Legends in Sand: The Evolution of the Modern
Navajo Sandpainting
An article by Lee Anderson
This brief article examines the Navajo sandpainting as both a
religious item and an art item. We’ll present a brief history
and discuss the sandpaintings as art forms that are used and made
today. Lastly, we’ll at how this art form has evolved. Note
that this brief article only touches the surface; for more information,
consult the references
listed at the end.
Introduction
There are two forms of Navajo sandpaintings. The first is used
in the traditional healing or blessing ceremony conducted by a Singer
or Medicine Man, a hataalii. This is referred to by the
Navajo as an iikaah, “a place where the gods come
and go.” The sandpainting is the crucial element in this 2-
to-9-day ceremony, which is designed to restore balance (hozho),
thus restoring lost health or insuring “good things.”
The Singer uses crushed stone, crushed flowers, gypsum, pollen,
etc. The sandpainting is completed in one day and destroyed later
that night. This type of sandpainting is rarely viewed in an actual
healing ceremony by non-Navajos. However, several noted Singers
have demonstrated their skills at state fairs and powwows, although
they leave the paintings incomplete, unlike the pure and sacred
ones used in actual ceremonies. The demonstration is designed only
to “show how it’s done.”
The second form is sandpainting as an art, created on a piece
of particle board or plywood. In this form, elements of the sacred
ceremonies, some very nearly complete, are presented as a unique
and permanent art form. Finely crushed stone — some natural,
some permanently dyed — is applied to the glue base. The overall
design is intended to be an art presentation that uses the sacred
Navajo symbols in the manner that would not be considered disrespectful.
Artists hope that the beauty of this work, coupled with the traditional
Navajo beliefs, will please the public and will provide a meaningful
income. James C. Joe learned sandpainting from his father (Eugene
Baatsoslanii) and later became a noted Medicine Man; he is the first
to have practiced both professions. The Navajo accept this art form
as quite legitimate.
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The Origin of Navajo Sandpainting
Navajo legends tell us of the people before man. The Holy People
are First Man, Changing Woman, Spider Woman, Monster Slayer, Born
of/for Water, the Snake People, the Corn People, etc. These Holy
People maintained permanent paintings of sacred designs on spider
webs, sheets of sky, clouds, and some fabrics, including buckskin.
When the First People, the Dineh, created by Changing Woman,
were guided by First Man into the present world, they were given
the right to reproduce these sacred paintings to summon the assistance
of the Holy People. But ownership of them could lead to evil because,
as the Holy People told them, “Men are not as good as we;
they might quarrel over the picture and tear it and that would bring
misfortune; rain would not fall; corn would not grow.” Therefore,
it was decreed that they must accomplish the paintings with sand
and upon the earth. Furthermore, it must be destroyed at night.
Most ethnologists and other researchers believed that the Navajo
learned the art of sacred painting from the Pueblo Indians. These
people’s ancestors were the prehistoric Anasazi, Mogollon,
and Mimbres. Studies of prehistoric paintings on cave and kiva walls
show that many were painted or plastered over and then reused with
different art. It is well known that early sandpainting used a variety
of materials — colored sands, crushed rock, charcoal, crushed
flowers, gypsum, ochre, pollen, and cornmeal. These sands or “dry”
paintings were used in the Pueblo’s rituals in prehistoric
times. Also, both the early Pueblo Indians and the Navajo used depictions
of men impersonating the gods. Several common motifs and early identifiable
deities appear in both. They include the Humpback or “Camel”
God with his back full of seeds, the two children of Changing Woman
(Monster Slayer and Born of Water), Red Cloud, Talking God, and
others.
The Great Pueblo Revolt occurred in 1680, when the Spanish and
all of their religious entourage were expelled from all the Southwestern
pueblos. Several years later, the Spanish regrouped in El Paso (El
Paso del Norte) and returned to the pueblos to reestablish their
political and religious hegemony. Many Pueblo Indians feared reprisals
and left to live as nomads with the Navajo. There was much intermarriage
and likely an incorporation of the Pueblo’s dry painting into
the Navajo rituals. We know the weaving techniques — so wonderfully
perfected by the Navajos — had Pueblo origins. So, too, might
some of the religious practices.
Regardless of the sandpainting’s origin, one fact is clear:
It is transitory, a specific rendering of a religious art form that
is destroyed upon completion. Therefore, there is no pictorial evidence
of what sandpaintings looked like one hundred years ago and earlier.
Our only clues lie within the records of kiva walls, cave walls,
and mural fragments from several hundred years ago. We also have
the words of earlier scholars and researchers who wrote about what
they learned from talking to medicine men of their time. Fortunately,
a few drawings and reproductions do exist of the religious work
in the late 1800s and very early 1900s. The legendary Medicine Man
and weaver Hosteen Klah (1867–1937) was, among many other
things, instrumental in capturing, for history, a significant period
of this legendary art. He and his family wove the designs into Navajo
rugs. These rugs and his drawings are centerpieces of the Museum
of Navajo Ceremonial Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They are our best
links to the early religious designs that later became such an inspired
art form.
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The Role of the Sandpainting
Navajo religion holds that everything consists of powerful forces,
which are capable of good or evil. The balance between them is quite
fine; if upset, even accidentally, some misfortune or even disaster
will occur. Nature is balanced. It is in harmony, and only man can
upset the balance. Of the many, many Navajo deities, only one, Changing
Woman is constantly striving to enhance the good forces for the
people. It was she who gave birth to the twins, Monster Slayer and
Born of Water. These two heroes or war gods left evidence of their
exploits that exist even today. The great lava flow near Grants,
New Mexico, is the dried blood of a slain monster. Likewise, the
formation southwest of Shiprock is the remains of a giant man-eating
eagle. They and their mother succeeded in ridding Dinetah,
the Navajo world, of all evil except old age, poverty, sickness,
and death.
There is no supreme being in the Navajo religion. Among the most
powerful are Changing Woman, the Twin War Gods (heroes), Sun (the
husband of Changing Woman), Holy Man, Holy Woman, Holy Boy, Holy
Girl. Also powerful, and appearing in sandpaintings, are the Earth,
Moon, Thunder, Wind, and others. Yeis (generally lesser deities),
both male and female respectively, along with animals, plants, and
various forces in nature, are very important in the Navajo religion.
They appear in many sandpaintings.
All of these deities are constantly in flux, causing good and
evil. The goal is for these forces to be in balance, or hozho,
a perfect state. This term can represent an amalgam or the concepts
of blessed, holy, beautiful, balanced, without pain, etc.
Hozho is the desired balance but it is difficult to maintain
because everything (person, plant, animal, stone, star, cloud, strike
of lightning) has its Holy People. Anyone who angers any of these
forces — an easy thing to do — creates disharmony and
risks any one of several physical or mortal ills. In addition, many
witches seek to harm individuals through their own ceremonies, which
also use sandpaintings.
The everyday existence of the Navajo is filled with pitfalls that
could easily anger a Holy Person and result in a loss of hozho.
For example, killing a bear can cause arthritis, laughing at one
can cause it to “get after you,” mountain sheep can
cause ear and eye problems, killing a sand spider can cause baldness,
watching a dog “go to the bathroom” can cause you to
go crazy, killing snakes or lizards can cause your heart to dry
up and your back to get crooked, yelling at a pregnant woman can
cause the baby to be deaf, and so on; there are thousands of taboos
and cures.
To cure the attendant illness caused by the imbaance, you first
need a diagnosis by a hand trembler, a ndilniihii. Through
prayer, concentration, and the use of sacred pollen, the practitioner’s
hand will tremble and an analysis of these movements will pinpoint
the cause of illness. This also identifies the “sing,”
“chant,” or “way” needed to effect a cure.
There are many ways to combat ills; Navajo religious beliefs provide
for about 500 different sandpaintings derived from some 50 different
Chants or Ways. There are, for example, nearly 100 sandpaintings
within the Shooting Way or Shooting Chant alone.
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Each chant or way is associated with one or more elements of the
creation story. And each ill or imbalance is likewise associated
with one of these chants. For example, the Bead Chant cures skin
disease caused by thunder, lightning, or snakes, and the Night Chant
cures nervous disorders among other ills.
These ceremonies are presided over and orchestrated by a full
Medicine Man. A ceremony can last 2 days or be as long as 9 days.
Involved are chants, songs, prayers, long lectures, dances, the
use of sweat baths, herbs, emetics, prayer sticks, assorted fetishes,
and, of course, sandpaintings. These ceremonies are expensive. The
Medicine Man must be paid well, and the host must provide food and
accommodations for friends and family who attend. Those who attend
share in the blessing that accompanies the ceremony and assist in
the chant, dances, and construction of the sandpainting. A 9-day
Night Chant has been known to bankrupt a family.
When all the preliminary activities such as lectures, purifications,
chants, etc., have been accomplished, the Medicine Man begins the
sandpainting ritual, usually in the family hogan. All the pigments
of color have been carefully gathered and prepared. The principal
colors — white, blue, yellow, and black — are linked
to the four sacred mountains as well as the directions. Red, often
considered a sacred color, represents sunlight. As a note of interest,
the four sacred mountains are Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks
(west), Navajo Mountain in Utah (north), Mt. Blanco in Colorado
(east) and Mt. Taylor in New Mexico (south).
The Navajo name for sandpainting, iikaah, translates
to “place where gods come and go.” This name is appropriate
because, if all activities are performed correctly and the patient
believes in the cure, the sandpainting prepares the way for the
forces or Holy People to intercede and restore hozho. The sandpainting
is the final act to summon those forces. The patient sits in its
center and faces the open door of the hogan, which always faces
east. The Holy People being summoned will arrive and infuse the
painting with their healing power, dispelling evil and restoring
balance. The ceremony also shields against further threats of a
similar nature that may be directed toward the patient, such as
witchcraft.
The sandpainting can be quite small or as large as 20 feet, which
means that several men and women would be needed to finish it in
the allotted day. Most sandpaintings are between 6 and 8 feet. The
Medicine Man or Singer is the director responsible for accuracy
of color and design. For practical reasons, work begins in the center
and works outward in a “sun-wise” pattern for religious
reasons (east to south to west to north and back to east). Most
sandpaintings have a protective garland around three sides to prevent
evil from infusing the work from the north, west, or south. This
is often a rainbow. The painting must face east for the Holy People’s
entrance. In order to prevent evil from entering before the work
is complete, spiritual guardians may be positioned to the east.
There are many such guardians, including the beaver and otter, which
gave their hides to Monster Slayer and Born of Water to prevent
them from freezing on one of their journeys.
With the patient seated in the center of the sandpainting, the
Singer takes items from his medicine bag and touches them to body
parts of the Holy People in the sandpainting. He then touches corresponding
parts of his body and then the patient’s body. Thus, the powers
of the Holy People, properly orchestrated through the intermediary,
are transmitted to the patient, restoring the hozho needed
for the cure.
When the ritual is completed, the patient leaves the sandpainting
and all the sands are swept away in a reverse order. The sand is
then either buried outside or scattered to the four directions.
Failure to destroy a sandpainting or attempting to reverse any part
may bring blindness or death to the transgressor.
Not all sandpaintings are used to cure the ill. In fact, the heart
of the Navajo Religion is the Blessing Way, which hozho
to many things — a newborn child or a new home, planting,
job, marriage, etc. Usually the sandpainting is small, and the ceremony
covers a single day. These ceremonies do not always require the
floor of a hogan; they be done on buckskin or cloth.
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Sandpainting as Art
Hosteen Klah is credited with being the first Navajo to present
a sandpainting picture in a permanent art form. He wove a “Whirling
Logs” design from the Night Way Chant into a textile (rug).
He and his two nieces wove approximately 70 pieces over an 18-year
span. From this came many sketches, drawings, paintings, and later,
books. Another Medicine Man, Miguelito (1865–1936), contributed
greatly to books. Rest assured, these weavings and the drawings
by famous and respected medicine men were altered to some degree
to preclude any disrespect to the Holy People. (One blanket purchased
in 1929 had 34 identifiable errors according to a noted anthropologist.)
The most often-seen sandpainting today is a reproduction on a
piece of plywood or particle board. This evolved from the 1930s
and was first seen in Gallup, New Mexico. Today the board is smoothed
and covered with a thin but precise layer of glue. Colored sand
or crushed rock is then placed on this layer. More glue is painted
on and more sand is deposited. If the glue is too thick, the line
or area will be lumpy; if too fine or thin, not enough sand will
adhere and the painting will appear weak. To keep the glue from
drying too fast, the artist works on only small areas at a time.
Although most artists use common household glue (thinned) as the
base, many add one or more secret ingredients to satisfy their own
requirements. Also, some artists use different rocks or pigments
to achieve various colors. Some use commercially colored sands.
Part of the skill involved in creating a high-quality sandpainting
is the technique of dispensing the sand onto the glue base. Most
artists take a small amount of sand in the palm of their hand, below
the second finger. They trickle the sand off the index finger, guiding
and regulating it using the thumb. The flow must be uniform or the
line on the sandpainting will be uneven. Some sandpainters sketch
first, and then work in pencil; others work only by eye.
As demand for an item increases beyond production capability,
new production techniques are developed. Some sandpainters now use
a series of copper templates to speed their work. Certain symbols,
lines, and patters are cut out of copper. These templates are placed
on the board and used to quickly apply glue in the proper location.
Often, they are also to apply sand. Templates are used often in
the more “commercial” grade of sandpaintings.
Another item, the air brush, has become popular with sand painters.
It allows for the rapid creation of a multi-hued background. This
technique does not lessen amount of work required for the background;
it simply adds an artistic dimension. And, what is sandpainting,
after all, but an art?
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The Evolution and Influence of Sandpainting Art
Sandpainting as an art was first seen in tapestries and later
in paintings and drawings. These forms still exist. As weavings,
very few Navajos will attempt a sandpainting; they are extremely
difficult to do well and require a long time to finish the final
tapestry. Those who undertake this task can — and do —
command a high premium.
The Navajo Yei rug, first woven with great controversy near the
turn of the century, quickly became popular because of its resale
success. It is still popular, a “must” for any weaving
collector. It is not uncommon to see Yei weavings blended with other
regional rug patterns.
Artists frequently employ one or more figures from a sandpainting
in their contemporary work. Noted Navajo artist Harrison Begay frequently
used one or more guardians in his paintings as early as the late
1930s. Justin Tso, Jack Lee, Benson Halwood, and many others do
also.
Sandpainting figures also appear in many Pueblo pottery designs.
Hopi Kachinas are used most often, but the use of Navajo Yei
figures has also increased.
Sandpainting has undergone some great changes. At first, paintings
incorporated the more common Yei figures and occasionally
a corn plant. Then they evolved to render simplified Chants or Ways
— the Whirling Logs, Big Thunder from the Shooting Chant,
Coyote Stealing Fire, etc. Now we see renderings or realist and
impressionist movements, as well as pictures of Shiprock, fetish
bears, and pottery depictions, among others. Generally the work
is not complex, but it is pleasing and represents a strong art movement.
Over a period of several years, various competitions began to
recognize sandpainting as an art form. As more and more museum shows,
fairs, ceremonials, etc. began to award prizes based on quality
and innovation, these works increased in quality, quantity, and
innovation. Today, we see in exquisite detail, pure traditional
sandpainting designs. Also, several artists blend two or more sandpainting
designs, or elements, together. Among the best of these groups are
Rosabelle Ben and Fred Geary. Other master artists such as Eugene
Baatsoslanii Joe, Bobbie Johnson (d.), J.M. Cambridge, Keith Silversmith,
H.R. (War Eagle) Begay, and Gracie Dick use a blend of tradition,
impression, and realism to achieve one-of-a-kind expressions that
rival, in expression and in quality, any great art.
As a last note, sandpainting designs now appear in sterling and
gold-cast jewelry, which is popular and selling well. It is easy
to see that the core of Navajo life — the religion and its
expression in the sandpaintings — has influenced all forms
of Navajo art. Its influence is expected to continue.
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References / Suggested Readings
Ronald McCoy, 1988, “Summoning the Gods,” Plateau
Magazine of the Museum of Northern Arizona. (An excellent,
detailed presentation—most of our spellings of Navajo terms
and other details are from this work.)
Eugene Baatsoslanii Joe and Mark Bahti, 1978, Navajo Sandpainting
Art, Treasure Chest Publications, Inc., Tucson, AZ. (A well-written
and illustrated book with many personal observations by the most
famous of all living sandpainting artists.)
Tom Bahti, Revised by Mark Bahti, 1982, Southwestern Ceremonials,
K.C. Publications, Inc. (Brief overview, very well written.)
Frank Johnson Newcomb, 1964, Hosteen Klan, Navajo Medicine
Man and Sandpainter, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
OK. (For in-depth understandings of Navajo life and the role of
the Medicine Man.)
Ernest L. Bulow, 1982, Navajo Taboos, Southwesterner Books,
Gallup, NM. (Very interesting and a brief review that gives insight
into the many pressures on the traditional Navajo way of life.)
Franc Johnson Newcomb and Gladys A. Richard, 1937, Sandpaintings
of the Navajo Shooting Chant, J.J. Augustin, NY, Reprinted
Dover, New York, 1975. (In-depth view of Navajo life and the intricacies
of the most varied of the Navajo Ways or Chants.)
David Villasenoor, 1963, Indian Sandpaintings of the Greater
Southwest, Naturegraph Publishers, Inc., Happy Camp, CA. (A
pamphlet describing 14 Navajo Ways, with color photos.)
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