Chapter 4

During the _Yébĭtcai_ dance or ceremony four _çó‘tce_ are set around the song house, about 40 yards distant from it, one at each cardinal point. The _qaçál‘i_, or chief medicine-man, sweats the patient in them on four successive mornings, just at dawn, beginning with the east and using one each morning. The _çó‘tce_ on the east is merely an uncovered frame, and after the patient enters it and hot stones have been rolled in it is covered with many blankets and a large buckskin is spread over all. On this skin the _qaçál‘i_ sprinkles iron ochers and other colored sands in striated bands, symbolic of the rainbow and sunbeams which covered the early mythic houses. He and his assistants stand near the hut shaking rattles and singing a brief song to Qastcéjĭni, at the conclusion of which the patient is released. The initial spark of the fire used at these ceremonies and for all religious purposes is obtained by friction, and is regarded as essentially different from fire produced by flint and steel or otherwise, because the first spark of friction fire was brought from Qastcéjĭni, who is the god of the underworld fire. The production of fire by friction is a very simple matter to these Indians and is often done in play; frequently, under the windy conditions that prevail in their country, in but little more time than a white man can accomplish the same result with matches. For this purpose they often use the dry, brittle stalks of the common bee weed (_Cleome pungens_). The drill, which is whirled between the palms of the hands, consists of a stalk perhaps a quarter of an inch in diameter. This is made to revolve on the edge of a small notch cut into a larger stalk, perhaps an inch in diameter. A pinch of sand is sometimes placed under the point of the drill, the rapid revolution of which produces a fine powder. This powder runs down the notch or groove, forming a little pile on the ground. Smoke is produced in less than a minute, and finally, in perhaps two minutes, tiny sparks drop on the little pile of dry powder, which takes fire from them. By careful fostering by feeding with bits of bark and grass, and with much blowing, a blaze is produced.

It is said that First-man made the first _çó‘tce_. After coming up the _qadjinaí_, or magic reed, he was very dirty; his skin was discolored and he had a foul smell like a coyote. He washed with water, but that did not cleanse him. Then Qastcéjĭni sent the firefly to instruct him concerning the _çó‘tce_ and how to rotate a spindle of wood in a notched stick. As First-man revolved the spindle, or drill, between his hands, Firefly ignited the dust at its point with a spark of fire which Qastcéjĭni had given it for that purpose. There is another myth concerning the origin of these little sweat houses which does not agree with that just stated. According to this myth, the _çó‘tce_ were made by the Sun when the famous twins, Nayénĕzgani and Ço‘badjĭstcíni, who play so large a part in Navaho mythology, were sent to him by Estsánatlehi. When they reached the house of the Sun they called him father, as they had been instructed to do, but the Sun disowned them and subjected them to many ordeals, and even thrust at them with a spear, but the mother had given each of the youths a magic feather mantle impervious to any weapon. Kléhanoai (the night bearer--the moon) also scoffed at them and filled the mind of the Sun with doubts concerning the paternity of the twins, so he determined to subject them to a further ordeal.

He made four _çó‘tce_, but instead of using wood in their construction he made them of a metallic substance, like iron. He placed these at the cardinal points and sent the moon to make a fire near each of them. This fire was obtained from the “burning stars,” the comets. The _çó‘tce_ were made exceedingly hot and the twins were placed in them successively; but instead of being harmed they came out of the last one stronger and more vigorous than ever. Then the Sun acknowledged them as his sons and gave the elder one the magic weapons with which he destroyed the evil genii who infested the Navaho land. This is the reason, the Navaho say, why it is well to have many _çó‘tce_ and to use them frequently. Their use gives rest and sweet sleep after hard work; it invigorates a man for a long journey and refreshes him after its accomplishment.

First-woman, after coming up the _qadjinaí_, was also foul and ill smelling, and after First-man she also used the _çó‘tce_. Hence the Navaho women use the _çó‘tce_ like the men, but never together except under a certain condition medical in character. The _çó‘tce_ is built usually in some secluded spot, and frequently large parties of men go together to spend the better part of a day in the enjoyment of the luxury of a sweat bath and a scour with sand. On another day the women of the neighborhood get together and do the same, and the men regard their privacy strictly.

EFFECT OF MODERN CONDITIONS

Up to a comparatively recent period the Navaho have been what is usually termed a “wild tribe;” that is, they have existed principally by war and plunder. Since the conquest of the country by General Kearny and the “Army of the West,” in 1846, they have given us but little trouble, but prior to that time they preyed extensively on the Pueblo Indians and the Mexican settlements along the Rio Grande. Practically all their wealth today, and they are a wealthy tribe, consists of thousands of sheep and goats and hundreds of horses, all descended from flocks and herds originally stolen. When the country came into the possession of the United States marauding expeditions became much less frequent, and almost insensibly the tribe changed from a predatory to a pastoral people. But aside from the infrequency or absence of armed expeditions the life of the people remained much the same under the changed conditions. When the Atlantic and Pacific railroad entered the country some sixteen or seventeen years ago traders came with it, although there were a few in the country before, and numerous trading posts were established in the reservation and about its borders. The effect of this was to fix the pastoral habits of the people. Wool and pelts were exchanged for flour, sugar, and coffee, and for calico prints and dyes, and gradually a demand for these articles was established.

The men looked after their herds of horses and took very good care of the few cattle that drifted into the reservation; the women attended to their domestic duties and, with the aid of the children, took care of the sheep and goats, which, according to long-established custom, belonged exclusively to them. Agriculture was practically unknown. But with the removal of the duty on wool a new era opened for the Navaho. The price of wool fell to about one-half of the former figure, and a flock of sheep no longer furnished the means for procuring the articles which had grown to be necessities. The people were gradually but surely forced to horticulture to procure the means of subsistence. It is this tendency which is especially destructive of the old house-building ideas, and which will eventually cause a complete change in the houses of the people. Recently the tendency has been emphasized by the construction, under governmental supervision, of a number of small irrigating ditches in the mountain districts. The result of these works must be eventually to collect the Navaho into small communities, and practically to destroy the present pastoral life and replace it with new and, perhaps, improved conditions.

But many of the arts of the Navaho, and especially their house building, grew out of and conformed to the old methods of life. It is hardly to be supposed that they will continue under the new conditions, and, in fact, pronounced variations are already apparent. Up to ten years ago there was so little change that it might be said that there was none; since then the difference can be seen by everyone. Should the price of wool rise in the near future the change that has been suggested might be checked, but it has received such an impetus that the Navaho will always henceforth pay much more attention to horticulture than they have in the past, and this means necessarily a modification in the present methods of house building. The average Navaho farm, and almost every adult male now has a small garden patch, comprises less than half an acre, while two acres is considered a large area to be worked by one family at one time.

One result of this industrial development of the people is an increased permanency of dwellings. As the flocks of sheep and goats diminish and their care becomes less important, greater attention is paid to the selection of sites for homes, and they are often located now with reference to a permanent occupancy and with regard to the convenience of the fields, which in some cases furnish the main source of subsistence of the family. As a collateral result of these conditions and tendencies an effort is now sometimes made to build houses on the American plan; that is, to imitate the houses of the whites. Such houses are a wide departure from the original ideas of house structures of the Navaho. They are rectangular in plan, sometimes with a board roof, and occasionally comprise several rooms. When the local conditions favor it they are constructed of stone, regular walls of masonry; but perhaps the greater number of those now in existence are in the mountain districts, and were built of logs, often hewn square before being laid in place. Plate LXXXVIII shows a stone house belonging to one of the wealthiest men in the tribe, Bitcai by name. It is situated on the western slope of the Tunicha mountains and was built some years ago, but it is a type of house which is becoming more and more frequent on the reservation. There is practically nothing aboriginal about it except a part of its interior furniture and its inhabitants, and the only one of the old requirements that has been met is the fronting of the house to the east, while the character of the site and the natural conditions demand a western front.

The log houses referred to are constructed much like the stone house shown in the illustration, except that they are built usually by Indian labor and ordinarily are covered with flat earthen roofs. Frequently the logs are hewn square before being placed in the walls, which present a very neat and finished appearance. Sometimes door and window frames are procured from the sawmill or from the traders, and add to such appearance, while nearly always one or more glazed sashes occupy the window openings and board doors close the entrances. In nearly all cases the requirement that the entrance should face the east is observed, but it is being more and more ignored, and in the houses constructed within the last few years the ancient custom is frequently violated. Unless the principal entrance were made to face the east, the performers in the dedicatory ceremonies could not take their prescribed positions and the ceremony would have to be either modified or omitted altogether.

CEREMONIES OF DEDICATION

Among the Pueblo Indians there are certain rituals and ceremonial observances connected with the construction of the houses, but in the Navaho system nothing of a ceremonial nature is introduced until the conclusion of the manual labor. Usually there are enough volunteers to finish the work in one day, and by evening everything is ready for the dedication. The wife sweeps out the house with a wisp of grass and she or her husband makes a fire on the floor directly under the smoke hole. She then goes to her bundles of household effects, which are still outside, and pours a quantity of white cornmeal into a shallow saucer-shape basket. She hands this to the _qasçíŋ_, or head of the family, who enters the hogán and rubs a handful of the dry meal on the five principal timbers which form the _tsá¢i_ or frame, beginning with the south doorway timber. He rubs the meal only on one place, as high up as he can reach easily, and then does the same successively on the south timber, the west timber, the north timber, and the north doorway timber. While making these gifts, as the proceeding is termed, the man preserves a strict silence, and then, as with a sweeping motion of his hand from left to right (_cabĭkégo_, as the sun travels) he sprinkles the meal around the outer circumference of the floor, he says in low measured tones--

_Qojónli_ _coġán_ May it be delightful my house;

_Cĭtsĭ´dje_ _qojónli_ From my head may it be delightful;

_Cĭké¢e_ _qojónli_ To my feet may it be delightful;

_Ciyá¢e_ _qojónli_ Where I lie may it be delightful;

_Cĭkígĭ ¢áltso_ _qojónli_ All above me may it be delightful;

_Cĭná ¢áltso_ _qojónli_ All around me may it be delightful.

He then flings a little of the meal into the fire, saying--

_Qojónli hóçe_ _cĭkóŋ_ May it he delightful and well, my fire.

and tosses a handful or two up through the smoke hole, saying--

_Qojónli_ _Tcíŋhanoaí_ _cĭçá naiĭcní‘_ May it be delightful Sun (day carrier), my mother’s ancestor, for this gift;

_Qojónli_ _nacále_ _coġán_ May it be delightful as I walk around my house.

Then two or three handfuls of meal are sprinkled out of the doorway while he says--

_Qojónli_ _caĕ´çin_ _cĭçá_ May it be delightful this road of light, my mother’s ancestor.

The woman then makes an offering to the fire by throwing a few small handfuls of meal upon it, and as she sprinkles it she says in a subdued voice--

_Qojónli_ _cĭkóŋ_ May it be delightful my fire;

_Qojónli_ _caltcíni_ _¢áltso yahóçe_ May it be delightful for my children; may all be well;

_Qojónli_ _cibeaçán_ _¢áltso yahóçe_ May it be delightful with my food and theirs; may all be well;

_¢áltso cĭnalgéya_ _yahóçe ¢olel‘_ All my possessions well may they be made (that is, may they be made to increase);

_¢áltso cĭl‘íŋ_ _yahóçe ¢olel‘_ All my flocks well may they be made (to increase).

When a hogán is built for a woman who has no husband, or if the husband is absent at the time, the wife performs all these ceremonies. In the absence of white cornmeal, yellow cornmeal is sometimes used, but never the _çqa¢ĭçíŋ ¢oçlĭ´j_, the sacred blue pollen of certain flowers, which is reserved exclusively for the rites of the shaman.

By the time these forms have been observed night will have fallen. During the day, while the house building was in progress, the women were busily engaged in preparing food; all now gather inside the hogán, a blanket is suspended over the door frame, all the possessions of the family are bought in, sheepskins are spread on the floor, the fire is brightened and the men all squat around it. The women bring in food in earthen cooking pots and basins, and, having set them down among the men, they huddle together by themselves to enjoy the occasion as spectators. Every one helps himself from the pots by dipping in with his fingers, the meat is broken into pieces, and the bones are gnawed upon and sociably passed from hand to hand. When the feast is finished tobacco and corn husks are produced, cigarettes are made, everyone smokes, and convivial gossipy talk prevails. This continues for two or three hours, when the people who live near by get up their horses and ride home. Those from a long distance either find places to sleep in the hogán or wrap themselves in their blankets and sleep at the foot of a tree. This ceremony is known as the _qoġán aiíla_, a kind of salutation to the house.

But the _qoġán bĭgĭ´n_, the house devotions, have not yet been observed. Occasionally these take place as soon as the house is finished, but usually there is an interval of several days to permit the house builders to invite all their friends and to provide the necessary food for their entertainment. Although analogous to the Anglo-Saxon “house warming,” the _qoġán bĭgĭ´n_, besides being a merrymaking for the young people, has a much more solemn significance for the elders. If it be not observed soon after the house is built bad dreams will plague the dwellers therein, toothache (dreaded for mystic reasons) will torture them, and the evil influence from the north will cause them all kinds of bodily ill; the flocks will dwindle, ill luck will come, ghosts will haunt the place, and the house will become _bátsĭç_, tabooed.

A few days after the house is finished an arrangement is made with some shaman (_qaçál‘i_, devotional singer) to come and sing the ceremonial house songs. For this service he always receives a fee from those who engage him, perhaps a few sheep or their value, sometimes three or four horses or their equivalent, according to the circumstances of the house builders. The social gathering at the _qoġán bĭgĭ´n_ is much the same as that of the _qoġán aiíla_, when the house is built, except that more people are usually invited to the former. They feast and smoke, interchange scandal, and talk of other topics of interest, for some hours. Presently the _qaçál‘i_ seats himself under the main west timber so as to face the east, and the singing begins.

In this ceremony no rattle is used. The songs are begun by the shaman in a drawling tone and all the men join in. The _qaçál‘i_ acts only as leader and director. Each one, and there are many of them in the tribe, has his own particular songs, fetiches, and accompanying ceremonies, and after he has pitched a song he listens closely to hear whether the correct words are sung. This is a matter of great importance, as the omission of a part of the song or the incorrect rendering of any word would entail evil consequences to the house and its inmates. All the house songs of the numerous _qaçál‘i_ are of similar import but differ in minor details.

The first song is addressed to the east, and is as follows:

_House song to the East_

_Qa‘ádje_ _biyádje_ _beqoġán_ _aiíla_ Far in the east far below there a house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Qastcéyalçi_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ God of Dawn there his house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Qayol‘kál‘_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ The Dawn there his house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Naçáŋ l‘akaí_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ White Corn there its house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Yu´¢i alçqasaí_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ Soft possessions for them a house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Ço‘l‘á_ _nastcín_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_, Water in plenty surrounding for it a house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Çqa¢ĭçíŋ_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ Corn pollen for it a house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Sáŋa nagaí_ _aiíla bĭké_ _qojón_ The ancients make their presence delightful;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

Immediately following this song, but in a much livelier measure, the following benedictory chant is sung:

_Cĭtsĭ´dje_ _qojógo_ Before me may it be delightful;

_Cĭké¢e_ _qojógo_ Behind me may it be delightful;

_Cĭná¢e_ _qojógo_ Around me may it be delightful;

_Ciyági_ _qojógo_ Below me may it be delightful;

_Cĭkígi_ _qojógo_ Above me may it be delightful;

_¢áltso_ _qojógo_ All (universally) may it be delightful.

After a short interval the following is sung to the west:

_House song to the West_

_Iŋiŋádje_ _biyádje_ _beqoġán_ _aiíla_ Far in the west far below there a house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Qastcéqoġan_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ God of Twilight there his house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Naqotsói_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_, Yellow light of evening there his house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Naçáŋ ĭl‘tsói_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ Yellow corn there its house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Ĭntlĭ´z alçqasaí_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ Hard possessions there their house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Ço‘biáji_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ Young rain there its house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Çqa¢ĭçíŋ_ _bebiqoġán_ _aiíla_ Corn pollen there its house was made;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

_Sáŋa nagaí_ _aiíla bĭké_ _qojón_ The ancients make their presence delightful;

_Qojón_ _qoġáne_ Delightful house.

The song to the west is also followed by the benedictory chant, as above, and after this the song which was sung to the east is repeated; but this time it is addressed to the south. The song to the west is then repeated, but addressed to the north, and the two songs are repeated alternately until each one has been sung three times to each cardinal point. The benedictory chant is sung between each repetition.

All the men present join in the singing under the leadership of the shaman, who does not himself sing, but only starts each song. The women never sing at these gatherings, although on other occasions, when they get together by themselves, they sing very sweetly. It is quite common to hear a primitive kind of part singing, some piping in a curious falsetto, others droning a deep bass.

The songs are addressed to each of the cardinal points, because in the Navaho system different groups of deities are assigned to each of these points. The Navaho also makes a distinction between heavy rain and light rain. The heavy rain, such as accompanies thunderstorms, is regarded as the “male rain,” while the gentle showers or “young rains,” coming directly from the house of Estsánatlehi, are regarded as especially beneficent; but both are deemed necessary to fertilize. A distinction is also made between “hard possessions,” such as turquois and coral beads, shell ornaments, and all articles made from hard substances, and “soft possessions,” which comprise blankets and all textile substances, skins, etc. The Navaho prays that his house may cover many of both hard and soft possessions.

The songs given above are known as the twelve house-songs, although there are only two songs, each repeated twelve times. These are sung with many variations by the different _qaçál‘i_, and while the builders are preparing for this ceremony they discuss which _qaçál‘i_ has the best and most beautiful words before they decide which one to engage. But the songs are invariably addressed to the deities named, Qastcéyalçi, the God of Dawn, and Qastcéqoġan, the God of Twilight; and they always have the same general significance.

After the “twelve songs” are finished many others are sung: to Estsánatlehi, a benignant Goddess of the West, and to Yol‘kaí Estsán, the complementary Goddess of the East; to the sun, the dawn, and the twilight; to the light and to the darkness; to the six sacred mountains, and to many other members of a very numerous theogony. Other song-prayers are chanted directly to malign influences, beseeching them to remain far off: to _ĭntcóŋgi_, evil in general; to _dakús_, coughs and lung evils, and to the _bĭ¢akúji_, sorcerers, praying them not to come near the dwelling. The singing of the songs is so timed that the last one is delivered just as the first gray streaks of dawn appear, when the visitors round up their horses and ride home.

THE HOGÁN OF THE YÉBĬTCAI DANCE