Navajo eschatology

Wyman, Leland Clifton; Hill, W. W. (Willard Williams); ósanai, Iva

book chapter

Navajo eschatology

University of New Mexico Press • 4 (1) • Published In 1942 • Pages: 48

By: Wyman, Leland Clifton, Hill, W. W. (Willard Williams), ósanai, Iva.

Abstract
This is a good account by three well-known ethnologists of Navajo concepts of the afterlife. Specifically it deals with the activities of 'ghosts' and the prevention of cure of sickness resulting from them, and the nature of the after-world. Throughout the account, similarities of belief with those of the Apaches are pointed out. However, the authors do not support the theory suggested in connection with the Apaches, that the Navajos' fear of the dead results from repressed resentment and dislike of relatives which actual competition in real life evokes. In their discussion of eschatology, the authors also take issue with the often-heard statement that the relationship between witches and ghosts is so close as to be classifiable together. Although they grant that behavioral patterns connected with the two occasionally merge, they believe that on the whole the pattern assemblages are distinct.

Comparative evidence

Acculturation and culture contact

Sorcery

Magical and mental therapy

Dying

Special burial practices and funerals

Cult of the dead

General character of religion

Cosmology

Mythology

Eschatology

Sacred objects and places