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NAVAJO SAND PAINTINGS |
| The Navajo Sand painting is a symbolic representation of some
portion of Navajo mythology and is a big part of the lengthy
curing rites and is used by most tribes in the Southwest. The
Navajo Indians have developed them to the greatest degree and
have between 600 and 1000 separate designs. |
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| What are sand paintings made
from? |
| The Navajo Sand Painting is made using
pulverized minerals and charcoal to form patterns, at times pollen
and corn meal may also be used. The size of the Navajo Sand Painting
can vary so much that it may become so large that it requires a dozen
or more persons working all day to create. The Navajo Sand Painting
is created and destroyed
between sunrise and sunset of one day. |
 |
| Is there meaning to the colors used in
sand paintings? |
| Colors used in the Navajo Sand Paintings are usually
symbolic of direction; as a general rule white is east, yellow is
west, black (a male color) is north and blue (female) is south; red
represents sunshine. |
| |
| What are sand paintings used for? |
| The person for whom the Navajo Sand Painting is
being created is usually seated on the Navajo Sand Painting after
it is completed and parts of it are placed on his body. Through the
rituals the person becomes purified and by identifying in this way
with the deities invoked thru the sand paintings, he gains power
from them and overcomes the evil causing the illness and thereby
walks
again
in
beauty and
is in harmony with the universe. The sand painting absorbs the evil
and then the Sand Painting is
ceremonially buried. |
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| Examples
of Indian Sand Paintings from
our online
catalog. |
