On this page you will find information about the Navajo tribe of the Southwest. You will find facts about the religion, food, types of entertainment, culture, climate, and other information on this page.
Food
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| A Stalk of Corn |
The Navajo grew crops and hunted small animals for food. The crops that they grew were sometimes called the "Three Sisters", the Three Sisters were beans, squash, and corn. Corn was the Navajo's staple food, it could be eaten fresh or dried and ground. One animal that the Navajo hunted was prairie dogs.
Religion
The Navajo don't believe in a God, they believe that the Holy Wind , the Nitch'i Diyin, created the world. The creation story includes three worlds, the first is an island with four seas around it. The second world is east of the first world and contains blue-gray mammals. The third world had sacred mountains, two rivers and no sun.
Climate
The climate where the Navajo Tribe lives is hot and dry. There is little vegetation because of the weather. In the Southwest region there is between ten and fourteen inches of rain per year. In the winter it cools down and can get very cold.
Entertainment
One main source of entertainment for the Navajoes was music. Most Navajo music had these things; voice ( all music had voice), drums, flutes, and whistles. Songs for children were usually about pets, livestock, or about members of the family. Navajo music usually had a steady rhythm, so to babies the music was very soothing. Children also dolls, toys and games to keep then happy. They also had races and played archery games.
Culture
An important part of Navajo culture was weaving, all woman and girls knew how to weave. An important person in weaving was the "Spider Woman", she was incredibly good at weaving. When a girl turned thirteen she would have a four day ceremony called a Kinaalda, a Kinaalda welcomed the girl into womanhood. When somebody died the hogan (house) that they lived in was deserted or even burned. The dead were feared and considered evil, they were buried in unmarked graves next to other dead family members.
Other Interesting Facts
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| A modern hogan |
The Navajo region is about the same size as West Virginia, covering 2,000,000 acres with 200,000 tribe members today. All Navajoes lived close to Canyon de Chelly, and all hogans, or houses, have six to eight sides. Most hogans are made of mud, straw and stone.
