The Navajo Nation, the Dineh, are Native Americans of the American Southwest. Navajo myth teaches that the Dineh, the People, were led to the Southwest lands out of the underworld by the Holy People. Anthropologists opine that the Dineh's ancestors migrated from Canada to New Mexico in the 15th century and they learned weaving from the Pueblo people plus some influence from Spanish settlers.
The resulting blankets and area rugs produced by the Navajo People are works of art that are both prized collectibles and household textiles of durable beauty and practical use. Hand loomed area rugs and blankets add lasting cachet to home decor as original art, wall hangings, and furniture and floor accents.
Navajo Weaving is a Sophisticated Hand Crafted Art
One of the major contributions to Navajo weaving from the Spanish was certainly the churro sheep, who grow a long, lustrous fleece of fine quality, perfect for the weaving of durable rugs and blankets.
Early on, the Navajo weavers developed a large free-standing upright loom. A 1910 example with a Navajo weaver is pictured with this article. It takes at least two to three months to hand loom a large blanket or area rug.
The process starts with the shearing of the wool from the sheep, cleaning and carding it, and spinning it to yarn that is dyed in the traditional colors.
When the colors are chosen by the weaver, the actual weaving is ready to begin. While there are traditional patterns used in the Navajo weaving, the designs are not drawn out in advance. The weaver simply begins and weaves from the mind and heart. It is a mystical process. The result is a work of art of the spirit and no two finished rugs or blankets are exactly alike. Each is truly a beautiful original.
Navajo Weaving Colors and Designs
Two predominant colors in the Navajo weaving designs are indigo blue and cochineal red. The reds especially are reflective of the predominant color of the weavers' native land. Other colors often used are greys, shades of browns, yellows and golds.
While many of the traditional designs are geometrical, such as the example shown with this article, the individual Navajo weavers have developed their own designs and imbue their original approach to their craft into beautiful wall hangings, rugs and blankets.
In addition to the traditional geometric designs, some Navajo weavers have depicted the Holy People, called the ye'ii figures, into some of their rugs. These are elongated figures shown upright on the rugs separated by vertical cornstalks.
Other weavers may work their vision of the creation stories of the People's origins and their oral history into their weaving.
While there are traditional forms that can be noted within the Navajo weaving tradition, each weaver is free to choose the pattern, color, size, product, and materials. Thus each artist weaves into each work the artist's own spirit within the larger context of the collective spirt of the People.
Historical Periods of Navajo Weaving
Historically the Navajo weaving designs are organized into the following periods:
- Classic Period, 1650-1863, predominent designs of diamonds, triangles, and crosses laid out on horizontal bands; blankets and serapes were the main creations;
- Transition Period, 1863-1895, during which the People were plagued with negative outside influences including their Long Walk forced march into New Mexico under the U.S. military (later being allowed to return, but at the inevitable cost of such an event); trading posts eventually flourished as an outlet for Navajo textiles and outside influences affected weaving, such as outside produced yarns and modified diamond patterns in the weaving;
- Rug Period, 1895-1950, saw an expansion of area rug making and artistic specialization in design and native yarns, experimentation, with development of regional and individual artist styles; well known regional styles of this period are: Ganado, Two Gray Hills, Crystal, Teec Nos Pos, Chinle and Wide Ruins;
- Contemporary, 1950-Present, the Navajo weaving tradition has continued in its spiritual and individual expression; the traditional designs flourish but are increasingly complex.
Whether or not the Navajo first learned about looms from the Pueblos, the Spanish or their own spiritual heritage centuries ago, is immaterial to the unique and sophisticated art form the Dineh have developed as an integral, essential part of their culture and heritage. Their work is highly collectible and will outlast a lifetime.
Books about Navajo Weaving and Designs
- Bennett, Noel, Navajo Weaving Way: The Path From Fleece to Rug (Interweave Press, 1997), ISBN-10: 1883010306,
- Roessel, Monty, Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave (Lerner Pub. 1985), ISBN -10: 0822597128.
- Dockstader, Frederick, The Song of the Loom, New Traditions in Navajo Weaving (Hudson Hills Press, 1987), ISBN-10: 0933920873.
- Dedera, Don, Navajo Rugs, The Essential Guide, 2nd ed. (Northland, 1999), ISBN-10: 0873586352.
- Jeffries, Robert and Kent McManis, Navajo Weavings (Rio Nuevo Pub. 2009), ISBN-10: 1933855363.
- Kaufman, Alice and Christopher Selser, The Navajo Weaving Tradition: 1650 to the Present (Council Oak Books, 1999), ISBN-10: 1571780661.
- Reichard, Gladys Amanda, Weaving a Navajo Blanket (Dover Pub., 1974), ISBN-10: 0486229920.
Other Sources about Navajo Weaving
Linda Ashar - Linda C. Ashar is a lawyer, educator, horse breeder, freelance writer, and artist. Her 25-year law practice in Avon, Ohio, focuses on ...
