Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-06-18
NAVAJO INDIAN HOMES.
As Rude and Primitive Now As They Have
Been For Centuries.
Scientific American

80
In New Mexico and Arizona the Nav
ajo Indians. who have been but little
affected by the march of civilization,
have homes which show unchanged the
ideas of hundreds of years ago.. Rude
and primitive as the houses of the Nav
ajoes-hogans, they call them-are, eV-
cry detail is dictated by Jules strictly
adhered to. The erection of one is real
ceremonial, followed by an elaborate
ritual of dedication.
Thousands of examples of these queer
houses are to be found in the Navajo
reservation, and hundreds more are
built every year. The hogans are hid
den away so effectually that travellers
un%accustomed to the country might go
for days and not see more than a dozen
and get the impression hat the coun-
try is practically uninhabited, yet the
tribe numbers 10000.
The site the Navajo prefers for his
home is either some sheltered nook in a
mesa or a southern slope on the edge of
a grove of pinon or cedar. Seldom is a
house built close to a spring or other
water. 1t is probable that this custom
of half-concealed habitations is a sur
vival from the time when the Navajoes
lived by plumber and momentarily ex-
pected reprisals from their victims.
moves to the place, taking all their pos
sessions with them, including flocks of
sheep and goats and herds of horses
and cattle. The hosteen, as the head of
| and cattle; he carries his arms. for the
| coyotes may be troublesome at night,
two or three blankets and a buckskin on
| his saddle, but nothing more. After
! him comes a flock of sheep and goats,
| bleating and nibbling at the bushes and
grass as they slowly trot along urged
| by the t-begrimed squaw and her
children.
Search is made for suitable trees.
Three of them must terminate in
spreading forks, but the other two,
which are intended for the door frame,
are chosen for~their straightness. The
| timbers are laid on the ground with
their forked ends together, somewhat in
the form of the letter r, extreme care
being taken to have the butt of one log
point exactly to the north, another to
the south, and the third to the west.
The straight timbers are then laid
lo,,. IA +l-a r,,oJ1 --l. zJ.-. -. a.
forks of the north and south timbers,
and their butt ends pointing due east.
When the tsadi, or frame of five tim
bers, is completed, the sides of the
and branches of trees, set as closely as
possible on the ground, and laced and
bound together. AT the same time, 9TH
err workers construct the door frame,
which, in appearance, is like a dormer
window. Two straight poles, with fork
ed tops, are driven into the ground at
the base of and close inside of the door,
way timbers. a cross stick is placed in
the forks, and another on the doorway
timbers, at the same level. This pro-
vides the basis for a fiat roof, the space
between it and the apex of the hogan on
the sloping side being left open for a
smoke hole. The sides of the projecting
doorway are filled in with upright
sticks. The entire structure is mex COW
cred with cedar bark, and earth is then
thrown on to a thickness of about 6
inches, making the hut perfectly wind
and water proof. This completes the
house.