The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-23

nc uTlS VI III u art "
They make a very rude and i~nartistic pottery,
very inferior to that of the neighboring Pueblo
tribes, and they make but little OF 1t. Their
bows and arrows arc not equal to those OF the
northern Indians, and, since they have acquired
tho means and the opportunity Of purchasing
modern firearms, bows and arrows have fallen
into disuse. They do not consider themselves
expert dressers OF deerskin, and purchase
their best buckskins from other tribes. The
women do but little embroidery, either with
beads or porcupine quilts, and this little
is unskilfully done. On the other hand. they
make excellent baskets, though but few Of them.
and the range Of forms and patterns 10 limited.
The much ruder but allied Apaches, who know
nothing of weaving woollen fabrics. make more
baskets than the Navahoes, who buy most Of
their baskets and wicker water jars from other
tribes. There are a few silversmiths in the tribe
whose work, considering the rudeness Of their
tools and processes, Is very artistic and much
sought after by white people. 1t Is in
the art of weaving that the Navahoes
excel all other Indians within the Dor
dcrs of the United States. In durability,
flneness Of finish, beauty Of design, and variety
Of pattern, the Navajo blanket has no equal
among the works of our aborigines. Some thir-
teen years ago Major Matthews wrote q treatise
on Navajo Weavers," but he tells us that,
since that book was written, the art has i'm
proved in one respect. A way has been devised
of weaving blankets with different designs on
opposite sides. In another respect it has deteri-
Grated; fugitive aniline dyes, purchased from
the traders. have taken the place Of the perma-
nent native dyes formerly used. In the finer
blankets, yarn obtained from white traders
has supplanted the yarn laborlously twilled
on the old distaff. The Navahoes weave
diagonal cloth and diamond-shaped diagop-
ais, to do which a change is made in the
mechanism of their simple looms. They weave
belts or sashes, carriers, and saddle-girths. which
articles also require changes In the arrangement
Of the looms and in the methods Of weaving. 1t
is not only for gain that the Navajo woman
weaves her blanket. Having worn 1t for a time,
until 1t has lost its novelty, she may sell ii for a
price that scarcely pays her for the yarn. One
who possesses largo herds and is rich for an
Indian, will weave Us assiduously as her
poorest neighbor. The work is done, to no
small extent, for pastime. 1t cannot be said
of the Navajo men. as it often may Of the men
of other Indian tribes, that they are too proud
or too lazy to perform manual labor. They are,
and apparently always have been. willing to do
any remunerative work. When the Atlantic
and Pacific Railroad was constructed near their
reservation in 1881, much of the grading was
done by Navajo laborers. Begging, which
among other tribes is 30 often annoying to the
white man. is little practised by the Savahoes.
On the whole. they are a self-supporting people,
and add to the wealth Of the community at large.
According to the Origin Legend. a translation
Of which is printed in this volume, there are
only thirty-eight gcntes In the Navajo tribe.
OF the lists obtained from other sources, no two
are quite alike. There would be at least fifty
one gentes extant or extinct In the tribe IL
each name so far obtained represented a diff
ferent organization. The gentes arc distributed
among II number Of groups. each of which
Is called by Major Matthews q phratry.
for which the Navahoes seem to have
no equivalent term. A Navajo belongs
to the gems OF his mother and takes the name Of
that gems. No man may marry one of his own
gems. neither may he marry one of his own
phratry. Where this descent in the female line
exists among other tribes. it is held by some
ethnographers that the man does not regard his
father or his fathers people as his relations, and
may contract q marriage with a woman of his
fathers gems. Among the Navahocs the gems
and the phratry Of the father are as much for
hidden kindred as those of the mother.