Navajo Rock Art Meaning
Navajo pictographs, or rock art, date back to 1000 AD. Pictographs can be found in caves or on the sides of cliffs throughout Navajo territory, which encompasses southern Utah, southern Colorado and the New Mexico and Arizona border.
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Speculation
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Meanings have been attributed to many Navajo rock art symbols. Most archaeologists agree on the meanings, but it should be noted that most are only speculation. Such speculation is based on historic documentation and ethnographic or written documentation of later rock art.
Rock Painting
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Navajo rock artists used the colors black, white, blue, yellow and turquoise as their their basic palette. They either painted or stamped images onto rock. Many Pueblo petroglyphs were covered by Navajo rock paintings. It is believed the petroglyphs were painted over to reap power from the petroglyphs or to show Navajo dominance. Navajos supposedly felt that by painting over the petroglyphs they would capture the power of the god who was pictured.
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Ye'i
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There are 14 Ye'i, or godlike spirit, symbols used in Navajo rock paintings. The Ye'i is used in rock painting to summon spirits. The male Ye'i figure has a round head and straight body and wears a kilt-type garment. The head may be adorned with horns, a pointed cap, a headdress or mask. Criss-cross patterns and necklaces are often placed on the main body. The female Ye'i is identified by her square head. Both the male and female Ye'i can be seen holding staffs, religious artifacts, wands, corn and/or tassels hanging from their clothing.
Constellations
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The Navajo began incorporating stars into their rock art during the 1700s. A great interest in stars and constellations also occurred during the late 1800s, after the Navajos' return from their exile at Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. Each star or constellation summoned a different spirit for help. Star constellations used by the Navajo include the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, the Pleiades, Aldebaran, the Milky Way, the bear, the corn beetle, the horned rattlesnake and the porcupine. Stars that were painted include a star in Scorpio, a star in Orion, the Big Black Star, the Big Yellow Star, the Big White Star and the Pronged Star. Some of these names are specific to the Navajo culture.
Color Meaning
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Color plays an important part in the meaning of each Navajo symbol. White represents unity and harmony, the spirit world, the dawn or rising sun, the East, Mt. Blanca in south central Colorado, a white horse and the male form. Black represents dark, night, the sky, the North, clouds from the north, Mt. Hesperus in the La Plata Mountains of southwest Colorado and the black horse. Blue represents the midday sun, the South and Mt. Taylor in northwest New Mexico. Yellow represents the West, evening, the San Francisco peaks of north central Arizona and the female form. Turquoise represents the iron gray horse. Red represents the sorrel horse.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit anasazi pictograph image by Mike & Valerie Miller from Fotolia.com
