For the Dineh, as for all Native Americans, art and religion were intertwined. Art served a ceremonial purpose,
As a way to relate to spiritual beings that the Dineh believed existed in both the natural and supernatural worlds. It was also a way to be closer to one’s ancestors and a way to influence the spiritual beings to affect the weather or cure the sick. The Dineh had highly developed art and rituals for these purposes.
Detail of a Dineh sandpainting
One Dineh art form was oral chants. The Dineh and most other Indians did not use the written word to record their legends. Rather, they recited their myths in songs and poetry, usually to musical accompaniment. In the case of the Dineh, the chants were especially long. For example, their Mountain Chant has 13 different episodes, containing 161 songs. These tell of the mythological origins of the Dineh people—creation or emergence myths, as they are called. The Night Chant has 24 episodes with 324 songs. Dineh shamans used these in healing ceremonies.
There were many more chants, passed on from one generation to the next through the spoken word without the help of writings. Legendary beings—many of them a combination of animals and people—come to life in Dineh oral tradition. Here is part of a creation song:
I am frivolous Coyote; I wander around.
I have seen the Black God’s Fire; I wander around.
I stole his fire from him; I wander around.
I have it! I have it!
I am changing Coyote; I wander around.
I have seen the bumble-bee’s fire; I wander around.
I stole his fire from him; I wander around.
I have it! I have it!
The coyote plays an important role in the mythology of tribes all over North America. Native Americans respected the animal for its cunning and its ability to survive in forest, mountain, prairie, and desert country. In some Indian stories, the mythical culture hero Coyote helps people. But usually he is a trickster who plays practical jokes on people, or a meddler who ruins people’s plans. He is often regarded as greedy. Whether good or bad, however, Coyote is always clever.
Coyote was one of the Holy People in Dineh religion. Changing Woman, or the Earth Mother, was another. Unlike Coyote, she was always kind to the Dineh and gave their ancestors corn. Spider Woman, who, according to legend, taught the people weaving, and Spider Man, who warned the people of coming danger, could be mean like Coyote. The Hero Twins, who killed the monsters to make the world safe, could also turn nasty. Many more Holy People were part of Dineh mythology. There were also the chinde, who the Dineh believed were malevolent ghosts of dead people inhabiting the earth. Ghosts caused sickness and accidents, they thought. The Dineh also believed in witches, real people who practiced black magic to harm others for revenge or for their own personal gain.
In addition to the mythology, poetry, songs, and music of their oral tradition, the Dineh developed an art form known as sandpainting. Other Native Americans painted permanent designs on pottery, clothing, and tipis. Yet Southwest peoples also created temporary drawings on the ground. The Dineh probably adopted this cultural trait from the Pueblo Indians, who might have learned it from the YAQUI.
The sandpaintings were actually altars used in healing ceremonies. The animals and designs had symbolic meanings. The Indians created these intricate and colorful dry paintings by trickling powders of minerals such as ocher, ground sandstone, gypsum, and charcoal into patterns on clean sand. At the end of the rituals, the paintings were destroyed. Participants took some of the powder away with them for its magical properties.
A distinction is usually made between arts and crafts. When an object is made for a practical purpose, its manufacture is usually thought of as a craft. Yet many Native American crafts were so highly developed that they can be thought of as true art. An example of this is Navajo weaving. The Dineh learned weaving from the Pueblo Indians after domesticated sheep for wool were introduced to the region. Dineh women learned to spin the wool from sheep, dye the threads, and then weave them on a loom. The finished blankets and rugs had bright geometric designs, or in some cases, pictures of animals. They are now treasured all over the world as wall hangings.
Another Dineh craft considered a fine art is jewelry making. The Dineh learned the art of silversmithing from the Mexicans in the mid-1800s and passed this skill
A Dineh woman weaving a blanket on her loom
On to Pueblo Indians. They became famous for their sil-verwork, especially necklaces, bracelets, and belt buckles.
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