Cultural Research Paper

In the 1600’s after sheep and horses were introduced, the Navajos were strained to change their way of finding food for themselves. They went from being foragers and partial horticulturalists to becoming pastoralists; they were always on the go looking for naturally occurring water and grass. They started to herd sheep for sustenance as well as economic support. After the addition of sheep, Navajo became predatory, raiding Spanish holdings and slowly moving south and west in search of more and better pasturage.

Long before the theory of the ‘land bridge from Asia to North America across the Bering Strait’, Navajo elders told their own story about their own origin. The Navajo (DINE’) creation is the story of their origin through a series of emergences through a series of different colored worlds. Accounts vary as to the exact number and colors of the worlds, for example, black, then blue, then yellow, then glittering, all of which lead up to their final emergence in the present world. The Navajo Nation encompasses portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, covering over 25,000 square miles of land.

Through my readings I’ve realized that the Navajo people are rich spiritually, in culture, as well as customs, and they have stood strong through many hardships to make their way into the 20th century. They are currently the largest Indian tribe in the United States. Three distinct climates are to be found within the Navajo Reservation: the cold humid climate of the heights; the steppe climate of the mesas and the high plains; and the comparatively warm desert, including the lower portions of the Chaco and Chinle Valleys and all of the southern, western, and northwestern parts of the Reservation.

Eight percent of the area is classed as humid; 37 per cent as steppe; and 55 percent as desert. “…Pastoralists feed their animals on naturally occurring pastures. By definition pastoralist are those who regularly move in search of naturally occurring grass and water. This type of movement, following the seasonal grasses and availability of water, is called nomadism. ” (Salzman, 2002, Cultural Anthropology). Pastoralists rely on their animals to fulfill most of their needs, using milk, blood, and meat for food, and sheep skin for clothing and tents.

Pastoralism is found in many variations throughout the world. Composition of herds, management practices, social organization and all other aspects of pastoralism vary between areas and between social groups. The Navajo Indians are one of a handful of matrilineal pastoral societies and the central symbol of their social organization is motherhood. In my reading I found that the way the Navajo man cared for his sheep was looked at very greatly. For his community’s impression of him was basically if he took good care of his sheep he would also do the same for his community.

This is also said to be among the Navajo informal position of leadership, this was not a position of major authority, and they had no authority over people. Gender relations in the Navajo are sometimes separated gender and sex. The men are not superior to females as in some cultures. Females do their share of hard labor just like the men; the women are also likely to own sheep. The men and women both do a large variety of jobs such as herding, shearing, and butchering sheep, but with the women the only difference is that they are weavers of wool which affords them a high status than that of the men.

All domestic items in the house, as well as the house belong to the wife. The things belonging to the husband are: A few blankets, his saddle, horse trappings, his weapons, ornaments, and other small articles. The Navajo women held an extremely high status, a position lost with stock reproduction. Their status was later regained with education and work wage. The Navajo women basically stood up to the plate by taking care of children and land, and also preserving cultures and tradition.

In the history of Navajo women refutes the dogma adhered to many Anthropologist that in most human societies men have the higher role in a house hold than a woman. The Navajo men also held a status in the household, but it was not as high as the female role. The men hunted and gathered food as well as other things to up keep their family. The Navajo had many unusual beliefs and values, some of which I will get into in this cultural research paper. One belief that the Navajo had is that each song they sang was a prayer to the holy people or supernatural beings who take care of them.

Another one of their beliefs is that the first man (Astse Hastin) was created in the eastern rim between a blue and white mountain, and the first woman (Astse Estsan) was created in the western rim between a yellow and black mountains, these mountains are the 4 major mountains of the Navajo. The Navajo life is particularly rich in ceremony and ritual, second only to some of the Pueblo groups. There are also many less important ceremonies occupying four days, two days, and one day in their performance.

In these ceremonies many dry-paintings, or “sand altars,” are made, depicting the characters and incidents of myths. Almost every act of their life—the building of the hogan, the planting of crops, etc. —is ceremonial in nature, each being attended with songs and prayers. They believed in a very spiritual legend about how lady bugs got their spot (A long time ago there were only ladybugs living in the woods. The ladybugs liked to crawl up trees and sit on flowers. The ladybugs were little and red. The wind started to blow, and the sky started to turn black. There suddenly was a very dark cloud.

Black rain started to fall from it. The ladybugs were all very quiet because they were scared. One ladybug said, “Hey lets go inside,” and another ladybug said, “No, don’t go inside let’s see what happens. ” So they did not go inside. The rain stained the ladybug’s backs. The ladybugs were all very excited. And that is how ladybugs got their spots). They believed in the changing woman, (she is very similar to the virgin Mary) one day she went into the desert to build a home and as she rested a ray of light shined onto her causing her to become pregnant with her son “dzan naadleeshe’”.

The Navajo’s believe that all living things, people, plants, animals, are their relatives. It’s been said that their very cautious of death and will avoid human remains and rarely talked about death. Lastly the Navajo worship the winds, sun, and watercourses. The Navajo were a unusual culture, they highly valued the Supernatural beings who protect their families, homes, crops or herds, and the legends that their culture believe. The Navajo are people very geared toward family life and events that surround their lifestyle.

Many games and traditions have emerged from their love of the land and their attachment to it. The Navajo Believed the source of many sicknesses was the disharmony of the universe. Sicknesses aren’t known by its symptoms, they are known by lightening, water, or wind. Sickness the Navajo may have include: Ghost Sickness ( A psychotic disorder believed to be associated with the dead or dying),and Corpse Sickness ( The Navajo believe that corpse sickness is a form of witchery poisoning done to those who have done wrong) .

The Navajo’s way of healing sicknesses and the variety of sicknesses in their culture is a bit different from the way it is done in our society. One Remedy that the Navajo have is that songs are sung in ceremonies to cure the sick or to protect their families, homes, crops or herds. Another remedy is when a tribe member or medicine man/woman even the person who may be ill gathers plants to make tea, once the tea is made it is given to the sick or injured person along with a prayer.

Another ritual for healing sicknesses is the Navajo’s great nine-day ceremony known for healing the mentally, physically, and emotionally ill. Some of the native plants used to make herbal remedies includes: Sagebrush, Wild Buckwheat, Cedar Bark, and Indian paintbrush, just to name a few. There are many remedial herbs known to the Navajo Indian Culture. The Navajo Indians are a very unique culture. From their Beliefs, values, work methods, legends, sicknesses, and remedies they keep ever thing unique and traditional. Many find it difficult using cultural relativism to understand the ways of the Navajo.

The Navajo people are extremely spiritual, traditional, honorable, and loyal. They highly value the needs of the people, their animals, and the spiritual beings. They have many obscure ways in their culture but that is what truly makes them the people they are, that is why I choose to write these wondrous human beings.