book chapter
A note on star-lore among the Navajos
Journal of American folk-lore • 21 • Published In 1908 • Pages: 28-32
By: Tozzer, Alfred M. (Alfred Marston).
Abstract
This is a short but extremely interesting account of the symbolism of perforations on a gourd rattle prepared during the Night Chant. On the basis of informants declaring that these represented constellations, the author compared them with scientific charts of the skies, and found that the Navajo possessed an accurate knowledge of the stars depicted. Alfred M. Tozzer, a curatior of Middle American archaeology at Harvard's Peabody Museum, was an instructor in archaeology at Harvard at the time he prepared this paper, which was read at the Nineteenth Meeting of the American Folk-Lore Society in Chicago.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2004
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Southwest and Basin
- Document Type
- book chapter
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Katchen S. Coley ; 1951
- Field Date
- no date
- Coverage Date
- 1900s
- Coverage Place
- southwestern United States
- Notes
- Alfred M. Tozzer
- The reader will find a chart making comparisons of Navajo knowledge of the skies and constellations in categories 531, 534, and 821.
- This document consists of excerpts
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCN
- 17028737
- LCSH
- Navajo Indians