singing the path of spirits - sacred hoop - the shamanism

Above: MonumentValley, a sacredplace in the Dinéhomelands

Inset ‐ top:making asandpainting

Inset ‐ bottom: aDiné singer makesan offering ofcornflour

Below: rawturquoise stones,which the Dinéuse as offeringto the spirits

The Diné are a Native Americantribal group living where Arizona,Utah and New Mexico meet in theUSA. They are often known as theNavajo or Navaho, but their realname is Diné which means ‘ThePeople.’ The name Navajo is aSpanish adaptation of the TewaPueblo word navahu’u, which means‘farm fields in a valley,’ and wasgiven to the Diné by the Spanishbecause they lived in such a place.

THE DINÉ UNIVERSEThe Diné see the universe asmade up of myriad interrelatedliving elements, from ants tomountains, and hot winds to hailand thunderstorms. In theircosmology, all beings have anatural place in creation, and whenbeings are in harmony andbalance, the universe is in a placeof hozho (beauty) - this is a Dinéterm for harmony and has nothing

to do with attractiveness.However, aspects of

the universe have atendency to fall intodisharmony and this is

dangerous and needs to beguarded against byperforming specificceremonies to restore theharmony. Danger can comefrom any disturbance of theharmonious order, and the Dinébelieve that much in the universehas a tendency to go out of harmonywhen not controlled. This isespecially true of the many thingsthe Diné feel hold great power, andthese are especially watched out for.

These ‘loose cannons increation’ include the dead, andthere is much fear in Diné cultureof chindi (ghosts). A person, nomatter how harmoniously ‘good’they have been in life, has adisharmonious ‘evil’ aspect thatmay well become a dangerousghost after death, and which isvery likely to harm the living if notdealt with.

Other parts of creationconsidered to be especially prone todisharmony include certain animalssuch as snakes, bears, porcupines,weasels, deer, coyotes, eagles, ants,

moths and butterflies. Dangerousdisharmony can occur either bycoming directly into contact withthem, or by touching things such asfirewood or stones, which have hadprevious contact with them.

Cactus plants are alsoconsidered dangerous and mustnever be burnt, and naturalphenomena such as lightning andwhirlwinds are very dangerousindeed and anything touched bysuch a phenomena should neverbe used or approached.

Even dreaming about any ofthese things can be potentially lifethreatening. However, the threatfrom all these perils is reduced whenthe correct ceremonies areperformed and strict taboos kept. Allof this can make Diné culture appearvery superstitious compared toWestern culture, although to theDiné it all makes perfect sense tokeep the universe in harmony.

SH ISSUE 73 2011 12

Singingthe path ofthe SpiritsThe Navaho ways of healing and sorcery

Nicholas Breeze Wood

THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality, based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.

You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit : www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html

Above: Yei spiritpeople in a

sandpainting

Left inset -a Diné weaver

THE HOLY PEOPLETo the Diné the universe is alive,and each aspect of it has spiritpower and a soul. Then, in additionto these, there are the largerancestral spirit beings, the culturalgods and goddesses. These includeChanging Woman (AsdzááNádleehé), who is deeplyconnected to their sacred traditions,and is the Diné’s most belovedspirit being. Changing Woman hastwin children, Monster Slayer(Naaytt' Neizghlini) and Born forWater (Tóbájíshchíní). Their father isthe Sun, and the four of them forma holy family that is encountered inmany Diné stories and ceremonies.

There are also many other spiritbeings in Diné cosmology,collectively called yei. Theseinclude beings with such names as‘Growling God,’ ‘Black God,’ and‘Water Sprinkler.’ Each of the yeihas a specific place in Dinéceremonial cosmology, and duringceremonies they are sometimesportrayed by masked dancers.

These ‘Holy People’ do notnecessarily care about humans or

wish them well, mostly they areconsidered to be indifferent. Buteverything of power in the Diné’sworld view is potentially dangerous;there is the ever-present need tomaintain harmony between oneselfand the Holy People - or ideallyavoid them - to prevent injury orillness because you came intocontact with their power. Thus anattack from a Holy Person is notpersonal - unlike an attack from aghost or a sorcerer

TABOO BREAKINGThe breaking of accepted Diné culturaltaboos is seen as a great cause ofdisharmony and danger, which canopen flood gates for greaterdisharmony to come rushing in.

Taboos in Diné culture are manyand varied; they includerules of social contactbetween family members,periods of gambling,improper sexual activity,breaking cultural laws aboutthe dead, casuallymentioning certain animals(such as owls), incorrectlymaintaining the home, beinguntidy or dirty, not caringcorrectly for sacred objects,leaving a weaving unfinishedwith the weaving tools in the

wrong place, or even weavingfacing the wrong direction. A fulllist of taboos would be almostendless, and the breaking of anytaboo could result in illness,accident or at best misfortune, andmay ultimately end in your death.

However, breaking a taboo is nota ‘sin’ as we might consider it in theWest - it is not bad because the‘crime’ was bad - it is bad becauseit attracts external disharmony; forinstance murder is bad not becauseof the deed itself, it is bad becauseit brings contact with the dead.

PUTTING THINGS RIGHTThe correct performance ofceremony brings the disharmonyunder control, banishes ghosts andrestores harmony. Ceremonies alsogive protection from thedisharmony, should it break outagain. The Holy People areattracted to ceremonies, and theperformance of a ceremony has tobe exact, so that they are satisfiedby it, and give their blessing inorder to set things right.

This seeking of blessing formsa very major part of Dinéceremony - the restoring of

balance is seen as a blessing, andceremonies and rituals are oftenreferred to under the collectiveterm ‘blessingways.’

Blessingways bring good hopeand luck, avert misfortune, invokepositive blessings for a long andhappy life and for the protectionand increase of possessions. Theymay be used to protect livestock,aid childbirth, bless a new dwelling,consecrate ritual objects, protect adeparting or returning soldier,strengthen an apprentice medicineperson, or consecrate a marriage.

Ceremonies are generallyperformed for an individual whorequests and sponsors them. This isdifferent to the other native peopleswho live near to the Diné, and whohave a set cycle of communityceremonies for the bringing of rain,crop fertility and to help smooth thenatural procession of the year.Ceremonies for rain may beperformed in times of drought bythe Diné, but they will be individualaffairs rather than large collectiveceremonies.

There are many forms ofblessingway, each with a differentname such as ‘hand-tremblingway,’‘shootingway,’ ‘eagleway,’ ‘red

The Holy People do not necessarilycare about humans or wish them

well, mostly they are indifferent. But everything of power in the Diné’s world view is potentially

dangerous; and there is the everpresent need to maintain harmony

to prevent injury or illness

SH ISSUE 73 2011 13



Above: a Diné‘singer’ holdinga medicinebasket and aplume-featheredprayer stick

Above right:bright yellowpollen collectedfrom corn pantsused in Dinéceremonies

Below: a Dinéhealing ceremony

antway’ and ‘big starway.’Each blessingway has a particular

focus, for instance, ‘mountainway’ isa set of ceremonies used to dealwith disharmony brought about bycontact with animals that live in themountains such as bears,porcupines, weasels, squirrels,chipmunks, badgers, skunks, andwild turkeys. People who havecome in contact with an animal -even by unwittingly touching a treewhich the animal had touched -exhibits a set of symptoms, andthese are diagnosed. For instance,‘bear disease’ is associated witharthritis and emotional disturbances,whereas ‘porcupine disease’manifests as gastro-intestinal trouble

and kidney and bladder disturbances. When a healing is being given

and the illness is not easy todiagnose, excerpts of a blessingway,lasting only part of a day or a nightmay be performed as a diagnostictest, and if the sick person seems toimprove, the whole ceremony maybe then given for them.

Blessingway ceremonies canlast a long time. They aremeasured in nights, from sundownto dawn, and some ceremoniescan be as many as nine nightslong, although sacred activitiessuch as sandpainting and theholding of sweatlodges are alsodone in the days as well.

Diné medicine people are calledhataafįį (singers) because singingaccompanies every blessingwayand is considered essential tothem. Ceremonies are taught tonew hataafįį by older experts,often over very long periods oftime, and the apprentice pays histeacher to be taught them. It isessential that a hataafįį performs aceremony correctly in order for it towork, and so as to not create moredisharmony - so the training of ahataafįį is very exacting.

A hataafįį will specialise in one

or two, or at most a handfull, ofblessingways, because eachceremony is so vast and complex,and requires the accurateknowledge of hundreds of songs,long prescribed prayers, the use ofsacred plants and ritual objects, theconstruction of sandpaintings, andmany other rituals. Women rarelybecome hataafįį, but there is norule against them becoming one.

TURNING TO THE DARK SIDESometimes hataafįį or other peopleare accused, or suspected ofbecoming sorcerers (ánt’įįhnii) andusing dark practices for personalgain and to spread disharmony.Sorcerers - who are generally calledwitches when a Diné is speakingEnglish - are said to be mostly male,and are traditionally believed to learntheir practices from a parent or agrandparent. Initiation into thewitchway traditions (ánt įįhni)generally involves murdering a closerelative, often a sibling - but othercrimes associated with them arenecrophilia, grave-robbing, and incest.Any Diné suspected of any ofthose major taboo breakages isgenerally branded a sorcerer evenif they are not one.

A major method of the witchwaytraditions is said to be the use ofpowdered corpses, known as ánt i(corpse poison). According totradition the best ánt i comes fromthe corpses of children, and lookslike corn pollen which is used inblessings, however ánt i is used tocurse, not to bless.

Other people are the mosttypical targets of sorcerers, butanimals, businesses, crops, cars,and other personal property aresometimes cursed in this way.

Other Diné cursing practicesinvolve obtaining someones personalpossession or something containingDNA (hair, fingernails, blood,excrement etc) and burying it withcorpse flesh or ánt i, either in agrave, or under a tree that has beenstruck by lightning. Special songs are

Ceremonies are taught by older experts, oftenover very long periods of time, and the apprenticepays his teacher to be taught them. It is essentialto perform a ceremony correctly in order forit to work, and so as to not createmore disharmony



Below left: asacred mud

ceremony inpart of the

‘evilway’ forthe healing of

‘ghost sickness’

Below right: aDiné yei dancerwearing a mask

SH ISSUE 73 2011 15

then sung or prayers said - often ablessingway prayer said backwards,or a special prayer called ‘praying aperson down into the ground.’

Harmful sandpaintings are alsosometimes created, except cursepaintings use ash, instead ofcoloured sand, cornflour and pollenand the sorcerers then urinate anddefecate on the sandpainting toadd anti-life power to it.

On a lesser level, sorcerers aresaid to apply a powder containingdust from the wings of a moth or abutterfly to the body of a victim tocause insanity. This ‘moth sickness’is also associated with incest, whichis considered a form of insanitysometimes associated with sorcery.

FEAR OF THE SKINWALKERProbably the best known Dinésorcerers are the skinwalkers (yeenaaldlooshii). The Diné name means‘with it he goes on all fours,’ asskinwalkers are said to beshapeshifters, capable of turningthemselves into animals to concealthemselves. Generally they are saidto turn into foxes, coyotes, wolves,owls, or crows, but can turn into anyother animal if they desire it.Because skinwalkers are associatedwith animals, the owning of the peltof a bear, coyote, wolf, cougar andother animals is taboo with the Diné.

They are akin to the vampire ofEuropean folklore, as they cansteal the life essence, draining itout of their victims. They are alsosaid to be able to enter your bodyand take you over if you look intotheir eyes. They are said to be themost powerful and mostdangerous of all Diné sorcerers,

who have reached a level ofexpertise called clizyati (pure evil)

Skinwalkers are said tosometimes try to break intohogans and houses and attack thepeople inside, although onoccasion their attacks are almostin the form of a macabre practicaljoke, as they are said to dig up acorpse, sever a finger and hide itinside a hogan. The Diné then saythe ghost will rise in search of thefinger and haunt the hogan whereit is hidden.

Other times, skinwalkers are saidto bang on the walls of houses,climb onto roofs and knock onwindows, peering in with strangeanimal-like faces. As shape-shiftersthey are said to be cunning anddeadly, using many tricks to gettheir victim, including mimicking thevoice of a loved one or the cry ofa child to lure people out of thesafety of their homes.

Because of this, sorcerers- even with mild powers -are deeply hated and fearedin Diné culture, the fearpersisting even among Dinéwho have no contact with otheraspects of ceremonial life.

DEALING WITH THE DARKSIDEWhen an act of sorcery isdiagnosed, it is considered difficultto deal with by many hataafįį, andthere are special traditions regardingthe treatment of people effected byit, as well as some hataafįį whospecialise in its treatment.

Whereas the blessingway isused for the restoring of harmonyand the treatment of illness in

peaceful ways, whendealing with ghosts and sorcerers,another set of ceremonies knownas the ‘evilway’ or the ‘enemyway’are used. The enemyway is alsoused to protect warriors from thechindi (ghosts) of enemies theyhave killed. Ghost sickness is seenas a result of contact with thespirits of the dead. It occurs inmany Native American culturesunder different names, but it isespecially common amongst theDiné. Its symptoms includeweakness, a loss of appetite,feelings of being suffocated,

Skinwalkers are said to be the mostpowerful and most dangerous of all

Diné sorcerers, who have reacheda level called clizyati (pure evil)



Above: a Dinéyei dancerwearing a mask

Top inset: acarved stoneZuni horse fetish

Below: Dinésacred bundle,hide pouchholding nineprayer sticks ofwood, twine,feathers, tradebeads andturquoise.Height 42 cm,width 8.5 cm

Below ‐ inset:‘Mirage Stone’Aragonite - animportant partof Diné bundles

SH ISSUE 73 2011 16

recurring nightmares, orother sleep problems.Sufferers generallyreport a constant feelingof terror, and often areobsessed with death, orwith a deceased person- in which case it isgenerally believed thatthis person is the sourceof the illness.

In evilway ceremoniesghost offerings are madeto attract the ghost so itcan be dealt with. Thesecan be prayer sticks ofcharcoal and ofteninclude blue glass beadsand ashes. The patientmaybe brushed with aneagle feather dipped inashes, and otherpractices with ash areoften involved such ashaving the sick personblow ashes toward thehogan’s smoke hole torepresent the expulsionand banishment of theghost.

A ceremony called the ‘bighoop ceremony’ may beperformed, where the sick personpasses through a series of four orfive big hoops made of flexiblebranches. The sick person wears abuckskin or cloth over their headand shoulders, which is pulled offgradually by the hataafįį (singer) asthey pass through each hoop inturn - often while following a sandpainted path of mountains andbear tracks on the ground leadingbetween each hoop. Once throughthe last hoop they undertake a

sweat-lodge purificationceremony. Passing

through the hoopssymbolises therestoration to normality.TOOLS OF THE TRADEDiné hataafįį generally have abundle of objects they use inhealing and ceremony called a jish.They gather everything they need forceremonies over many years, andthe complete contents of a jish mustbe there even if they are notrequired in the ceremony currentlybeing performed - showing up withonly partial contents of a jish is likearriving with half an ambulance - thepatient is short-changed by nothaving the full power of thecomplete jish.

As well as being a hataafįį’spersonal ceremonial kit, each jishalso represents the bundle of aparticular Diné ancestral figure, sofor instance, there is a jishassociated with Changing Woman,and another with her children, andothers with other spirit beings.

A full list of objects a jish maycontain is too long to list here, butto give an example of thecomplexity of a complete jish, I willdescribe a bundle found in aChanging Woman jish called a‘mountain earth bundle.’

This bundle contains earthcollected from the four sacredmountains of the Diné homelandswhich represent the four directions.Pollen is mixed with each earth,and then each earth is wrappedseparately in buckskin. A preciousstone is then attached to each ofthese earth bundles to show whichof the four directions it represents.Between these earth bundles areplaced stick-like rods of ‘miragestone’ (aragonite), agate, andquartz and carved stone animalfetishes (often bought from thenear by Zuni people, who arefamous for their stone fetishes).Then everything is covered withpollen and all of the individualpouches are wrapped inbuckskin to form a larger bundle.

A complete hataafįį’s jish willcontain rattles, a bull-roarer,feathered prayer wands, ceremonialdigging sticks, little bundles of fluffyeagle plumes to tie on patients sothe spirits recognise them, eagleand turkey feathers, animal skins,claws and teeth associated witheach blessingway the hataafįįknows how to perform, an eaglebone whistle, a sacred fire makingkit, medicine cups madefrom abalone or turtleshell, prehistoric

arrowheads andspearpoints -used inexorcisms, a

small stone club,bits of turquoise,

abalone, white shell, and jet, oddlyshaped stones or fossils, carvedanimal fetishes, quartz crystals,many small sacks of coloured earthfor paint making, cornmeal, pollens,herbal medicines, and many, manyother things as well, depending onwhat is required for theblessingways in the hataafįį’srepertoire.

When a hataafįį singer dies, hisjish may be buried with him or itmay be passed on to a relativewho knows how to use it.

THE SACRED PERFORMANCEWhen someone feels that theyneed sacred help, either becauseof illness, bad dreams, fear ofwitchcraft, or some other reason, afamily conference is often held tochoose a specific blessingway andthe hataafįį to perform it. If the sickperson does not know what theyneed, a special diviner - usually nota hataafįį and quite often a woman- is sought out, the ailmentdiagnosed, the remedy blessingwaychosen and a hataafįį contacted.

A blessingway is a very complexset of related smaller ceremoniesthat are enacted in specific orderover a number of nights (anddays). Because completeblessingways are so complex, it isimpossible to describe a fullsequence of events here, butbelow is a description of some ofthe main elements.

They are performed in a familyhogan (traditional dwelling), whichis emptied and swept clean, butsometimes a large hogan is builtespecially if large sandpaintingsand many people are going to bepresent. Every blessingway beginswith special hogan songs to blessand harmonise the space. Songaccompanies almost every part of aceremony, in Diné thought song isindispensable, and without it therecan be no cure. Knowledge ofseveral hundred songs is requiredfor most blessingways.

The hataafįį’s ritual objects arelaid out in a fixed order upon a skinor calico altar cloth at the west of

the hogan. Some objects,such as prayersticks, will

be wiped over the bodyof the patient by the



hataafįį while theysing.

The wiping ofthe body is donefrom the feetupwards to the topof the head, andeverything applied tothe patient - plantmedicines, cornmeal, pollen, sandfrom sandpaintings - is applied inthis order. All the movement ofpeople and ritual objects in theceremony is done ‘sunwise’(clockwise).

A bull-roarer is whirled outsidethe hogan at each of the fourdirections, and everything andeveryone is well smudged.

The actual ceremony starts atsundown, beginning with a hoganblessing. Following this, aftersundown, and on the next threeevenings there is an ‘unravelingceremony.’ A number of wool strings(generally between four and fifteen)are made, with bundles of herbs andfeathers tied on them in such a wayas to fall off when the end is pulled.These are put over the patient'sbody and unraveled in ceremonialorder. This symbolises a releasefrom disharmony, danger, and harm.

Following this, medicine songs aresung for an hour or so, the singereither using a rattle or ‘basketdrumming’ - using an upturned basketcovered with a blanket as adrum with a drumstick ofyucca leaves made forthe occasion.

Just afterdawn on each ofthe first fourmornings asweatlodge ceremony isperformed, after whichpeople rest and eatbreakfast. After breakfaston the first four days anoffering ceremony isperformed to attract theHoly People. Offeringsare made of bits ofturquoise, shell andjet, short lengths ofpainted reeds stuffed withwild tobacco, and prayersticks.

The patient holds these and thehataafįį says a long prayer, thepatient repeating each sentenceafter the singer. When this is donea hataafįį’s assistant puts theofferings at special sites a longway from the hogan where theHoly People can find them.

A bath ceremony may takeplace in the morning, water and a

piece of yuccaroot (to act assoap) areplaced in a

watertightbasket and

whipped into astiff mound of soap

suds. Designs of pollenand powdered herbs are

sprinkled on the suds, and theseare then used to wash the patient.

Following the bath an iikhhh(sandpainting) is begun. Asandpainting may be less than30cm across, but the averagepainting is about 2 meters across.Sometimes very large ones around7 meters across are made.

When the sandpainting iscompleted the ceremony begins.Prayersticks are brought in and setupright around the painting, andcornmeal is sprinkled on it by thehataafįį and the patient.

Sometime during the singingthe patient sits on a yei (spirit)figure in the painting, and thehataafįį puts his moistened palmsonto parts of the sandpaintingmaking the sand stick to them.The hataafįį then applies the sandto the patient's body.

When the sandpainting ceremonyis completed the patient goesoutside and the hataafįį sweeps thepainting away, collecting all thecontaminated sand together which

is then disposed of in a sacredmanner outside thehogan.

Sometimes a ‘shockceremony’ is done as a

test to see if thetreatment being used is

the correct one. For these aspecial sandpainting is madeoutside surrounded by a low

bank of earth, and a mancovered with branches,impersonating a bear,

leaps out to terrify thepatient. If the patientfaints or has a fit

after four suchappearances it shows

that the correct blessingway hasbeen chosen, and he is thenresuscitated by a specialrestoration ritual.

On the last day the patient'sbody is painted from head to footwith symbolic designs with earthpaints, which identify him with theHoly People. Small sacred prayerobjects are tied in their hair, as wellas a personal medicine gift (a shellbead for a woman or a turquoise

bead for a man), which thepatient will keep as aprotection from further danger.

On the final night there isan all-night sing, finishing withspecial dawn songs, afterwhich the patient leaves thehogan, faces the east andbreathes in the dawn fourtimes. The ceremony ends with afinal prayer and a song to removeany disharmony created by anyerrors in the ceremony.

During the ceremony and forfour days afterwards, the patientmust observe many restrictions ontheir behaviour in case they harmother people, this is because theyare considered sacred and powerfullike the Holy People themselves.

The family of a patient pay forthe blessingway - a nine nightceremony can cost many thousandsof dollars.

The component ceremonies of ablessingway will vary depending uponits purpose. Some ceremonies, suchas consecration of the hogan and thesuds bath appear only once in anyblessingway, but other ceremoniesmaybe performed four times or moreover the whole series of nights.

Top: Diné ritual‘marrage’ basket

Above: a Dinésweatlodge hogan

Inset: Dinécarved wooden

bull-roarer

Left: carvedstone Diné familyprotection bundle

Below: paintingof a sandpainting,

showing prayersticks and amasked yei

dancer (artistunknown)

Nicholas Breeze Woodis a shamanic practitonerand the editor of SacredHoop Magazine. He has

made a life-long studyof sacred objects

www.3worlds.co.uk



singing the path of spirits - sacred hoop - the shamanism

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