Chuck Rosenalc, a photographer, writer and longtime collector of American folk art contributed to the exhibition "ANII ANAADAALYAAIGH [Recent Ones that are Made]: Continuity and Innovation in Recent Navajo Art;' at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM,from July 10 to October 30, 1988. He is working on a book and exhibition on twentieth century American folk art for the Museum of American Folk Art, New York City. NOTES I. "Dineh" is the name used by the Navajo to refer to themselves. However, Navajo is a complex tonal language in which the meaning of a word is distinguished by the pitch of the voice. Thus, there are often several spellings of the same word. For a more detailed explanation, see Raymond Locke, The Book ofthe Navajo:. Los Angeles: Manlcind Publishing Company, 1976. 2. Drum pots are an example of ceremonial use of Navajo pottery. They are used for sings such as the Enemy Way, one of the most frequently held Navajo ceremonies in the summer months. The drum pots are blessed in secret ceremony before they may be used, according to medicine man Emmett Tso. "Eyes are cut into a deer skin stretched tight over the pot's opening, and water is added through the eyes:' he explained, to give the drum proper resonance. Drumming continues through the entire dance. 3. A hogan is a circular or six-sided dwelling of mud, logs, or stone in which many Navajo lived until recent years. While hogans are not uncommon today, they are used primarily for ceremonial purposes. 4. "Anasazi" or "ancient ones: as the Navajo call them, refers to the people who lived in the area from the 5th century until about 1300 at which time they mysteriously disappeared from the region, perhaps because of several periods of severe drought and crop failure. 5. The Yeibichai or Night Chant is the most sacred of Navajo ceremonies. Continuing for nine days, it may take place only in fall — after the first frost when snakes are in hibernation and there is no danger from lightning. 6. A ritual performed by a medicine man (hataalii) to ward off evil, this ceremony, which often utilizes sandpainting, is both curative and preventive. 7. Klah was one of the most famous medicine men ofthe early 1900s. He persuaded Mary Cabot Wheelwright to finance a Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art in Santa Fe(now called the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian). Because of belief in his power, Hastiin Klah was able to record songs and sandpaintings without harm to himself or his viewers. See N. Parezo, "Navajo Sandpaintine 'Meson: University of Arizona Press, 1983. 8. The Hopi potter Nampeyo was born in Hano in 1859 or 1860. After seeing shards of pottery brought home by her husband during excavation of the ruin of Sikyatki, she began to experiment with old designs and revived pottery making. Most well-known Hopi potters today are descendants of Nampeyo. SUGGESTED READING Bruegge, David M., Wright, H. Dianne and Bell, Jan. "Navajo Pottery:' Plateau Magazine, Museum of Northern Arizona, Vol. 58, No. 2(1987). Hartman, Russell and Musial, Jan. "Navajo Pottery, Traditions and Innovations:' Flagstaff, Arizona: Northland Press, 1987. Rosenak, Charles. "Folk Art of the People: Navajo Works:' St. Louis: Craft Alliance Gallery and Education Center, 1987. Roessel, Robert A. Jr. "Navajo Arts and Crafts:. Rough Rock, Arizona: Navajo Curriculum Center, 1983. Tschopik, Harry, Jr. "Navaho Pottery Making; An Inquiry into the Affinities ofNavaho Painted Pottery:. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. XVII, No. 1, 1941.
Summer 1988
LORENA BARTLETT While Bartlett's well-proportioned, thin-walled pots are decorated with traditional designs, they still have a contemporary feeling;11/ 3 4"high x 8"diameter.
LOUISE GOODMAN Goodman is known for exposing the unsmoothed coils on the outside ofher pottery: 10/ 1 2 " high x 8/ 1 4"diameter.
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