How do you say squaw dance in navajo

War/Squaw Dance - Ways/Chantways - Legends

The so called war dance, extensively in vogue with the Navaho today, originated with the mother of the Slayer of Monsters and the Child of Water. For, it is said, when they had slain the monster yeitso, they carried his scalp as a trophy and hung it on a tree previous to reporting to their mother. While relating to her of the encounter with the monster they swooned and lay unconscious, whereupon, it is said, their mother prepared a concoction from herbs struck by lightning, sprinkled them with it, and shot a spruce and pine arrow over their bodies, thus reviving them.

Accordingly, today this ceremony is conducted in cases of swooning, or weakness and indisposition attributed to the sight of blood, or of a violent death of man or beast, especially if this has occurred to a pregnant woman, or even to a husband or father during the period of her pregnancy. While no special season seems to be prescribed, the ceremony is most frequently conducted in the summer and the fall of the year. The singers performing it are known as the anaji, enemy, or war singers, as in addition to this ceremony they were also in possession of all the rites prescribed for the warpath and raids. The special features of the war dance are the carrying of the rattlestick, the dance of the Navaho girls, and the blackening of the patient. The rattle consists of a juniper stick about a yard long, or the length of a cord held at arm's length from the tip of the left hand to the right nipple. This stick is held upright in the left hand the fist resting on the knee, while with the fingernail of the right thumb incisions are made in zigzag form to represent a bow. As custom varies, some of the old people supervising this function insist that the opening of the bow, or the end where the bowstring is slipped over the notch, be made at the upper right hand corner, while others require the opening in the opposite, or lower right hand corner. Similarly, the incision made on the rear of the stick, to represent the queue, varies with the opening made for the bow. Such as make the opening of the bow in the upper right hand corner make that of the queue in the lower left hand corner, while the opening in the lower right hand corner of the bow requires a similar opening in the upper left hand corner of the queue. - This done the singer applies a mixture of animal tissue to the stick and blackens it with the ashes of burnt weeds. He then places a bundle of weeds at the point of the stick, together with a yellow tail feather of a turkey. He crosses the base of the bundle with two eagle feathers, and adds a buckskin thong previously spliced in four and knotted with the small toes of deer, to dangle at its side. The whole is then wrapped and secured to the stick with sacred buckskin. Neighbors and friends then trim the stick with hair cords, which at present take the form of vari-colored calico bands. These are tied to the stick between the bundle of weeds and the grip, in which manner it is carried forth by the patient to a place usually some ten and more miles distant, where the ceremony is continued. In some instances the scalp of a slain American, Mexican, Ute or Comanche is substituted for the bundle of weeds, though at present such scalps are in possession of very few persons. - The carrying of the rattlestick from one locality to another is always participated in by a throng of interested visitors, and usually proceeds in a frantic rush. Arriving at its destination the hair cords are removed from the shaft and distributed among the residents of that locality, who anxiously apply for them, and frequently weave them into saddle blankets and small rugs. Toward evening an ordinary cooking pot is converted into a drum by throwing a few pebbles into it and covering the top with a piece of goat or buckskin, which is secured around the rim with a cord or thong. This improvised drum is continuously beaten with a small stick while the maidens select a partner from the throng of visitors to dance with. Married women are excluded from this dance, though it is permissible to select a partner from among the married men. Frequently young men pay for the exclusive privilege of dancing with a sweetheart or favorite on each of the three nights.

The dancers perform in a circle, though no special order is prescribed. Each maiden, standing behind her partner, grasps his side and completes a circle or two with him, reversing the circle occasionally to avoid dizziness. As all participants hum and sing while in action the whole ceremony has been popularly designated by this feature, or as the nda', or ajinda', they all hum moving, the war dance, or rather the girls' dance (squaw dance). After completing these motions several times the girl releases her partner and , unless otherwise stipulated, charges a fee of five to twenty-five cents for the privilege granted, or an equal amount for the privilege of being released. The dance is continued until about midnight when the party disperses to retire. On the following morning the rattle is again carried to some other distant place and is borne, not by the patient, but by one acquainted with the prayers required for its final deposit, who, thereafter, takes charge of the rattle until the close of the ceremony. In the evening of this day the nda' or girls' dance, is repeated as on the preceding night, and is in turn followed on the third morning by the bearing of the rattle to the place selected for the close of the ceremony. Here the patient is blackened about noon. At noon of the third day the body of the patient is painted black. Juniper branchlets, with yarrow, meadow rue and pine needles are previously pulverized, then thrown into a bowl of water, and stirred. One of the assistants now takes a dab of this mixture between his fingers and applies it in turn against the soles, the knees, legs, chest, back, shoulders, mouth and head of the patient, who then sips of the mixture before bathing his whole body with it. Thereupon, the assistant chews some pennyroyal and foxtail grass, and holding his hands to the sun sputters the liquid over them. He then proceeds to press the body of the patient, who is seated, turning it first one way, then another, and repeating this four times. This done his body is rubbed with sheep tallow and the usual mixture of animal tissues, after which the ashes of the above mentioned burnt weeds are spread over the entire body, while the patient's face is painted red with a mixture of red clay and grease, with stripes of black drawn across the cheeks and the entire chin. He is now made to step, or rather rest his feet, in dirt dug up by a gopher, which is held in a blanket before him, putting first his left then the right foot into it. The charm, consisting of a tail feather of the roadrunner wrapped with eagle down feathers, is now tied to his hair. Wristlets, too, made of braided leaves of slender yucca, are tied to his wrists, while buckskin saddlebags, studded with white beads, serve as shoulder bands, crossing each shoulder to the hips. Finally, the bill of a crow is secured to the palm of the right hand, and is used in scratching the head, since the fingers are not to be used in this manner. The patient remains rigged in these trimmings throughout the afternoon and evening, and partakes of a plain gruel, after previously saluting the sun by inhaling the sun's breath, that is, accompanying inhalation with a gesture toward the sun. As usual, the day and ceremony is closed with the dance of the girls, after which the singer removes the trimmings from the patient, as also that of the rattle, instructing the bearer of it to securely deposit the shaft. This he does amid prayer, and a secluded crevice or ledge of rock is selected for deposition.

In addition to the above it was learned that the war dance is conducted for dispelling foreign enemies only, whether they be real or imaginary. If, accordingly, in fancy one is pursued by foreigners, such as Americans, Comanches, Utes, Pueblo, Cliffdwellers, or others, and is indisposed on this account, he calls upon the war singers to destroy these enemies. This accounts, too, for the custom of coveting a tuft of hair, a piece of a legging, a whole or the part of a scalp, a piece of bone or clothing belonging to an Apache, Ute, or other foreigner, or purchasing them when seen at a curio store. When these objects are in possession of a friend no time and labor is spared to acquire portions of them if desired for immediate use. A journey of this kind is termed going on the warpath, and the parts of the enemy required, or designated as desirable for the rattle stick, are usually indicated by the astrologers and divinators called upon previously to trace the source of illness. If successfully obtained the bone, hair, rag, or other trophy, is tied to the horse's tail to avoid contamination, and is hurried without delay to its destination. Otherwise, too, such trophies are held at some distance from one's person while in transportation, being tied to a stick and placed at some distance from the camp, while at home they are hidden in some distant hide-spot for future use. This is a remnant of an old war custom whereby the moist scalp was carried in a similar manner, and contamination, or rather pursuit, by the spirit of the slain, avoided by means of the blackening, or war dance, held soon after a skirmish. The medicine pouch of the war singers were, therefore, frequently provided with such trophies as hair, finger-nails and finger-tips of slain enemies, - or the collar-bone of the enemy, for the purpose of conducting their war rites. At present the trophy is inserted with the bundle of weeds, and on the final day of the ceremony, when the blackening of the patient has taken place, they are carried out some distance from the place of final gathering and deposited upon the ground by the singer. The throng surrounds the trophy at a respectful distance, while the singer takes a pinch of ashes and sprinkles the trophy with it, exhorting the visitors not to gaze upon it while this is being done. When the patient, too, has sprinkled ashes upon it two of the visitors rush up and discharge their guns (formerly their arrows) upon the trophy. They then sing the praises of the patient in slaying or running the enemy down. This is concluded in the evening, just before dark, by a general celebration of victory. The rattle bearer, and other invited singers of the war rite, indulge for about half an hour in yelling and rushing at each other with firebrands, a turn which is soon taken up by all men and boys present. The rest of the night is spent in dancing and merriment.

The blackening is sometimes performed independently of the other features of the war dance, and may be done in the open, or in the hogan, or even in a modern house. For dispelling native enemies, such as the influence of the monsters of the legends, and innumerable witches, another war dance, - blackening against witchcraft, is conducted. In the description of the masks mention has been made of the bow and queue as emblematic of the clothes of the Slayer of Monsters and his brother. For similar traditional reasons the openings of the bow and queue are left open on the rattlestick. As the Slayer of Monsters or Enemies and his brother, the Water child, are inseparable in the destruction of enemies, the symbol of bow and queue are both added to the rattlestick as indicating the power of these two gods. Pgs. 366-376

An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language; 1910, The Franciscan Fathers

The Story of the Summer Dance

The younger of the Twin Brothers, the sons of the Man Raised in the Mountain, also traveled over the country as had his elder brother. He was a great hunter and he always carried his bow and arrows. One day, on one of his journeys near Dzil na'odili, he came upon a hogan. He left his bow and arrows on the outside of the dwelling and entered. There sat a beautiful maiden; she was lovely to see. She was making a pretty dress of buckskin and decorating it with porcupine quills. After the youth entered the home he heard someone coming. In came an old man with his bow and arrows in his hand. He said: "My daughter is narrow-minded, son-in-law. My daughter is all alone and she needs male help." Then again the young man heard someone coming. It was the girl's mother. The old man called out to his wife and said: "Your son-in-law is present. Now don't be foolish." So she ran away from the hogan.

Now the old man's name was Tloth ilth ine', One Who Looks at a Fish. He spoke to his son-in-law: "We are a poor family. We have nothing. Let us go out and see what we can find." So just before dawn they went out and they traveled to where people lived near Pueblo Bonito. They sat down, weapons in hand. The old man said: "I will sit here. You go farther on and sit there." It was not long before two beautiful maidens walked toward them. They wore beautiful dresses and had many beads around their necks and earrings in their ears. The maidens did not stop by the youth, but went on to the old man. The old man killed the two girls and took their scalps, their clothing, and their beads. Then he returned to the home. On the second morning the old man said: "This may be your lucky day, my son-in-law. Let us go out again." They went out as before. The old man sat down and the young man went further on. Again two beautiful maidens came toward them, and again they passed the young man and went on to the old man who killed them and took their belongings.

When they returned the young wife took her husband aside and said: "I will tell you what my father uses. He has a strong medicine. My father has the medicine of the enemies, the medicine from the Giant and the medicine from the Bear. You have nothing. He has the enemy's spinal cord, a short piece, dried, and the enemy's heel cords; and he has the unborn baby. He has all these for his medicine. Go and kill an antelope and also find a gopher heavy with young." The young man went out and did as his wife told him. She took the cord from the antelope, and the unborn from the gopher, and she made them look the same as her father's medicine. She exchanged them for the real medicine which she took home to her husband. Then she taught him the chants which her father used, and the prayers also. The next morning the old man said: "Son-in-law, let us go out again. It may be your luck this time." The young man said: "Since this is to be my luck I will sit down first and you must go farther on." The young man chanted as his wife had taught him. Then came two beautiful maidens with turquoise beads, earrings, and dresses of beautiful goods. They passed the old man by and came toward him. He killed them and took their scalps, their beads, and their clothes. Now the old man felt bad because he had lost all of the turquoise. He did not know that his medicine had been changed, and that he carried the imitation medicine.

On the fourth morning again the young man sat down first and the old man went farther on. The young man chanted, and again came two beautiful maidens. They passed by the old man and they came to the young man, who killed them and took their scalps, beads, and clothing. Then the old man came to him and said: "My son-in-law, by what medicine do you do these things?" And the young man answered: "I have nothing." The old man drew his body away from the young man and said: "Without a chant and medicine it is impossible. You alone cannot draw anyone." Now the old man's real medicine which the young man had in his possession was the same medicine with which the old man Bear had drawn the Great Warrior of Aztec and killed him. He took this medicine out and showed it to the old man who examined it closely. He sent for his own medicine. When it was brought to him he laid the articles side by side and said: "They truly look alike." Then he shook them in his hands and took the real medicine himself, but the young man said: "Mine is the oldest because I had the using of the last power. I had the medicine on me." So the young man recovered the real medicine.

After this the young man went after all the enemies he wished to capture. Those that he drew, he killed. Soon his home was full of turquoise, beads, and beautiful goods. But after a while the young man and his wife sickened. The cords of their legs drew up, and their heads ached as did their stomachs. They chanted all the chants that they knew but none helped them. Only Hasjel na' yei nazone, the Black Yei, knew of the proper medicine. Hasjel na'yei nazone was to be the shaman. The friends of the young man took the skin of a deer not killed by a weapon to the Yei, but he would not look at it. Then the young man sent two buckskins, but the Yei would not accept them. He sent three, four, but Hasjel na' yei nazone would not look at them. Then the same person who told them that Hasjel na' yei nazone would act as shaman came and said: "My children, did you use him?" The young man and his wife both said: "We sent gifts but he would not look at them. We do not understand." So then Dotso, the All-Wise Fly (and here given as the old Man of the Mountain) showed them how to make the medicine stick to take to Hasjel na' yei nazone. They did this, and they took it and presented it to the Yei. Then he asked: "Who thought of the medicine stick?" They said: "We did, ourselves." He said: "No. Only Dotso could have thought of it. He is the only one who knows. Nevertheless I will come tomorrow." They begged him to come that day, but he said: "No. Nothing shall happen. I will come tomorrow."

Then he showed them how to make the jar drum, and what to use. He said that he had his own jar drum and the stick with which to pound it. The next day he started out. He camped quite a way from the hogan of the young man and his wife, but they could see his fire. Different ones went to him and asked him to come at once; but to them all he said: "No. I will come tomorrow, in the morning." Now by this time the two were very ill and they needed the Yei immediately. But he kept saying: "I will come tomorrow. Nothing shall happen to them." Then he told the friends of the young man to kill a young buck for him and for his friends. The buck must have two points on his horns. The next morning he arrived, but not before he stopped and demanded his meat. They brought the deer, which they had killed, to him and there came buzzards, crows, coyotes, wolves, and all the creatures who had eaten the bodies of the enemies. They ate the deer which had been killed. After this Hasjel na' yei nazone entered the dwelling of the sick couple. And their friends stood outside and beat the drum and chanted and called out the names of the sick ones, as also the name of Hasjel na' yei nazone. Then others came out and placed beautiful goods, symbolic of the spoils of the enemy, over their shoulders. And inside the dwelling the Yei burned the barks of the pinon and the willow trees, the bladder pod and the sage, and the sheepgrass and the radishgrass. These they burned while Hasjel na' yei nazone chanted and sprinkled the ashes of these plants over the persons of the two sick ones.

Many chants were sung here and during the decorating of the medicine stick. Today the chants are those of the Two Brothers, the twin sons of the Man Who Was Formed in the Earth or Mountain. From the Elder Brother come the Mountain Chant and Dance (the First Mountain Chant comes from way back in the beginning, the Bear being the last to add his medicine to the old ceremony) and the Snake Chant and Dance. From the Younger Brother comes the Summer or Scalp or Squaw Dance and its chants. From Hasjelti came the Yei'bickai. Hasjelti is the god or Yei of the East or Dawn; Hasjohon is the Yei of the West and Twilight. Yolgai esdzan, the White Bead Woman is Nature or the Mother goddess. These three are the chief actors. The one who holds the jar drum must stand with her eyes and mouth turned away from the drummer. In the first Dance the Clack Cloud was used to cover the jar. Today they use a goatskin. Today, also, they use all kinds and colors of yarns around the sticks carried in the Summer Dance. They used the seeds of the columbine and the seeds of the sweet-smelling grass. They were blown on the medicine stick after it was finished.

Today the Dance is as follows: On the first day the medicine stick is taken to the person representing Hasjel na' yei nazone. They sing and dance all of that night. The second day the person representing Hasjel na' yei nazone goes only part of the way. They sing and dance at the place all of that night. The morning of the third day they come near and make camp not far from the hogan of the sick person. Food is them taken to the party, the gift of the sick person. After they have eaten they go to the hogan. On the fourth and last day, while the visiting party stand outside chanting, the women relatives of the sick person go out and distribute presents such as calico, ribbon, and candy. This is an old custom. (The gifts are given in the spirit of our Christmas gifts.) To continue the story " at dawn Hasjelti came and sang three chants. There are no words, only the tune. Then came Hash chel bai, the Yei known as the clown, also called Tqo'nenili, the Water Sprinkler. He was the last to sing.

Yo ho, yo ho, ye hi,

Ha' he he, he'a,

He'ya ena.

That was the last chant, and after he had finished singing everyone went his way. Today the Summer Dance is performed in this manner but without the chants. The ceremony takes 3 days. It is held a second time over a person. Now after the first ceremony was held over the young man and his wife they recovered. The young man went out again and killed more enemies. After a time again they both sickened. Dotso came and told the young man that when he went out and killed the enemy the blood of the enemy was upon him when he returned to his wife. That accounted for her illness as well as his. Therefore the ceremony was held a second time. This second time Hasjel na' yei nazone told them they must use the small branch of the cedar, but it must not have two points at the end. On the east side of the branch, he who cut it must so mark it: there must be drawn a bow with an opening, and a scalp on the opposite side. Then the stick must be painted red. It must then be blackened with the same medicine which they burned. They must blow on it the seeds of the sweet-smelling grass and the columbine. Yarn or cotton cloth or red flannel must be tied to the stick, and these must hang down like rain. This medicine stick must be taken to Hasjel na' yei nazone.

But this second time, on the last day, the White Bead Woman came and made the medicine. The herbs she used would heal the patient. She gave a beverage to the young man to drink, but the wife took her medicine outside the dwelling. The Crow stood between them. The Crow represented the third person, and is always shown between a man and his wife. Now after the young man drank the medicine he took a little string from the yucca and drew it away from the tip of his heel. Then he laid it down. He took another and another and drew them, separately, away from all parts of his body. When a medicine man draws the yucca string away from the patient, the Crow, outside, calls, and another medicine man, sitting near where a scalp has been buried, puts ashes over it four times. All this was added to the second ceremony. Today a wife goes through the same ceremony with her husband. The sick man remains in the hogan. Then they throw over her shoulders the robes, buckskins, belts, long strips of velvet, calico, red flannel, ancient squaw dresses, etc. These are the gifts of the friends and family of the husband. She takes them and gives them to her relatives one by one. She keeps nothing; everything is given to her relatives. Pgs. 138-143

The Dine' : Origin Myths of the Navajo Indians, 1956; Aileen O'Bryan.

The Indah ceremony had begun in a hogan a hundred miles away in an obscure canyon. The medicine men sprinkled corn pollen on everyone present as a from of blessing. Then with a stone knife they cut a wand of juniper stick a yard long, painted its stem black with charcoal mixed in grease, and with an appropriate ceremony tied to its upper end long hanks of multicolor yarn, a bough of spruce, a bag of war paint, feathers of turkey and western horned owl, stems of chil-dilgessie (which has yellow flowers), and a bag of corn and larkspur pollen.

Next, a medicine man crushed seasonal flowers in cold water. While the medicine man sang, the Queen drank a little from the concoction; then the others, seated in a circle, also drank. the balance of the flower juice was sprinkled over everyone present.

Accompanied by a cortege of horseback riders and others in wagons, one of the older men of the tribe carried the wand for some twenty-five miles to a hogan belonging to a friend of the patient's family. They had to reach there before sundown, as prescribed by ancient custom. As the wand passed by the camps and hogans on its journey, all the men who saw it leaped into their saddles and followed in its wake. When the cortege arrived, each member painted his face with war paint. That night the chorus of men practiced their spiritual songs outdoors, after which they spent most of the night singing humorous songs in competition. They ate and they sang. After midnight there was even a small Squaw Dance around a huge fire in the open.

The second day, early in the morning, the wand was given to the Queen of the Celebration. She was the unmarried daughter of the host, chosen for this honor because of her fine character. Accompanied by a large crowd, she carried it on horseback to the patient's hogan, some thirty miles farther away in Shonto Canyon. Here they all camped. Further preparations were made by the medicine men. Here again the chorus, now grown in size, practiced its singing, ending up in even greater hilarity and a bigger Squaw Dance, since by this time news of the ceremonies had reached hogans farther up in the canyons and mesas of the reservation, and hundreds of people had come to join in the celebration.

Wand in hand, our Queen, riding a spirited horse, left very early on the third morning in the company of a guard of "warriors" who raced twenty-five miles across the desert and swooped down in an "attack" on the medicine hogan. The medicine hogan was in the field of our celebration and we had been waiting on the spot to witness the "attack. " The air was crisp. The sun was about to show its face in the east. The horizon was lit wit subdued tones of crimson intermingled with indefinable hues of gray and purple. The Navajos were in a state of great excitement over the "war" that was developing. We ourselves were full of wonderment over the mysterious movements of the men and women who were barely visible in the darkness that was about to give way to the glowing rays of the rising sun.

When the Queen and her retinue of brave riders were still half a mile away, other "warriors," whipping their animals, advanced in a flash to meet them. There followed a wild sham battle between the two bands. They rode around and around in wide circles, shouting, yelling, and gesticulating to the beat of tom-toms. The people assembled in our field, supposedly taken by surprise, scurried hither and yon looking for places of protection, but returned to the field prepared for a desperate stand against the invaders. In this engagement the braves snatched hats and other trophies from each other. Their battle cries could be heard for miles. Many who had guns fired them into the air. The sham war over, with the invaders having won the battle, victor and victim all rode in together, followed by a long train of wagons from Shonto, loaded with women and children. Shouting and yelling, the victors rode four times around the medicine hogan where the patient was placed under the care of the medicine men. in order to make peace, the host- that is, the patient's family - was obliged to throw out gifts and expensive presents to the victors. At last peace was declared, the snatched articles were returned, and the cortege assembled around the medicine hogan and sang for half an hour.

About this time Navajo Dick kindly led me to the medicine hogan. Whites are not welcome here, and as we approached the entrance, we were greeted by many stern faces. Seeing a camera in my hand, they did not let me in. However, after Navajo Dick had pleaded for me, they gave me permission to photograph the hundreds of warriors who had just staged the sham battle and conquered the enemy spirit which had entered the patient's body. In the meantime the medicine men had transferred the evil spirit from the patient to a human scalp which had been taken from an enemy of the Navajos, nowadays very likely from a Hopi or white man's burial ground, since killing and scalping is, of course, no longer practiced. If a scalp is not available, a lock of hair, a piece of bone, rag, or any trophy taken from an enemy tribe may be used in its place. I followed them as the scalp containing the evil spirit was carried by young boys, blackened by war paint to make them immune to the evil spirit, to a spot two hundred yards east of the hogan and there buried in the sand. At noon the woman patient's entire body was blackened (under blankets) by woman assistants in the medicine hogan. The black paint was made from burnt juniper twigs, yarrow, pine needles, and meadow rue. Her husband was also similarly painted black. The patient was instructed to step into a gopher hole which had been spaded up onto a blanket. She was decorated with feathers and wristlets, and the bill of a crow was place in the palm of her right hand. Then a masked medicine man, his body painted with designs to represent the Slayer of Alien Gods, Naye-nezhani, led her and her husband to the place where the enemy's scalp was buried. They were followed by a small group of men and women who had a little black paint on their faces only. I also followed them watching attentively.

One of the men, an old warrior, shot the scalp three times with a rifle, killing the evil spirit. In earlier times a bow and arrow had been used for this purpose. This was a remnant of the ancient ceremony designed to absolve the Navajo warriors of contamination by the ghosts of enemies they had slain. Since disease was the modern enemy of the Navajos, they had adapted the old ritual to rid the patient of the evil spirit which had been contaminating her body. After the evil spirit had been killed, the patient and medicine man ran back to the hogan, where the patient was instructed to face the east and inhale the sun's breath by gathering the rays into the palms of her hands. This took place on the last day; and since it was the climax, everyone was eager to participate in the games and races. Even the women entered the contests with a great deal of zeal. And that evening they had the biggest fire of all for the Squaw Dance and the fiercest competition in the singing. The crowd stayed up all night, feasting until sunrise. Pgs. 66-68

Navajos, Gods, Tom-toms; By S.H. Babington, 1950.

The leading symbol of the War Ceremony, called 'aya l, 'aya ltsi n, though having an etiology similar to that of the bundle talking prayersticks, is more like a feathered stick than a rattle. It is not used like a rattle, but rather like a flag or standard. Father Berard, relying on the literal translation of its name, has called it 'rattlestick.' The chant symbols of the Shooting Chant are permanent properties of the chanter's bundle; the rattlestick is made for each performance of the War Ceremony. The bundle talking prayersticks are topped with fluffy feathers; feathers are a part of the rattlestick, but are almost hidden by large twigs and yarn, particularly red yard.

Navajo Religion, Vol I; Gladys A. Reichard, 1950

About the Navajo | Navajoland Baptist Missions

About the Navajo

 The Navajo Nation

The Navajo are the largest tribe in America.  Our reservation is about the size of West Virginia with portions of land in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.  The Navajo Nation is home to about 350,000 Navajo.

The Navajo Nation is operated like a sovereign nation in many ways.  We have our own police force, judicial system, tribal council and president.  It is amazing to cross into our reservation and see what seems like a little country co-existing within the borders of the United States.

Window Rock

Window Rock is the the Capital of the Navajo Nation.  It is located about 26 miles West of Gallup, New Mexico and is home to the Tribal Council Chamber where our government meets to determine and discuss policy. Window Rock is named for the rock formation within view of the Tribal Council Chamber.

The Navajo Codetalkers

Like many Native Americans, the Navajo have had their fair share of mistreatment by the American Government.  Testimonies have been given by some, of being punished just for speaking their own language out loud in public.  How ironic that in World War II the Navajo were called upon to use that same language to create a code that could not be broken.  At Iwo Jima, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, had six Navajo code talkers working around the clock during the first two days of the battle. These six sent and received over 800 messages, all without error. Connor later stated, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."  Today these men are hailed as true American heroes.

Canyon De Chelly

Canyon De Chelly is a beautiful canyon located in Chinle, Arizona that holds great importance to the Navajo, both historically and spiritually.  Its historical significance is two-fold.   Canyon De Chelly was once home to the Anasazi, "The Ancient Ones."  This people group disappeared centuries ago without a trace and the Navajo believe themselves to be their descendants.  Thus, the canyon is an important connection between the Navajo and their heritage.  The second historically significant event to occur in Canyon De Chelly is a negative one in their history.  In 1864 Kit Carson betrayed the Navajo and after burning their crops and killing their livestock, starved the Navajo into submission.  The Navajo were then escorted to the Bosque Redondo in Eastern New Mexico, only to return home in 1868.

The spiritual significance of Canyon De Chelly can be found in the many ancient stories staged inside the walls of this majestic canyon.  One such story is centered around a magnificent formation called "Spider Rock."  The Navajo believe that this was the home of "Spider Woman", a deity that taught the Navajo people how to weave the rug.  Young children were warned that if they did not behave, "Spider Woman" would let down her web-ladder and take them home to eat them!

The Sweat Lodge

The sweat lodge is used as a means of purification and offers the practitioner a new beginning upon exiting the sweat lodge.   It is said that when one has lost his direction in life that he must re-enter "Mother Earth" to be reborn.  This ceremony offers a new beginning and a new life but is allowed to be done only four times within a person's lifetime.

The Squaw Dance

The Squaw-dance is the only affair at which couples dance. Navajos say that "Squaw-dance" is a white man's name for it; it is really a war-dance. It is also a curing ceremony, the disease being the enemy to be defeated.

The whole affair lasts three days, starting at the home of the patient and moving each day a day's journey for a horse. The trek is made slowly in wagons or on horseback, and every day the crowd increases. On the second night a few men, daubed with mud, dance a wild shouting turn, as a prayer for rain. Only on the last night do women dance.

The Medicine Man

The modern-day medicine man is hired to perform anything from ceremonies of blessing for community centers to ceremonies of protection from skin walkers and witches.   Today's medicine man is also used regularly for physical healing and to find out if any difficulties have emerged in one's life due to violating taboos.

Greeting in Indian Squaw

Contents

1. Greeting in Indian Squaw
2. How do Japanese, Chinese, Uzbeks, Tatars, Indians and other peoples greet each other?
3. How do Japanese people greet?
4. How do the Chinese say hello?
5. How do Uzbeks greet?
6. How do Tatars greet?
7. How do Indians greet?
8. Greenland greeting
9. UK greeting
10. France greeting
11. Greetings in Tibet
12. Greetings in Kenya
13. Greetings on the Andaman Islands (India)
14. Greetings in Arab countries
15. Greetings in Tuvalu
16. Greetings in Sahara
17. Greetings in Egypt 9000
18. scalp, SKVO, WIGVAM
19. Videos video

Indian Squaw greeting

SCALP, SWO, WIGWAM

The languages ​​of the North American Indian tribes, especially those belonging to the Algonquian language family, have enriched our vocabulary with many expressions. Most of them, of course, entered the English language. For example, a number of place names in the current United States and Canada are of Native American origin. Of the 48 states (excluding Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands), half - exactly 23 - have Indian names: for example, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Oklahoma, etc. All the most important North American lakes also still bear their original, pre-Columbian names: Huron, Erie, Ontario, Oneida, Seneca, Winnipeg, the famous Michigan and others. And rivers too. The Potomac River, which flows right under the windows of the White House, and the Ohio, and the Wabash, and the "father of the waters" - the Mississippi, also bear Indian names. We could continue this list indefinitely. But let's better open our little dictionary of the most famous Indian words. And let's start at least with the tomahawk promised in the title of this book. 9** mace

in close combat, he showed himself as

Next, we will try to arrange the Indian realities in alphabetical order. Wampum. This word also comes from the Algonquian natives of eastern North America. Wampums were strings with bone or stone beads strung on them, but more often by “wampums” we mean wide belts (the so-called wampum belts), to which such strings of multi-colored beads were attached

In the peace pipe, the Indians smoked tobacco, which, like us we already know, became one of the gifts of pre-Columbian America to the rest of the world. Some Indian tribes (for example, Creeks) had to barter for tobacco almost from Mexico. However, many tribes did not smoke pure tobacco, but tobacco mixed with blueberry leaf. And finally, part of the tribes replaced tobacco with a smoking mixture from different plants, which wore

Along with the sacred peace pipe, the Indians also used ordinary wooden pipes, ending in a red head made of the so-called "pipe shaft", or catlinite. Each Native American smoker carried a pipe in a special "pipe pouch" and each carried an ornate pouch.

Manitou in Longfellow's poem gathered warriors from many Indian tribes on the banks of the river with smoke from a pipe of peace. And, angry with their endless wars, he said to them: “I am tired of your strife. "

“Plunger into this river,

Wash the fighting paints,

Wash the blood stains from your fingers,

Sweet bows in the ground,

reeds for them Narvy,

brightly garnish with feathers,

Smile the pipe of the world

and live like brothers. »

Translated by I. A. Bunin.

The great poet accurately conveyed the role of Calumet. btapya was raised by the North American Indians to the point of understanding ethnicity, condemning the war. It is said that when the United Nations was formed, the Indians handed over the Calumetes to the representatives of the great powers. If only everyone smoked them! And if only the peace pipe became the main working instrument of statesmen all over the world! First of all, where she comes from - in the north of America. And if Hiawatha's orders were everywhere:

“I'm tired of your strife, I'm tired of your disputes, From bloody struggle, From prayers for blood feud. Your strength is only in agreement. And powerlessness is in discord. Reconcile, O children! Be brothers to one another!"

The next expression in our dictionary will be manito or manito, as it was written in some books. This concept, in fact, belongs not so much to the North American Indians as to the whites, who were accustomed to their single Christian god and attributed religious ideas of the same nature to the Indians. The word manito comes from the Algonquian languages ​​(in Massachusetts - manitto, in Narragan-Set - beckons) and, rather, denotes a mysterious, but objectively existing force that subordinates the life of an individual person to its influence. This is not a god at all and not a “great spirit”, as the authors of the first European books about North American Indians imagined.

Peyote, or peyote, is a very interesting thing. And, moreover, less known than the rest of the concepts in our Indian "dictionary". The word peyote comes from the Nahuatl language. Peyote is a small, unremarkable-looking cactus. Europeans got acquainted with its action only in 1888 from the works of the German chemist Levin. Ethnographers are still later - thanks to the American ethnographer James Mooney. But some North American tribes (and even more Mexican) have known peyote and its power for many centuries.

We have the first news about peyote from Mexico from the famous Bernardino de Saahun. He describes the use of peyote, which lasted several days during the rites. Catholic priests at that time considered peyote to be a diabolical invention. All the more surprising that one of the first missions on the Mexican-North American border was called El Santo Nombre de Jesus Peyotl!

One of Levin's successors discovered that four alkaloids are formed in the dried tops of the cactus: loforine, angalodine, angalodine, and, finally, mescaline. And here we are at the origins of the so often mentioned peyote evil. What gives a cactus that is unprepossessing, not even protected by thorns, devilish power, is called mescaline.

In an era when the prairie Indians experienced a deep crisis associated with the final victory of the whites, the Indian prophet Wovoka created some special Indian religion based on the use of peyote during ritual, ecstatic dances. The teachings of the Messiah Wovbk, which was basically a direct reaction to the critical situation of the North American Indians, met enthusiastic supporters everywhere among them. Within a few years, the use of peyote spread widely, reaching almost forty Indian tribes. Perhaps there was no reservation where they would not dance the "Ghost Dance" (Dance of the Spirits).

This dance was entirely related to prior use of the drug peyote. So a new Indian religion, the Ghost-Dance Religion, arose. And although it was banned by the United States government for quite a long time, secretly the Dance of the Spirits on Indian reservations is practically danced to this day. And some Indian tribes learned and adopted the use of peyote only recently. So, the tribes of Nevada - between 1929 and 1936, the Canadian Creeks - in 1936, and other Canadian tribes only in 1950.

Now the former Ghost-Dance Religion of North American Indians is called the National American Church or the Church of the American Natives. The teachings of this Indian religious society are a mixture of Christian ideas - for example, faith in God the father, son and holy spirit, faith in angels and devils - and faith in various supernatural beings of old Indian beliefs.

In areas of the United States where a large number of Indians live (for example, in the state of Oklahoma), the National American Church has even built its own temples.

Pemikan, which became known to us thanks to polar explorers, and possibly to the Eskimos, is also a product of the culture of the Indians of the North of America. The word itself comes from the language of screams and roughly means "processed fat".

Pemikan serves as a high-calorie and surprisingly long-term food supply, that is, as some kind of Indian "canned food".

How is pemican made? The venison is cut into small pieces, which are carefully dried in the sun. When the meat has dried, it is lightly smoked in the smoke over the fire. Then one part of ground fat is added to two parts of dried meat. For taste, you can add some fruits or lingonberries, as we have to the roast. Then put the pemican in a leather bag. Let's close it carefully - and we can be sure: the provisions will survive in a form suitable for food for at least four years. Definitely a great invention!

The next expression in our vocabulary is scalp. Scalp is a word that everyone knows from westerns. As we know, the Indians had a cruel military custom, according to which the skin and hair were removed from the head of a killed enemy (and sometimes even from the head of a living prisoner). Thus, the scalp served as evidence that the enemy was killed or rendered harmless, and therefore it was considered a highly respected testament to courage, a valuable war trophy. The scalping of a defeated enemy had another, even more important reason for the North American Indians, connected with their religious ideas. The scalper was convinced that by removing the scalp from the enemy, he takes away from him that “universal magical life force”, which, according to legend, was precisely in the hair. It is generally accepted that scalping is a custom of North American Indians alone. This is not entirely true. Firstly, not all North American groups were scalped, but only some, for example, the Iroquois, and then just the Prairie Indians. Secondly, scalping is by no means some kind of “purely Indian invention”. Even ancient authors noted the same custom among the South Russian Scythians.

So scalping certainly exists. And since ancient times, it has aroused the interest of chroniclers, discoverers (in the New World, Francisco de Carey first became interested in it), researchers and ordinary readers of Westerns. However, the Europeans themselves contributed to the widespread development of scalping. After all, it was the first white merchants who ordered steel knives for scalping in Europe, and then offered them to the Indians! Naturally, the Indians showed exceptional interest in this European "invention". So, with the help of "white technique" scalping was extremely facilitated.

Europeans supported scalping in another way. Separate European states that fought for dominance on the American continent paid their "Indian allies" huge bonuses for the scalps of enemy soldiers or Indians of tribes who collaborated with the other side. The British paid the best, twelve pounds sterling for one French scalp. The French, who have always been poorer, paid quite modestly. The French colonial authorities in Canada especially incited their Indian allies to scalp the Iroquois, allies of the British, who, as a militarily strong alliance of tribes, were the most dangerous for the French.

Separate English settlements in the east of North America also set a special course for the scalps of hostile Indians.

The scalp, this valuable trophy, the Indian, of course, wanted to keep as long as possible. Therefore, "fresh" scalps were first stretched on frames, degreased and dried. Then the “finished scalp” was decorated with drawings and feathers. Scalps or parts of them, especially hair, the warrior wore on his clothes as evidence of personal courage or hung on his wigwam.

The next well-known word is squaw. It comes from the Narra-Ganseth language and simply means "woman". For example, the very popular combination of Native American and English words Squaw-valley together means "Valley of Women." Americans obviously love such pasta compounds, and we find Squaw-flower (flower), Squaw-fish (fish), etc. in their language. -pee). Teepee (the word comes from the Dakota language) is a pyramidal tent made of buffalo skins, found among all prairie tribes. Tipis were installed, cared for and even considered their owners exclusively by women.

Teepee is an ordinary home of a prairie Indian. Several dozen conical tips made up the village. They, as a rule, were installed in a circle, independent sections - sectors of the circle - were occupied by tipis of individual genera. In the geometric center of the circle stood the main teepee of the village council. The peace pipe was kept in a special tipi, also installed in some “place of honor” in the village.

Teepees served as a home for the prairie Indian all year round, so the tent was quite high (usually 4-5 100 meters) and just as wide (5-6 meters in diameter). The construction of such a tent required 7-10 buffalo skins. The leather walls of the tipi were decorated with drawings. The tent had special devices (the Indians called it "ears"), with the help of which it was possible to regulate the circulation of air and, above all, to remove smoke from the tent. Naturally, each tipi had a hearth located in the center. Tipis are often confused with another dwelling of North American Indians - a wigwam. The word comes from the Algonquian languages ​​​​of the Indian population of the east of the present USA and simply means "building". While the tipis did not differ much from one another, the wigwams of the individual Algonquian tribes were quite heterogeneous. Various climatic conditions of the North American east, the availability of various building materials, etc. , played a role here. The basis of the wigwam was a frame cut down from wooden poles and covered with the material that the builders found themselves at hand, most often with tree bark. Wigwams were such a feature of the culture of the Algonquian tribes of eastern North America that some authors, such as Oliver LaFarge, call these Indians the Wigwam People (wigwam people).

And another new concept - sign language. Sign language! The Indians of the North American prairies, who spoke dozens of different dialects and even belonged to different language groups (not just the so-called Sioux language family), he allowed to understand each other. The message that a prairie Indian wanted to communicate to a member of another tribe was transmitted using gestures of one or both hands. These gestures, movements, the exact meaning of which was known to every Indian not only on the prairies, but also in their neighborhood - from Canada to northern Mexico - helped to convey rather complex information to the partner. Even agreements between individual tribes, whose representatives did not understand each other, were concluded through sign language. Let us give at least one example: an Indian visually depicted a tipi (tent) in sign language, crossing the left and right index fingers.

Sign language completes our dictionary of Native American expressions, widely known to every Western reader. In the literature of this kind we often meet the phrase: "When an Indian finishes his speech, he says "how" - "I have said everything." So we can say "how". We've said it all in this chapter.

Source

How do Japanese, Chinese, Uzbeks, Tatars, Indians and other nations greet each other?

The most common greeting for most nations is a handshake. This gesture is familiar to Russia, America, Europe and Asia. Greeting customs in some countries are very similar, while in others they are completely different. So, in Russia, a man should be the first to say hello, and a woman should extend her hand (if, of course, she wishes to do this). For the British, the sequence of these actions is the opposite.

However, there are peoples in the world who do not shake hands and do not exchange kisses when they meet. As a greeting, some use spitting, dancing, and even crying.

People who love to travel the world need to know how to properly greet locals so that they don't get in trouble and demonstrate that they know and respect other cultures.

How do Japanese people greet?

In Japanese culture, bowing is an integral part of the greeting. The variety of bows here seems to be countless: it is customary to greet a boss in one way, a man of equal social status in another, a woman in a third. A significant role is played here by social status, gender, age.

The Japanese may greet each other with a slight nod of the head or a deep bow at the waist. A long and low bow indicates deep respect for the interlocutor. With a small nod of the head, as a rule, young people greet each other.

How do the Japanese say hello? When they meet, they say "Konnichiwa" to each other, which means "The day has come. "

How do Chinese people greet?

Tourists traveling to China will be very interested to know how the Chinese people greet. Traditionally, men greet each other with a bow while folding their hands. Such a ceremony is called “kotou”. But women greet a little differently: they put their hands together and hold them down along the body. This type of bow is called "wanfu".

However, apart from bowing, the Chinese, like the Russians, sometimes greet each other with handshakes. If a group of Chinese meet a new person, they applaud him, to which he must also clap his hands.

Video about how the Chinese greet

How do the Uzbeks greet?

In communication, the people of Uzbekistan are simple and democratic. How do Uzbeks greet? They do it by the hand, and it is customary here to greet even strangers in this way. As a sign of special respect, the Uzbek shakes the interlocutor's hand with both hands. When meeting, Uzbeks say “Salam alaikum”, to which they answer “Aleikum assalam” (this is how Muslims traditionally greet).

How do Tatars greet?

Tatars of a more respectable age at a meeting say to each other "Salam alaikum", to which they answer "Aleikum assalam". Sometimes young people also greet in this way. How else do Tatars greet? Most often, “Isyamesez” is used as a greeting, which means “Hello”. If you need to say hello in a formal setting, then they say "Häerle kon", meaning "Good afternoon." Just like the Uzbeks, the Tatars, demonstrating their deep respect for the interlocutor, shake his hand with both hands, but among the intelligentsia it is not customary to shake hands.

How do Indians greet?

In Indian tribes, meeting a stranger, they squat down, thus demonstrating their peacefulness. In this case, the Indian will sit in this way for so long until the oncoming one pays attention to him.

Probably, many people have heard how interestingly the Indians greet each other by touching their noses. Such a funny, from the point of view of Europeans, ritual is common in the Maori Indian tribe. Navajo Indians say "It's okay!" when they meet, and North American Indians say "You're my other self."

Greeting in Greenland

In the arctic regions, including Greenland, Eskimos and Inuit, when meeting, press their nose and upper lip to the cheek of the one they greet, while breathing deeply. This greeting is called "kunik". As a rule, family members and lovers greet in this way. Interestingly, this tradition of rubbing noses was adopted by some Western peoples, which, by the way, is called the "Eskimo kiss."

UK greeting

The British are polite and reserved by nature. They do not hug at a meeting and do not kiss, and also do not encroach on the personal space of the interlocutor. As a rule, as a sign of greeting, the British briefly nod their heads and sometimes shake hands. At the same time, strong handshakes, demonstrating their confidence and strength, are not accepted here. In the UK, the “social kiss” is also quite common - when a man and a woman or two women simply touch cheek to cheek when they meet.

Greeting in France

The French meet and see each other off with two kisses on both cheeks. But on the Cote d'Azur, two kisses are not enough: to greet each other or say goodbye, here they kiss on the cheeks as many as five or six times. Men also often greet with a handshake.

Video of how the French greet

Greeting in Tibet

In Western countries, sticking out your tongue when meeting a person is considered indecent and even insulting. But for the people of Tibet, this is a traditional way of greeting.

This tradition has been preserved to this day in many parts of Tibet. Therefore, if you are traveling there, do not stick your tongue out after eating licorice, blackberries, or other foods that can turn it black.

In addition to sticking out the tongue, when meeting Tibetans take off their headgear with their right hand, while the left should be behind the ear.

Greetings in Kenya

Tourists who have traveled to Africa know that the African continent is one of the most "dancing" in the world. This is especially true of its central part.

Ritual dances are performed here for almost every occasion - funerals and weddings, grief and joy, hunting and meals. Of course, they also greet here with dances.

The fearsome Maasai tribe is known for their masculine greeting dances called "adama" or "jumping dances". One of the men first tells the story, and then they all stand in a circle and compete among themselves who will jump higher in the dance. Thus, the dancers try to demonstrate to the guests what a strong and courageous tribe they have.

One of the Akamba tribes in Kenya is known for its rather strange way of greeting - people simply spit at each other when they meet.

Greeting in the Andaman Islands (India)

Perhaps the most touching greeting custom can be called the manner of greeting the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands: they sit on their knees to the interlocutor, hug him by the neck and sob loudly.

Greeting in Arab countries

North Africa and the Middle East are famous for their greeting kisses. At the same time, the inhabitants of these countries hug and kiss the interlocutor on both cheeks. In addition, to demonstrate the joy of meeting, they shake the right hand firmly here.

You should know that it is strictly forbidden here for a man to greet a woman in public places - a taboo.

Welcome to Tuvalu

Tourists traveling to the Polynesian islands of Tuvalu will have to be in close contact with the locals when they meet, because in order to greet a person, it is customary here to press your face to the interlocutor's cheek and take a deep breath.

Greetings in the Sahara

Saharan people - the Tuareg tribes - will greet you for at least half an hour when they meet. Their greeting is jumping, jumping, bowing, sometimes taking very strange poses. Moreover, such greetings begin even a hundred meters from the oncoming one. You should not be surprised at this - in this way the Tuareg show their good intentions towards you.

Greetings in Egypt

As a greeting, the Egyptians use a gesture that is very reminiscent of how military personnel in Russia salute, but it is customary for Egyptians to turn their palm towards the interlocutor.

Greetings from which nations do you consider the most unusual? Share your opinion in the comments.

Source

SCALP, SKWO, WIGWAM

I The languages ​​of the North American Indian tribes, especially those belonging to the Algonquian language family, have enriched our vocabulary with many expressions. Most of them, of course, entered the English language. For example, a number of place names in the current United States and Canada are of Native American origin. Of the 48 states (excluding Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands), half - exactly 23 - have Indian names: for example, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Oklahoma, etc. All the most important North American lakes also still bear their original, pre-Columbian names: Huron, Erie, Ontario, Oneida, Seneca, Winnipeg, the famous Michigan and others. And rivers too. The Potomac River, which flows right under the windows of the White House, and the Ohio, and the Wabash, and the "father of the waters" - the Mississippi, also bear Indian names. We could continue this list indefinitely. But let's better open our little dictionary of the most famous Indian words. And let's start at least with the tomahawk promised in the title of this book.

D Next we will try to arrange the Indian realities in alphabetical order. Wampum. This word also comes from the Algonquian natives of eastern North America. Wampums were ropes with bone or stone beads strung on them, but more often by “wampums” we mean wide belts (the so-called wampum belts), to which such strings of multi-colored beads were attached.

In , the Indians smoked tobacco, which, as we already know, was one of the gifts of pre-Columbian America to the rest of the world. Some Indian tribes (for example, Creeks) had to barter for tobacco almost from Mexico. However, many tribes did not smoke pure tobacco, but tobacco mixed with blueberry leaf. And finally, some tribes replaced tobacco with a smoking mixture from different plants, which was called kinny-kinnik.

H Along with the sacred pipe of peace, the Indians also used ordinary wooden pipes, ending in a red head made of the so-called “pipe-barrel”, or catlinite. Each Native American smoker carried a pipe in a special "pipe pouch" and each carried an ornate pouch.

M Anita in Longfellow's poem gathered warriors from many Indian tribes on the banks of the river with smoke from a pipe of peace. And, angry with their endless wars, he said to them: “I am tired of your strife. "

“Plunger into this river,

Wash the fighting paints,

Wash the blood stains from your fingers,

Sweet bows in the ground,

reeds for them Narvy,

brightly garnish with feathers,

Smile the pipe of the world

and live like brothers. »

Translated by I. A. Bunin .

In the great poet accurately conveyed the role of Calumet. It is said that when the United Nations was formed, the Indians handed over the Calumetes to the representatives of the great powers. If only everyone smoked them! And if only the peace pipe became the main working instrument of statesmen all over the world! First of all, where she comes from - in the north of America. And if Hiawatha's orders were everywhere:

“I'm tired of your strife,

I'm tired of your arguments,

From the bloody struggle,

From prayers for blood feud.

Your strength is only in agreement.

But impotence is in discord.

Reconcile, O children!

Be brothers to one another!”

With , the next expression in our vocabulary would be manito or manitou, as it was written in some books. This concept, in fact, belongs not so much to the North American Indians as to the whites, who were accustomed to their single Christian god and attributed religious ideas of the same nature to the Indians. The word manito comes from the Algonquian languages ​​(in Massachusetts - manitto, in Narragansett - beckons) and, rather, denotes a mysterious, but objectively existing force that subordinates the life of an individual to its influence. This is not a god at all and not a “great spirit”, as the authors of the first European books about North American Indians imagined.

P eyotl, or peyote, is a very interesting thing. And, moreover, less known than the rest of the concepts in our Indian "dictionary". The word peyote comes from the Nahuatl language. Peyote is a small, unremarkable-looking cactus. Europeans got acquainted with its action only in 1888 from the works of the German chemist Levin. Ethnographers are still later - thanks to the American ethnographer James Mooney. But some North American tribes (and even more Mexican) have known peyote and its power for many centuries.

П We have the first news about peyote from Mexico from the famous Bernardino de Saahun. He describes the use of peyote, which lasted several days during the rites. Catholic priests at that time considered peyote to be a diabolical invention. All the more surprising that one of the first missions on the Mexican-North American border was called El Santo Nombre de Jesus Peyotl!

O one of Lewin's successors discovered that four alkaloids are formed in the dried tops of the cactus: lofforine, angalodine, angalodine, and, finally, mescaline. And here we are at the origins of the so often mentioned peyote evil. What gives a cactus that is unprepossessing, not even protected by thorns, devilish power, is called mescaline.

In , when the prairie Indian tribes were going through a deep crisis associated with the final victory of the whites, the Indian prophet Wovoka created some special Indian religion based on the use of peyote during ritual, ecstatic dances. The teachings of Messiah Wovoka, which was basically a direct reaction to the critical situation of the North American Indians, met with enthusiastic supporters everywhere. Within a few years, the use of peyote spread widely, reaching almost forty Indian tribes. Perhaps there was no reservation where they would not dance the "Ghost Dance" (Dance of the Spirits).

E that dance was entirely related to prior use of peyote. So a new Indian religion, the Ghost-Dance Religion, arose. And although it was banned by the United States government for quite a long time, secretly the Dance of the Spirits on Indian reservations is practically danced to this day. And some Indian tribes learned and adopted the use of peyote only recently. Thus, the tribes of Nevada - between 1929 and 1936, the Canadian Creeks - in 1936, and other Canadian tribes only in 1950th.

T now the former Ghost-Dance Religion of North American Indians is called the National American Church or the Church of the American Natives. The teachings of this Indian religious society are a mixture of Christian ideas - for example, faith in God the father, son and holy spirit, faith in angels and devils - and faith in various supernatural beings of old Indian beliefs.

In areas of the USA where a large number of Indians live (for example, in the state of Oklahoma), the National American Church even built its own temples.

P The emikan, which became known to us thanks to polar explorers, and possibly to the Eskimos, is also a product of the culture of the Indians of the North of America. The word itself comes from the language of screams and roughly means "processed fat".

P emikan serves as a high-calorie and surprisingly long-term food supply, that is, as some kind of Indian "canned food".

A how is pemican made? The venison is cut into small pieces, which are carefully dried in the sun. When the meat has dried, it is lightly smoked in the smoke over the fire. Then one part of ground fat is added to two parts of dried meat. For taste, you can add some fruits or lingonberries, as we have to the roast. Then put the pemican in a leather bag. Let's close it carefully - and we can be sure: the provisions will survive in a form suitable for food for at least four years. Definitely a great invention!

From the next expression in our dictionary is scalp. Scalp is a word that everyone knows from westerns. As we know, the Indians had a cruel military custom, according to which the skin and hair were removed from the head of a killed enemy (and sometimes even from the head of a living prisoner). Thus, the scalp served as evidence that the enemy was killed or rendered harmless, and therefore it was considered a highly respected testament to courage, a valuable war trophy. The scalping of a defeated enemy had another, even more important reason for the North American Indians, connected with their religious ideas. The scalper was convinced that by removing the scalp from the enemy, he takes away from him that “universal magical life force”, which, according to legend, was precisely in the hair. It is generally accepted that scalping is a custom of North American Indians alone. This is not entirely true. Firstly, not all North American groups were scalped, but only some, for example, the Iroquois, and then just the Prairie Indians. Secondly, scalping is by no means some kind of “purely Indian invention”. Even ancient authors noted the same custom among the South Russian Scythians.

And so, scalping certainly exists. And since ancient times, it has aroused the interest of chroniclers, discoverers (in the New World, Francisco de Carey first became interested in it), researchers and ordinary readers of Westerns. However, the Europeans themselves contributed to the widespread development of scalping. After all, it was the first white merchants who ordered steel knives for scalping in Europe, and then offered them to the Indians! Naturally, the Indians showed exceptional interest in this European "invention". So, with the help of "white technique" scalping was extremely facilitated.

E The Europeans supported scalping in another way. Separate European states that fought for dominance on the American continent paid their "Indian allies" huge bonuses for the scalps of enemy soldiers or Indians of tribes who collaborated with the other side. The British paid the best, twelve pounds sterling for one French scalp. The French, who have always been poorer, paid quite modestly. The French colonial authorities in Canada especially incited their Indian allies to scalp the Iroquois, allies of the British, who, as a militarily strong alliance of tribes, were the most dangerous for the French.

About Separate English settlements in the east of North America also set a course for the scalps of hostile Indians.

From calps, this valuable trophy, the Indian, of course, wanted to keep as long as possible. Therefore, "fresh" scalps were first stretched on frames, degreased and dried. Then the “finished scalp” was decorated with drawings and feathers. Scalps or their parts, especially hair, the warrior wore on his clothes as evidence of personal courage or hung on his wigwam.

From The next well-known word is squaw. It comes from the Narra-Ganseth language and simply means "woman". For example, the very popular combination of Native American and English words Squaw-valley together means "Valley of Women. " Americans obviously love such pasta compounds, and we find Squaw-flower (flower), Squaw-fish (fish), etc. in their language. tipi (tee-pee). Teepee (the word comes from the Dakota language) is a pyramidal tent made of buffalo skins, found among all prairie tribes. Tipis were installed, cared for and even considered their owners exclusively by women.

T eepee is an ordinary prairie Indian home. Several dozen conical tips made up the village. They, as a rule, were installed in a circle, independent sections - sectors of the circle - were occupied by tipis of individual genera. In the geometric center of the circle stood the main teepee of the village council. The peace pipe was kept in a special tipi, also installed in some “place of honor” in the village.

T ipi served the prairie Indian all year round, so the tent was quite high (usually 4-5 meters) and just as wide (5-6 meters in diameter). The construction of such a tent required 7-10 buffalo skins. The leather walls of the tipi were decorated with drawings. The tent had special devices (the Indians called them "ears"), with which it was possible to regulate the circulation of air and, above all, remove smoke from the tent. Naturally, each tipi had a hearth located in the center. Tipis are often confused with another dwelling of North American Indians - a wigwam. The word comes from the Algonquian languages ​​​​of the Indian population of the east of the present USA and simply means "building". While the tipis did not differ much from one another, the wigwams of the individual Algonquian tribes were quite heterogeneous. Various climatic conditions of the North American east, the availability of various building materials, etc., played a role here. The basis of the wigwam was a frame cut down from wooden poles and covered with the material that the builders found themselves at hand, most often with tree bark. Wigwams were such a feature of the culture of the Algonquian tribes of eastern North America that some authors, such as Oliver LaFarge, call these Indians the Wigwam People (wigwam people).

And Another new concept is sign language. Sign language! The Indians of the North American prairies, who spoke dozens of different dialects and even belonged to different language groups (not just the so-called Sioux language family), he allowed to understand each other. The message that a prairie Indian wanted to communicate to a member of another tribe was transmitted using gestures of one or both hands. These gestures, movements, the exact meaning of which was known to every Indian not only on the prairies, but also in their neighborhood - from Canada to northern Mexico - helped to convey rather complex information to the partner. Even agreements between individual tribes, whose representatives did not understand each other, were concluded through sign language. Let us give at least one example: an Indian visually depicted a tipi (tent) in sign language, crossing the left and right index fingers.

I sign language and concludes our dictionary of Native American expressions, well known to every Western reader. In the literature of this kind we often meet the phrase: "When an Indian finishes his speech, he says "how" - "I have said everything." So we can say "how". We've said it all in this chapter.

Source

Video

Greeting in different languages ​​

Greeting in Hindi. How to say hello in India. Greeting in India - Hindi greeting

Greeting for real Indians

greeting

Spanish from scratch. Lesson 01-2. Greetings and farewell

Namaste. Greeting, respect, admiration or farewell?

Indian greeting 2017

Indonesian lesson 1 greeting

Easter greetings in different languages ​​

200 phrases - Hindi - Russian

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• 02/28/2020 - Antelope Woman. Wolf Wife. Two hawks. Frog. Crane and Otter. Vi`skedidi`N. Eagle and Loon. Wolves and wolverine. Skunk. Grizzlies (Assiniboins).
• 02/28/2020 - Buffalo Boy (Assiniboins).
• 02/27/2020 - Indians, convicts and slaves. War of Victorio.
• 02/18/2020 - Dunvali. William Keeler. Elias Cornelius Boudinot. John Ross. John Adair. Stand Waity. Elias Boudinot. Ned Christy. Tachi.
• 02/11/2020 - Thomas Wildcat Alford. Tenskwatawa. Nonelima. Blue Uniform. Black Hoof. Charles Bluejacket.
• 01/21/2020 - Conversations with whales. Religious aspects of hunting. Crown of Honor.
• 01/20/2020 - Execution at Fort Laramie 1865. Invasion of the Black Hills.
• 01/18/2020 - Dance of the Ghosts
• 01/17/2020 - "We are returning our ancestors to their lands." The way the red man looked at it. Migration of the Sioux and Winnebago. Survival on Crow Creek.
• 27/12/2019 - A boy in the moon. Beaver and Muskrat. Brides and pants (vuntut gwichin).
• 12/26/2019 - Arrow ladder (tlingit).
• 12/17/2019 - Petalesharo. Pitaresar. White Eagle. White fox.
• 12/14/2019 - Four winds. Epigea creeping. Dissatisfied stone (Iroquois).
• 12/12/2019 - Women as the meaning of existence. Cultural and religious roles of women. One old Sacho.
• 07/12/2019 - A young man and Mishosha (anishinabi).
• 06/12/2019 - Little Burnt Face. Woodpecker girls. Rabbit and Otter. How did the pines appear? Wind Bird (Mikmak).
• 05/12/2019 - The arrival of maple syrup. Heavenly Woman: the beginning. Spirit of the lake (mohawk).
• 04/12/2019 - Ugly wild boy (Zuni).
• 02/12/2019 - How fairies appeared. Summer fairies. In the land of the northern lights (Algonquins).
• 01/12/2019 - Ceremonies. Two spirits. Oral Traditions: California Tribes, Haida, Teton
• 01/12/2019 - Massachusetts before the arrival of the Pilgrims. Natik is a prayer town. Tidal Wars. "First Thanksgiving" - was it?
• 11/30/2019 - Star and water lilies. Fairy Lilinau. Niagara and the Great Lakes. Skunk wife. Maple sugar. Shingebiss and the Northwest Wind (anishinabi).
• 11/28/2019 - The emergence of clans. Good hawk. Potty boy (Hopi).
• 11/26/2019 - Spirit Rock. Thunderbirds. Bigfoot (menominee)
• 11/24/2019 - Gray woodpecker. Singing girls. Star Maidens (wyandot).
• 11/16/2019 - How a hunter became a partridge. Rabbit and Wild Cat (passamaquoddy).
• 11/15/2019 - Washita.
• 08/11/2019 - A journey called "femininity". Menstruation and menarche.
• 06/11/2019 - Grab it, cover it with a blanket, sing a song and steal her moccasins. Kinship.
• 10/31/2019 - The origin of animals. Coyote and Skunk. Coyote eyes. Sack and Pot (Apache).
• 10/31/2019 - Myths about the Indian casino. How did modern Indians get rich? Tribal casinos.
• 10/30/2019 - Russell Means on matriarchy. Why do tribes have a matrilineal social system? Iroquois matriarchy. Women's spirituality.
• 10/25/2019 - Lame warrior. Heavenly Husband. Nihansan and plums. Nihankan and the arrow of the dwarf. Magic Springs. The old burdock. How the Earth (arapaho) appeared.
• 10/23/2019 - Beginning of the end: peace commission 1867 - 1868.
• 10/18/2019 - Adventure of two lieutenants. General Sully's Bloody Campaign of 1864. Fetterman's fate. Cleanup of the Central Plains.
• 11/10/2019 - Greasy Grass, 1876. Memories of participants in the battle.
• 10/10/2019 - Solar Vulture. Hawks and bison. Chief Little Boy (wichita).
• 06/10/2019 - Washita - battle or massacre? Bloody snow of Vashita.
• 10/02/2019 - Song about horses. Coyote in Navajo Religion and Legend. Hasdzhelti and Hostjogon. Little Dawn Boy (Navajo).
• 01/10/2019 - Hornet and ant. Beaver and fire (Nez Perce).
• 09/30/2019 - How Turtle Island appeared. Shavondazi and the golden-haired maiden (anishinabi).
• 09/29/2019 - Rabbit and Wild Cat. Little people. Old dog (Alabama-Cushatta).
• 09/28/2019 - "What is in my name to you." Ceremonies and rituals: Anishinabi, Apache, Arapaho.
• 09/25/2019 - Traditional wars in the northern plains. Warrior women. The path of war.
• 09/24/2019 - Corn Woman. Journey to Heaven. Snake Woman. Possum and Bat. Hummingbird and Crane. Owl and mouse. Rabbit and resin stuffed animal (Alabama-Cushatta).
• 21/09/2019 - Cherokee Spirituality. Circle path. The power of Cherokee women. Traditional dress. Tattoos. Decorations. Warrior dance. Tubes. Beloved: cities, men, women.
• 09/17/2019 - The legend of the origin. Great Flood. How the Bear Lost Fire. How diseases appeared. Rabbit and Sun. Water game. Gift of the Hawk (Alabama-Cushatta).
• 09/15/2019 - Woman Leader. Another Magpie. Arapush. Curly.
• 09/13/2019 - Regions. Architecture. Spirituality and Ceremonial Practices: California, Northwest Coast and Southeast Alaska, Plains, Plateau, Southeast
• 11/09/2019 - Archeology of Strife.
• 06/09/2019 - Satanta. Satank. A big tree. Lone wolf. Big Bow. Bobby Onko.
• 04/09/2019 - Bison magic. Nuanuh moccasins. Raid for horses. Ghost Warrior. Big Owl. Otter and Fox. Fox and Owl. Rabbit and Turtle. Coyote girl (Comanche).
• 08/31/2019 - Carnage Canyon.
• 08/19/2019 - The legend of a little girl. How Coyote freed the buffalo. Seven Stars. The appearance of months and death. Miracle bowler. Coyote steals horses. Deer Magic (Comanche).
• 12/08/2019 - How the Wolf outwitted the sly one. Coyote and bear. Juggler eyes. Weasel and Owl. Coyote and prairie dogs. Creation of the Earth (Shoshoni).
• 09/08/2019 - The youth and the snakes. Deer Woman (Lipan Apache).
• 07/08/2019 - Prairie dogs save a woman. Horse ceremony. The dead man saves the girl. The coyote frees the bison. Coyote and Wild Cat (Lipan Apaches).
• 04/08/2019 - The appearance of the Lipan Apaches. Birth of the Enemy Killer. Enemy Slayer kills monsters. Killer of Enemies and Wise. The Enemy Slayer goes to war. Wind and Thunder (Lipan Apache).
• 07/27/2019 - Coyote and Mountain Lioness (caddo).
• 07/25/2019 - The path of the Cyclone. Brothers and cannibals. Death of a cannibal. Arrows for the ghost. Giant turtle. Rabbit and Mountain Lion teeth. Why do hawks have thin legs (caddo).
• 07/19/2019 - The origin of animals. Evening Star and Orphan Star. Tonin. The orphan gains strength. Mother of All Pecan Trees. She Who Calls the Bison. Dreamer (caddo).
• 07/19/2019 - Courageous Bird. Floyd Westerman. Tim Jago. Mary Katherine Sacred White Buffalo. Many horses. Pawnee killer.
• 07/10/2019 - Wounded Knee - medals of infamy.
• 04/07/2019 - Coluscap meets impostor uncle (maliset).
• 03/07/2019 - Turtle is getting married. The turtle is hunting the whale. Turtle compete. Turtle hunts moose. Coluscap and impostor. Mikumwesu kills an impostor (maliset).
• 02/07/2019 - Canadian Indians: quality of life. Reservation: life or survival? Loss of hope. Canadian Indians live worse than immigrants.
• 06/20/2019 - Mikumwesu chooses a wife. Disappearance of Little Thunder. Search for Little Thunder. Return of Little Thunder. Clu visits Turtle. On council (maliset).
• 06/13/2019 - Coluscap and Akwoulabemu. Coluscap and giant beaver. Coluscap and Izignapogos. Coluscap and giant skunk. Coluscap and Malsum. Coluscap heals girls (maliset).
• 12/06/2019 - Cheyenne blanket. Gods of the West (Pawnee).
• 06/10/2019 - We are against the border wall.
• 06/10/2019- Indians in the NHL. Indians who won the Stanley Cup.
• 03/06/2019 - How the Earth appeared (potawatomi).
• 05/27/2019 - Flint visits Rabbit. Atagahi. Ice Man (Cherokee).
• 05/23/2019 - Thunderbird. Lucky boy (passamaquoddy).
• 05/20/2019 - Little Wolf. Wolf With High Withers. Yellow Hair. High Bull. Dull Knife. Bear Heart. Joseph Fire Crow. Mo-chi.
• 05/16/2019 - Origin of Yosemite (Mivok).
• 05/15/2019 - Brother and sister. Geha and the boy. Find your father (Seneca).
• 05/13/2019 - Fire race (karuk).
• 12/05/2019 - White Potato Clan (screams).
• 09/05/2019 - The old man at the beginning of time (crow).
• 08/05/2019 - The origin of our flowers. Great Flood (Ottawa).
• 07/05/2019 - Anachareo. Robert Hill. Atotarho. Black Snake. Chief John Big Tree. Os-Ke-Non-Ton. Deh-ev-mis.
• 03/05/2019 - How a wild cat caught a turkey. The rabbit and the opossum are looking for wives. The rabbit and the bear are having lunch. The rabbit leaves the wolves. Why mink stinks. Man and stump. Cedar (Cherokee).
• 01/05/2019 - Dance of the Dead (luiseño).
• 04/30/2019 - Bear Hunter. Shoshone Mike.
• 04/30/2019 - The snake boy. The hunter becomes a snake. Revenge of the rattlesnakes. How the stripes on the bullfrog's head appeared. Grasshopper warning. Snake fight (Cherokee).
• 04/29/2019 - Fire Woman. Third Thunder. Origin of death. How the Rabbit hunted ducks. How did the deer get the antlers. Why does the Possum have a bald tail. Hunter and Dakwa (Cherokee).
• 04/27/2019 - The power of healing. Spirit of Corn (Tuscarora).
• 04/25/2019 - Two old men. Star feathers. Bear songs. How the Moon went to the Sun. Tlanuv's nest. Grom's helpers. How the Spider got the fire. Dressed in Stone (Cherokee).
• 04/22/2019 - History of fish. Girl Laughing Warrior (teva).
• 04/19/2019 - Fox and rabbit. The bird finds a husband. Panther and Whirlwind. Wren. Woman and dog on the moon. Twelve stars. Battle with snakes. Bear and Turtle (Seneca).
• 04/14/2019 - Birds and the flood. Why Apaches are cruel (pima).
• 04/13/2019 - The path of the sun. Finding fire. Coyote and Hare. Coyote and Deer (Sia).
• 04/10/2019 - Foxes and the Sun (Yurok).
• 06/04/2019 - Thunder and Lightning. The first man and woman. Flooding in Sacramento (Maidu).
• 05/04/2019 - The flood and the acquisition of fire (tolov).
• 04/04/2019 - The legend of the flood (ashochimi).
• 03/04/2019 - "Smallpox in blankets". Smallpox battle.
• 02/04/2019 - Keiho.
• 03/30/2019 - Creation of the world (Achomawi).
• 03/29/2019 - The shot that broke the peace
• 03/28/2019 - Coyote and the origin of death. Lightning and people. Hungry Coyote. How Coyote imitated his friends (caddo).
• 03/25/2019 - Kansas: environment and violence.
• 03/24/2019 - Ghost of a white deer. Bird Clan (Chickasaw)
• 03/23/2019 - Red bird. Deer and persimmon. Alligator power. The man who became a deer. Possum and Raccoon. Last way. Tanchi. Tower of Babel. Trail of Tears (choctaw).
• 03/22/2019 - Blood for blood.
• 03/16/2019 - Vodzivob. Posey. Chipeta. Tse-not-gat.
• 03/16/2019 - The origin of the Magic Pipe. Bison stone. The old man and the little bird. The old man and the coyote. The old man and the bear. The old man and the deer. The old man and the stone (black-footed).
• 03/09/2019 - Annavan. Avashonks. Metacomet. Massasoit.
• 03/03/2019 - Desecration of fire. Birds and cannibal. Sons of the cannibal. The emergence of corn (natchez).
• 02/28/2019 - How Old Man Coyote fooled the birds. Old Man Coyote learns to fly. Old Man Coyote and Mouse. Old Man Coyote and maple. Failed groom. Old Coyote and his mother-in-law (Crow).
• 02/25/2019 - Navajo: "kissed by the sun". Forced sterilization.
• 02/25/2019 - A Word for the Indigenous
• 02/22/2019 - How the Kingfisher Got Red
• 02/16/2019 - How U`stapu broke his hand to the wind. Sun and moon. Fire theft. Red-winged blackbird. Great flood (chitimacha).
• 02/15/2019 - War of birds and animals. Rabbit and Turtle. Rabbit and Esarketununesi. Rabbit and Panther. The rabbit is flying. Gifts of the Four. Origin of animals (clans) (shouts).
• 13/02/2019 - Bear and Rabbit. Water (hitchiti).
• 02/11/2019 - Eagle's nest. Liberation of the Sun. Bears and Fire. Bear people (Alabama).
• 02/10/2019 - I write what comes to me.
• 02/10/2019 - Return to the ancestors.
• 02/10/2019 - The Confounded Sun. Resin doll. How the Turkey Dog defeated (Biloxi).
• 07/02/2019 - Gluskup and Wind Eagle. Witcher story. Indian summer. Culoscope and tube. Drum spirit. Gluskup and maple syrup. Origin of maize (Abenaki).
• 01/27/2019 - Blatant disrespect and intolerance.
• 01/10/2019 - The appearance of the Sun (tunic).
• 01/09/2019 - Kochkakoeshke.
• 12/28/2018 - Old Man Pokoh. North Star (Paiute).
• 12/26/2018 - Coyote and blue bird. Well baked little men. Origin of light (pomo).
• 12/25/2018 - Creation of the Old Mole. How the Old Man from Above created the world (shasta).
• 12/23/2018 - How the deer got his shirt. Shy grooming. The wisdom of a simpleton. Loyalty of lovers (Lakota).
• 16/12/2018 - The flight of the Seneca boys. Revenge of the Cherokee. Seneca peacekeepers. Raid on Tikvali'tsi. The last shawano invasion. Careless housewife (Cherokee).
• 12/10/2018 - Bride from the South. Hunter and Selu. Underground panthers. Little people. Origin of Bears: Bear Songs. Whirlpool with ghosts (Cherokee).
• 11/30/2018 - Placido. El Mocho.
• 11/24/2018 - How the partridge got hold of the whistle. How did the cardinal turn red? How hummingbirds competed with cranes. The owl is getting married. Eagle's revenge. Hunter and Vulture (Cherokee).
• 11/18/2018 - Why does the mole live underground. Revenge of the wolf - the wolf and the dog. How a turkey got a beard. Why does a turkey chirp. Like a kingfisher got a nose (Cherokee).
• 08/11/2018 - Why do trees shed their leaves. Origin of medicine. Journey to the Rising Sun. Origin of the Pleiades and Pines. The appearance of strawberries (Cherokee).
• 10/31/2018 - The legend of the eagle. How Grandma Spider Stole the Sun. Global flood. What do the stars look like? Milky Way. Great Hornet: the appearance of fish and frogs (Cherokee).
• 11/10/2018 - The boy and the turtles. Legend of the Standing Stone (Dakota).
• 10/10/2018 - Iktomi and the turtle. Domestic donkey. Unctomi and silicon tips. Washna (Pemmican) and Unktomi (Lakota).
• 06/10/2018 - The story of creation (tohono o'odham).
• 05/10/2018 - Seminoles in the sky. Creation History (Seminole).
• 04/10/2018 - How red and white people (flathead/salish) appeared.
• 09/28/2018 - History of creation. Celebrating the death of Tu-chai-pai. Fly on the board (kumeyaai).
• 09/24/2018 - Great flood (Kovichan).
• 09/23/2018 - At the very beginning (yuchi).
• 09/21/2018 - Sweet potion. The appearance of bison (Cheyenne).
• 09/16/2018 - Legend of Vaunty (squamish).
• 09/13/2018 - Spring beauties. Strong vision. Enchanted moccasins. Stone canoe. Nana`b`ojo goes to the feat. The fly saves the river (anishinabi).
• 09/12/2018 - Appearance of the Earth (Tuskegi).
• 09/10/2018 - Juan Chivaria.
• 09/08/2018 - Missing and killed: understanding the scale. The cops put bullets into the Indians with amazing speed. "Memory Walk" An epidemic of disappearances and murders.
• 06/09/2018 - Iktomi and the stupid girl. Iktomi and the old wife. Son Iktomi (Lakota).
• 05/09/2018 - Coyote and Washichu. How did the Lakota originate? History of rabbits. How the Sun and Moon quarreled. Raccoon and crayfish. Rabbit and wapiti. Little mouse. (Lakota).
• 08/28/2018 - Wife for knowledge (Winnebago)
• 08/08/2018 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). Y.
• 02/08/2018 - Mato Ite. Mato Luzahan. Raymond Yellow Thunder. Inkpaduta. Chaska. Ted Tin Elk Sr. Sliced ​​Nose. Marty Two Bulls.
• 07/31/2018 - Howling Wolf. Beaver. Roman nose. Ar-no-ho-wok.
• 07/10/2018 - Dennis Banks. Adam Beach. Annie Humphrey.
• 04/07/2018 - Red Battle Mace. American Horse. Amos Bad Oxheart. Black wapiti. Joseph Flying By.
• 03/07/2018 - Kate Bear.
• 02/07/2018 - Hastin Kla. Henry Chi Dodge. Barboncito. Kelly R. Vallo.
• 06/29/2018 - Dan George. John Slocum. Marvin Camel.
• 04/06/2018 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). E.
• 05/14/2018 - Juan Antonio. Ruby Modesto. Willie Boy.
• 04/11/2018 - Making a corral. Great day. Gordon Tutusis. A big bear. Voice of the Almighty.
• 07/04/2018 - Api-kai-is. Na-To-Sa-Pi. Crow Paw. Eloise Cobell. Pita Macan. Misty Upham. John Louis Clark. Coal.
• 03/14/2018 - Red Bird. Spoon Decora. Julius Drum. Lillian St. Cyr.
• 10/03/2018 - Ann Roberts. Tamanend. Charles Jornicake. Neolin. John Conner. Captain Pipe.
• 02/20/2018 - Chitto Harjo. Enea Ematla. Sophia Alice Callahan. Mali Francis. Big Warrior. Jerome Tiger. Josiah Francis. Hopotle Miko.
• 01/26/2018 - Black Bird. Big Deer Senior.
• 01/14/2018 - Paula Gunn Allen. Alfonso Roybal. Pope.
• 07/01/2018 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). U.
• 12/19/2017 - Vernon Bellcourt. Clyde Bellcourt. Flat mouth.
• 08/12/2017 - Lucy Nicolar. Molly Spotted Deer.
• 11/02/2017 - Aripeka. Osceola. Alligator. Betty May Tiger Jumper. Bowlegs. Billy Bowlegs II. Billy Bowlegs III.
• 10/18/2017 - Jack Montgomery. Sequoia. Pulling Canoe. Nanie-hee. Talmadge Davis. Atakullaculla. Ostenako. Junalaska.
• 10/17/2017 - SuAnn Big Crow. Beatrice Medicine. Maria Pearson. Two Hits. David Bald Eagle. Zahn McClarnon. Zitkala-Sha.
• 09/27/2017 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). I.
• 09/19/2017 - Andrew Blackbird.
• 09/15/2017 - About language and words. Recording history. Big Bonfire Speech. "The history of America began with us."
• 06/17/2017 - What do you hear? What do you see? For the Black Hills! Hoya. There are no whites here. High grass. Slow motion. Stolen tent. East is a delicate matter.
• 05/28/2017 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). X.
• 05/24/2017 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). Ch.
• 05/17/2017 - Irene Bedard.
• 14/05/2017 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). C.
• 02/01/2017 - Capturing Turtle Island. Continued confrontation. A new round of struggle.
• 01/24/2017 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). W.
• 01/18/2017 - Old cloak (Tsimshian).
• 12/24/2016 - Meeting in paradise. Two Shoshoni. White fools. Mohican. Somewhere in Nevada. There are no Indians in hell. At the doctor.
• 11/19/2016 - Sherman Alexi.
• 12/11/2016 - Dogs and pepper spray. Deborah White Feather. Lessons from the Standing Stone. Mass arrest. Arrested. Tipi for Clinton. Arrests continue.
• 12/11/2016 - Manon Barbeau: "It's not mainstream." Occupation of the island of Lelu. Court battle.
• 10/31/2016 - Dance of the Ringing Dress.
• 10/26/2016 - Wallace Crazy Bear. Richard Oakes. Beautiful Lake. Decanisor. Scarroady. Alakuipa.
• 09/29/2016 - Kamiakin.
• 09/09/2016 - The last battle. We reject and protest! Appeal to the President. Oil pipeline blockade. Oilmen against the Sioux. UN requirement. Collision. Continuation of the war.
• 08/19/2016 - Black Hawk.
• 08/11/2016 - Condiaronok.
• 07/08/2016 - Mohawk named Vladimir.
• 03/08/2016 - Hehaka Gleshka. Ste-C-Tank. Crazy Horse. Helen Peterson.
• 08/02/2016 - Uncas. Oneka.
• 07/22/2016 - To a white person at the first meeting. Government and a dead horse. Whoa, Kitty! Three Indian old men. Magic moccasins. A pair of cowboy boots.
• 07/19/2016 - How to impress. Puzzle with a rooster. Indian paradise. Indian hell. At the bus stop. Tlinglit girl and whale. What can you say? What is courage.
• 26/06/2016 - The Yamasee War and Indian slavery.
• 06/20/2016 - Tendoy.
• 05/14/2016 - What the Black Elk did not say. The song is not about Hiawatha.
• 11/05/2016 - Little Raven.
• 02/05/2016 - Oka crisis in 1990.
• 04/22/2016 - Mulberry Creek Massacre.
• 03/03/2016 - Kuana Parker. Bison Hump. Gil Birmingham.
• 02/24/2016 - Kennecook.
• 01/21/2016 - Smohalla.
• 01/20/2016 - Marias River massacre.
• 10/12/2015 - John Trudell. Interview.
• 11/18/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). T.
• 11/17/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). S.
• 11/16/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). R.
• 11/15/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). P.
• 11/14/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). O.
• 11/13/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). N.
• 12/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). M.
• 11/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). L.
• 11/11/2015 - Sex trade on the reservation: the story of the confrontation of one Indian nation.
• 10/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). K.
• 09/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). I.
• 08/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). З.
• 07/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). Zh.
• 06/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). E.
• 05/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). D.
• 04/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). G.
• 03/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). V.
• 02/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). B.
• 01/11/2015 - Peo.
• 01/11/2015 - Characters from legends (short dictionary). A.
• 10/20/2015 - Sitting Bull. Red Cloud.
• 10/13/2015 - Kidnapping in law. "Neglect of duties."
• 02/09/2015 - Arizona Apaches: fighting for their land.
• 08/25/2015 - White Hair.
• 08/24/2015 - Squanto.
• 08/23/2015 - 10 facts you didn't know about Indians. Bob Haozus: let's talk "Indian style." I am a North American Indian.
• 01/08/2015 - Spiritual gifts of the Creator. Drum.
• 07/24/2015 - Potlatch. donation ceremonies.
• 06/23/2015 - Lacrosse.
• 06/19/2015 - Willow Wisdom (Osage).
• 11/06/2015 - Joseph de la Cruz.
• 06/06/2015 - Emily Pauline Johnson. Molly Brant. Ernest Benedict. Jay Silverheels. Charlie Hill.
• 06/04/2015 - They came for the children. Over 6,000 deaths. cultural genocide.
• 06/02/2015 - Juana Maria.
• 05/29/2015 - Obstetrics. The most important thing is love. Raising children among the Meskwaki.
• 05/24/2015 - Hetkala's little adventure.
• 05/21/2015 - Children are sacred creatures. Indian cradle.
• 05/17/2015 - Origin of the Pleiades (onondaga legend)
• 09/05/2015 - Bison. Bison trail. The death of bison.
• 05/05/2015 - Mystic artist Rance Hood.
• 04/29/2015 - Some interesting facts
• 04/27/2015 - Captivity stories. Missionaries: Alaska, California, Great Lakes.
• 04/24/2015 - Navajo and astronauts. The power of the icon. How President Bush got an Indian name. Siuper Vignan. In the mountain pasture. Horse riding.
• 04/14/2015 - If Santa Claus were an Indian. Time measurement. Anishinabi merchant. Clever sidekick. Good memory. Two old men. Blonde on the farm.
• 04/10/2015 - Indian dogs. Salish dogs.
• 04/09/2015 - Nooch "Black Hawk".
• 03/23/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. The Indian Problem of America (Chapter Ten).
• 03/22/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. The well-known riddle of the Blue Star Woman (chapter nine).
• 03/21/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. Dream about her grandfather (chapter eight).
• 03/20/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. Warrior's daughter (chapter seven).
• 03/19/2015 - Tales of the American Indians. The path of testing (chapter six).
• 03/15/2015 - Statement by Arvol Watch Horse to the UN. "We're here to deliver that message."
• 03/13/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. Softhearted Sioux (chapter five).
• 03/12/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. Great Spirit (chapter four).
• 03/11/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. Indian teacher among the Indians (chapter three).
• 09/03/2015 - Tales of the American Indians. The School Days of an Indian Girl (Chapter Two).
• 03/07/2015 - Like a coyote scattered the stars (the legend of the pueblo of Cochiti).
• 03/06/2015 - Flood. Basket Woman (Haida Legends).
• 03/04/2015 - Legends of the American Indians. Impressions of Indian childhood (chapter one).
• 01/03/2015 - Cherokee blowguns.
• 02/24/2015 - Eagle feather symbolism (lambi legend).
• 02/19/2015 - Buffy St. Marie.
• 02/19/2015 - Corn planter. Tanacharison.
• 02/17/2015 - How the first stories came out of the earth. Snow Boy. (Lenape legends).
• 02/16/2015 - Ella Deloria. Robert Hill.
• 02/14/2015 - Mary Dorion.
• 12/02/2015 - How a coyote placed stars in the sky (wasco legend)
• 10/02/2015 - Monroe Tsatoki. James Ochia. Spencer Asa.
• 01/28/2015 - Susie Walking Bear.
• 01/25/2015 - Butterflies (papago legend).
• 01/20/2015 - There was no room for Indians in Jefferson's free empire. Unknown history of the country. Capture of America.
• 01/17/2015 - Rivalry over wives (kochichi legend).
• 01/17/2015 - Shiki Toklanni. Goyen. Lozen.
• 01/01/2015 - Mitchell Red Cloud.
• 12/22/2014 - Brief "educational program".
• 12/20/2014 - The Lost Bird of Wounded Knee. Rod Lowry. Natavista.
• 05/12/2014 - Mabel McKay. Elsie Comanche Allen.Thanadeltar.
• 11/30/2014 - Sachin Little Feather. Naomi Lang.
• 11/20/2014 - Bloody Knife. Tonasket.
• 11/18/2014 - Marriage traditions. Lakota. Cherokee.
• 13/11/2014 - Blue Eagle.
• 09/11/2014 - Sar-sarp-kin.
• 23/10/2014 - Language revival: Huma, Yurok, Cherokee, Ojibwe and others.
• 10/23/2014 - Dasoda-he. Kochis.
• 10/09/2014 - Elizabeth Peratrovich.
• 04/10/2014 - Sand Creek. Echo Sand Creek.
• 09/29/2014 - Will Sampson. Joseph Bruchak. Louis Ballard.
• 09/27/2014 - Mirror. White Thunder. Tukhulhulzote. Five Wounds and Rainbow.
• 09/18/2014 - Hagler.
• 09/07/2014 - Native Americans, prisoners of war. Why the Sioux are turning down $1.3 billion.
• 08/30/2014 - Leonard Peltier.
• 09/08/2014 - Russell Means.
• 07/16/2014 - "American Indians - Answers to Today's Questions"
• 07/15/2014 - Mother Nature has her own culture, and this is the indigenous culture.
• 07/12/2014 - Two languages ​​in the mind, but only one in the heart.
• 06/26/2014 - Seattle. Moses.
• 06/15/2014 - Greenville Treaty 1795 years old
• 15/06/2014 - Indian Removal Act 1830. Cherokee Declaration of 1861.
• 06/11/2014 - Nakaidoclini. Natiotish. Jason Betzinez.
• 05/30/2014 - We are aligned with the Earth
• 05/26/2014 - It is fair that people share what God has so generously sent them
• 05/19/2014 - They will not have life, if we don't protect the water. Seizure of land in the Sioux reservation. Massive salt water leak.
• 05/05/2014 - Headhunters. Massacre on Cypress Hill. It's a crime to be an Indian.
• 04/05/2014 - Sappa Creek Tragedy
• 27/04/2014 - Earth Healing Dance
• 09/04/2014 - Navajo Flutist Andrew Thomas
• 30/03/2014 - Ochetikovin
• 03/28/2014 - Indigenous peoples' legal status and organizations in Canada. Indigenous property rights.
• 03/03/2014 - Indian marriages
• 01/03/2014 - Audrey Shenandoah
• 22/02/2014 - "We demand to be recognized as human beings"
• 21/02/2014 - Keepers of Wisdom
• 02/19/2014 - Sanctity of water
• 02/19/2014 - Origins of the Lakota people (Dwayne Bear Hollowhorn). Lakota time. Universe.
• 02/19/2014 - Red cry
• 02/18/2014 - Iktomi and the spirit of the wind. Iktomi and Beaver. Prairie rose. Star boy and seven sisters. Her seven brothers (Lakota).
• 14/02/2014 - Ancient Indian Beauty Secrets
• 11/02/2014 - Sacred Pipe
• 10/02/2014 - Navajo Language Immersion School. Textbook in the Navajo language.
• 07/02/2014 - "Lone Star" of Texas
• 29/01/2014 - "Gold belongs to a demon that devours all who seek it"
• 21/01/2014 - They must find what they lost
• 01/17/2014 - Yavapai-people of the sun
• 01/06/2014 - The history of the universe and the meaning of dreams. The rise of the myth. Rabbit calls for a truce. Oochigeas and the Invisible Youth (Abenaki).
• 29/12/2013 - About tattoos and headwear
• 28/12/2013 - Wounded Knee. No right to life.
• 24/12/2013 - Ethics and principles
• 22/12/2013 - Rainbow Warriors (Kree legend)
• 18/12/2013 - Symbolism in brief
• 17/12/2013 - Hiawatha Asylum.
• 12/16/2013 - Stereotypes of "hit" films
• 12/14/2013 - Heavy Necklace and the ghost of a woman. The Adventures of the Whirling Bison. Wolf Man. Chief Mountain. Buffalo berries. Origin Legend (Blackfoot).
• 12/13/2013 - Navajo long way
• 12/12/2013 - Sterilization as a way of "western democracy"
• 08/12/2013 - About the sacred essence
• 07/12/2013 - About land and "the right to own it". You failed to destroy us.
• 06/12/2013 - Pemmican
• 03/12/2013 - The world of ghosts and spirits
• 03/12/2013 - Ambrosio Vilhalva
• 26/11/2013 - Protection of the sacred ways of life
• /21006 902 - What does National Indian Heritage Month mean to me
• 26/11/2013 - Wovoka or the story of disappointed hopes
• 25/11/2013 - "This is how the Indians do it"
• 25/11/2013 - How Indians got to America and beyond
• 24/11/2013 - How Columbus created cannibals
• 24/11/2013 - 10 secrets of love
• 21/11/2013 - Our spirits do not speak English. St. Anne's boarding school.
• 21/11/2013 - Lozen and Tadotsei: true daughters of their people
• 21/11/2013 - A little about the Red Road0006
• 11/21/2013 - "Chief of the Red Faces"
• 11/20/2013 - "No to inaction!": history of the movement, main events
• 11/18/2013 - American Indian movement against sterilization and racist terror
• 11/18/2013 - "Twinks"
• 11/17/2013 - Indian elders about Castaneda and other "don Juans"
• 11/16/2013 - Stereotype about "drunk Indians"
• 11/16/2013 - "Brule": the history of life in music
• 11/16/2013 - Those who were "Indian" in the "past life".
• 16/11/2013 - Keisha Crowther or the technology of the great deception
• 14/11/2013 - Hobbists
• 13/11/2013 - Shamanism or what is not Indian culture About languages ​​and not only
• 11/11/2013 - A land of unequal opportunities
• 09/11/2013 - Stereotypes and reality
• 06/11/2013 - We did not beat the drums Thunder Mountains
• 05/11/2013 - Seven Natural Laws
• 02/11/2013 - Green Indian
• 30/10/2013 - The Scalp Dance and more
• 29/10/2013 - A culture you can't learn from books
• 28/10/2013 - Native Americans in World War II
• 28/10/2013 - Frank Waln. We are always ready! Oil 4 Blood
• 10/26/2013 - Where the seeds of racism grow
• 10/26/2013 - How the feminine has been distorted
• 10/21/2013 - Jena Mashoni. Robbie Robertson.
• 10/20/2013 - Indian as a warrior
• 10/18/2013 - Battle for their land
• 10/17/2013 - What is it like to be an indigenous people in the 21st century?
• 10/15/2013 - The development of stereotypes
• 10/14/2013 - I was born with bronze skin
• 10/12/2013 - How America was "opened" 09/10/2013 - "And who is this person that you read to me about?"
• 09/10/2013 - Pocahontas Hostage of Myth
• 04/10/2013 - New Age mystics, healers and their ceremonies0006
• 03/10/2013 - Respect for timeliness
• 30/09/2013 - Native American character
• 09/27/2013 - We have always been here
• 09/27/2013 - Everything for the trip
• 09/27/2013 - Alimentary experiments on the natives of Canada at the movies
• 09/26/2013 - Native American Old Man Reflections
• 26/09/2013 - Canadian Aboriginal Legal Framework
• 25/09/2013 - First Nations March
• 25/09/2013 - Memorial March
• 25/09/2013 - Indian Questions and Answers
• 24/09/2013 - Survival Strategy
• 21/09/2013 - Anna Mae Ekwash
• 21/09/2013 - Wounded Knee Echoes
• 21/09/2013 - Nunadautsunt cried"
• 09/20/2013 - This is something that no one will ever take away from me
• 09/18/2013 - I am responsible to the Creator
• 09/18/2013 - Ecological genocide
• 09/18/2013 - Wilma Mankiller
• 09/13/2013 - "We came here to talk about freedom"
• 09/13/2013 - We have the right!
• 09/13/2013 - Modernization of the sawmill
• 09/12/2013 - He walked the "Trail of broken contracts"
• 09/11/2013 - Holocaust
• 09/11/2013 - Original fashion.

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