People of the Legends
Indigenous People of North America - Navajo
Culture and Customs - Artists continued
Navajo pottery
Today Navajo potters may make their own clay and glazes and fire their pots in an outdoor pit, or they may purchase their materials from a store and use an electric kiln.
A traditional method of pot making is to roll clay into a long coil, circle it round to build up the sides of the pot, and then smooth out the coils evenly.
A traditional method for finishing a pot is to paint boiling pitch made from pine trees all over the pot to seal it. This makes the pot water-tight. Pitch-painted pots vary from dark to golden brown and have a glossy finish. Designs and finishes that are more colourful and more modern are also produced today.
Kachina dolls and dream catchers
Kachinas are male dancers who wear masks and costumes. They act out the roles of messengers and guardians of the Holy People, and other things in nature, such as animals.
The Navajo believe Kachina dancers have supernatural powers and can give blessings to people.
Kachina dolls are carved from wood and used to be given to women and children, but now everyone enjoys them, including tourists who often collect them.
Dream catchers were designed for children, to catch dreams while they sleep.
Good dreams slip through the small hole in the middle of the web and reach the sleeper, and bad dreams are caught in the web and vanish in daylight.
Today dream catchers are hung in many places, including in living rooms and on the rearview mirrors of cars.
Some people think they are cute and others think they are silly – like all the other stuff that people hang in their cars. Some people take them very seriously.
