The Third Picture commemorates the visit of Dsilyi‘ Neyáni to Çaçò‘-behogan, or “Lodge of Dew” (paragraph 56). The edge of the bowl is adorned with sunbeams, and external to it are the four ca‘bitlol, or sunbeam rafts, on which seem to stand four gods, or yays. In the center of this figure is the bowl of water covered with black powder, to which I referred before. The Second Picture is said to be a representation of the painting, which the prophet saw in the home of the bears in the Carrizo Mountains (paragraph 40).
![the silent patient painting the silent patient painting](https://i2.wp.com/keviawrites.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/9787B82E-A414-4684-83D5-E5842D4A2F71-e1557302332702.jpeg)
The same figures are repeated in other paintings. The half nearer the center is red the outer half is blue they are bordered with narrow lines of white.
![the silent patient painting the silent patient painting](https://48b6yd3iigex2rv7g41h5sts-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/new.jpg)
Why the bowl of water was omitted in this picture I do not know, but a medicine man of a different fraternity from that of the one who drew the picture informed me that with men of his school the bowl filled with water was used in the snake picture as well as in the others.Ĭlosely surrounding this central depression are four parallelograms about four inches by ten inches in the original pictures. In all the other pictures where water was represented a small bowl was actually sunk in the ground and filled with water, which water was afterwards sprinkled with powdered charcoal to give the impression of a flat, dry surface. In the center of the picture was a circular concavity, about six inches in diameter, intended to represent water, presumably the house of water mentioned in the myth. The picture of the first day (Plate XV) is said to represent the visit of Dsilyi‘ Neyáni to the home of the snakes at Qo¢estsò. The preparation of the ground and of the colors, the application of the sacred pollen, and some other matters have been already considered.įirst Picture. Their relations to one another rendered this the most desirable course to pursue. ( Sandpaintings)Ī description of the four great pictures drawn in "The Mountain Chant" ceremonies has been deferred until all might be described together. The sandpainting works its healing power by reestablishing the patient's sense of connectedness to all of life ( Griffin-Pierce 1991:66). The performative power of sandpainting creation and ritual use reestablish the proper, orderly placement of the forces of life, thus restoring correct relations between the patient and those forces upon which the patient's spiritual and physical health depend. Immediately afterward, the remains of the painting are taken outside to an area north of the hogan, where they are returned to the earth.Īccording to Navajo belief, a sandpainting heals because the ritual image attracts and exalts the Holy People serves as a pathway for the mutual exchange of illness and the healing power of the Holy People identifies the patient with the Holy People it depicts and creates a ritual reality in which the patient and the supernatural dramatically interact, reestablishing the patient's correct relationship with the world of the Holy People ( GriffinPierce 1992:43).įor the Navajo, the sandpainting is a dynamic, living, sacred entity that enables the patient to transform his or her mental and physical state by focusing on the powerful mythic symbols that re-create the chantway odyssey of the storys protagonist, causing those events to live again in the present. In the two-night form of a chant, one sandpainting is made, while the last four days of a nine-night ceremonial would have sandpaintings.Īfter its sanctification, the patient sits on the painting while the chanter performs a ritual to enhance the absorption of its healing power. From the distinct set of paintings that belong to a specific chant, the chanter selects those that will best heal the patient, never using the entire repertoire of paintings on a single occasion. Sandpaintings are but one rite in a ceremonial.
Or they illustrate dances or chants performed in rituals. Like the sacred mountains where the gods live, or legendary visions, Representations of a story in Navajo mythology.
![the silent patient painting the silent patient painting](https://i2.wp.com/joelbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/thesilentpatient.jpg)
The figures in sand paintings are symbolic