help or harm Earth People. The Navajos believe that the physical and spiritual world blend together, and everything on Earth such as plant and animals, rocks and soil, wind and rain, is alive and sacred. The Holy People, who live in the four sacred mountains in four directions of the Navajo’s land, has power to affect the lives of humans, guard people, and discipline wrongdoers. The four directions are represented by four colors: White Shell represents the east, Turquoise the south, Yellow Abalone the west, and Jet Black the north. The number four permeates traditional Navajo philosophy. In the Navajo culture there are four directions, four seasons, the first four clans and four colors that are associated with the four sacred mountains. In most Navajo rituals there are four songs and multiples thereof, as well as many other symbolic uses of four (Natani, 2002). The Holy People taught the Navajos how to live the right way and to live in harmony with many other forms. Being a pastoralist culture, this sense of direction and faith would have been imperative to aid in their livelihood.
In conjunction with the Navajos beliefs are their ceremonies. The Holy Ones are attracted by the Navajo songs, prayers, stories and paintings, and visit the people during the ceremonies and in their daily lives. When chaos develops in a Navajo 's life, such as illness; prayers, medicine men (diagnosticians), herbs, music and ceremonies are used to help remedy the problem. Some tribal members favor modern day hospitals on the Navajo Reservation; some seek the support of a traditional Navajo medicine man; while some combine both methods. Navajos trust that a medicine man has supernatural means of healing people.
Navajo tribes of the Southwest are centered on family life, traditions and events that shape their lifestyle.
This resilient value of family is the foundation of the kinship bond between the Navajo. They are a people that love their homeland and are spiritual connected to it. The Navajo Nation is one of the largest tribes in the United States, and the Navajo reservation encompasses over 16 million acres (Davina, R. T. B. 2006). As for kinship, the Navajos are a matrilineal society, where property, status, etc. are inherited through women. The Navajo people have a kinship system that follows the lineage of women (Carey, 2013). Women either bring a clan name with them, or are assigned a clan on acceptance into the tribe. Some come from existing clans of other tribes, while others may be created out of circumstance. The Diné society is based primarily upon kinship arising from clan affiliation, as each person is a member of the tribe by reason of his or her affiliation to one of the numerous clans (Carey, 2013). Each Navajo belongs to four different, unrelated clans. He or she belongs to his or her mother’s clan. He or she is born from his or her father’s clan. He or she has maternal and paternal grandfather’s clans. Traditionally, the people were forbidden to marry into the first two clans; today they are still strongly discouraged from doing so. The Navajo people are always living among relatives. This is an essential element that bonds this pastoral culture. Caring for and raising animals is a fundamental part of the culture. Younger family members learn the pastoral ways from grandparents, mothers and fathers. Even today, many Navajo children raised on the reservation continue to herd sheep and livestock. Although Navajo traditional life remains strong, like many cultures they’ve adapted to modern
society.
The Navajo is one of a handful of matrilineal pastoral societies. Socially among the Navajo, the principal instrument for the preservation of order has always been the model of collective responsibility, which makes all members of a family, or even of a clan, responsible for the moral behavior of any individual member. Maintaining the good name of the family or clan within the community is an imperative consideration for all Navajo.
Politically, there was no system of formal authority among the Navajo except that embodied in kinship relationships. At times, the population was divided into a number of localized bands, and each of these had its recognized leader, although he had no forcible powers. Medicine men may act informally as local community leaders and as arbitrators of disputes. Today, there is a tribal chairman and a vice chairman, a tribal council made up of elected and an executive committee elected by the members of the council. In most parts of the reservation there are also locally elected chapter officers who attend to the political needs of the local community (Pettigrew, 2004).
Navajo society is structured around the nuclear family, the mother 's extended family, and her clan. A loosely organized network of overlapping ties links people throughout the Navajo community and insures that cultural traditions are passed from one generation to the next, this is a society that worked together to raise crops and livestock. The family worked together, but Navajo women were the core of social and economic control. Men and women did different jobs in Navajo society. Navajo men were hunters, warriors and political leaders. Navajo women were farmers, tended livestock and did most of the child rearing and cooking. Even artwork was separated by gender. Men made jewelry and women made clay pots and wove rugs. Today these roles are still recognized, but not as prominent.
The Navajo are a people rich in culture, customs and spiritual awareness. The Navajo roots are pastoralists and took to herding sheep for sustenance and economic growth. This is a matrilineal culture: where property, status and etc. are inherited through women. They practice spiritual rituals in which they restore balance and harmony to a person’s life.
References
Birchfield, D. L. "Navajos." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 2000.
Retrieved May 23, 2013 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3405800112.html Carey, H., Jr. (2013, April 22). Navajo kinship system [Fact sheet]. Retrieved May
23, 2013, from http://navajopeople.org/blog/ke-dine-navajo-kinship-system/
Davina, R. T. B. (2006). Navajo archaeologist is not an oxymoron: A tribal archaeologist 's experience. American Indian Quarterly, 30(3), 381-387,664. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216859764?accountid=32521
Natani, L., & Natani, S. (2002, November). Navajo beliefs. Retrieved
May 23, 2013, from Navajo Cultural History and Legends website: http://www.redshift.com/~bcbelknap/natani/navajovalues.htm Nowak, B., & Laird, P. (2010). Cultural Anthropology. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUANT101.10.2/sections/
Pettigrew, Dawn Karima. (2004, July 1). The Navajo Political Experience. The Free Library.
(2004). Retrieved June 10, 2013 from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The Navajo Political Experience.-a0130283534
Weisiger, M. (2004). The origins of Navajo pastoralism. Journal of the Southwest, 46(2), 253-
282. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/210899331?accountid=32521