Navajo Painted Drum

Today, thanks to the terrible weather here in Adelaide, I have decided to share with you another Native American Painted Drum. This one from the Navajo.

We love hand crafted native American drums. This is the second one I have blipped, with the previous one being on 17th August. This is a sand painting on a Navajo drum, with cow hide stretched over a wooden frame. Looks much better in large.

The Navajo, who call themselves Dine ("The People"), are the largest Native American group in North America. The Nation's boundaries stretch across Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. The Long Walk of the Navajo, also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo, refers to the 1864 deportation of the Navajo people by the U.S. Government.

Navajos were forced to walk at gunpoint from their reservation in what is now Arizona to eastern New Mexico. The trip lasted about 18 days and many of the people died on the enforced march.
We visited the Native American Memorial Museum at Bosque Redondo in 2010 and it was a very emotional experience.

This drum was purchased in Albuquerque, NM some years ago. The design reflects some of the Navajo creation story, describing the prehistoric emergence of the Navajos. This story forms the basis for the traditional Navajo way of life.

Sand paintings were, and still are, primarily ceremonial. This one is painted with a traditional four point motif. As with all ceremonial paintings, each symbol has specific meaning with its own story and chants.