The Blessing Way (1970)

The Anasazi, or Ancestral Puebloan peoples, of the southwestern regions of the United States often built their houses on the sides of canyon cliffs using natural rock overhangs and large caves as the base for their structures. Many standing ruins of cliff dwellings that were built in the period around 1150-1300 CE can be found in the Four Corners area in present day Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. The early, nomadic Puebloan peoples started building these structures by enclosing existing cliff caves with stone building blocks and adobe mortar to create storage bins for gathered and hunted foods. Later on, a similar technique was used to build larger rooms that were used as living structures. The settlements were often built on high canyon walls as a way to protect the community from predators and hostile neighboring tribes. Steps were carved into rocks, and wooden ladders were used to climb up and down the canyon walls. Some of the most impressive cliff dwelling ruins are located in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, the Gila National Monument in New Mexico, and Walnut Canyon in Arizona.

Snakes are limbless reptiles. Some snakes are venomous, meaning they are able to inject their prey with poison, while most snakes are not. Found on almost every continent, snakes are also found as iconic elements in human culture. Mankind's fascination with the snake's ability to shed its skin, its abilities to travel through multiple elements (earth, air, water), its provocative stare, and even its shape have led some cultures to worship the snake, while others maintain a profound aversion if not fear toward it.

In some versions of Navajo mythology, for example, the diving heron brought witchcraft to the Earth’s surface. First Woman gave bits of witchcraft to different beings, and when she gave it to rattlesnake, he had to eat it as he had no hands. This led the rattlesnake to be poisonous, and snakes in general are considered powerful creatures toward which strict taboos are maintained.

In some versions of Navajo traditional medicine, when a person is thought to have been contaminated by coming into contact with an enemy or enemy witch, he can be taken to a diagnostician known as a hand trembler. The hand trembler will determine if the Enemyway ceremony is needed to cure the patient of any ailments thought to derive from enemy contact. The blackening rite is then conducted to determine if the Enemyway Ceremony will cure the patient’s ailment. This rite consists of mixing tallow and ash and spreading the mixture over the cursed victim. By painting the patient in ash, the patient comes to embody Monster Slayer, a young warrior who fights his way toward saving the Navajo people in various tales that comprise the Navajo origin story.

Also spelled "Shootingway," the Shooting Way is a curing ceremonial complex from the Holyway classification that is performed to heal the patient’s sickness and restore balance and beauty into the world. The Shooting Way is a complex of chants that includes the Male Shooting Way Chant (na’at’oee baką́jí), the Male Shooting Way Ugly (Na’ átoee baką́ji hochǫ́ǫ́jí), and the Female Shooting Way Chant. It should be noted that the sex of the patient does not influence which of these chants are used. Rather, it appears to be based on the sex of the characters in the myth attached to the chant.

The Male Shooting Way chants are performed to cure people who have inopportune contact with snakes, arrows, or lightning. These are dangerous as they are associated with supernatural beings. The Male Shooting Way Ugly is performed to cure illnesses caused by witchcraft and ghosts.

Although there are recorded fragments of the Female Shooting Way chant and even a sandpainting schema associated with the Female Shooting Way ceremonial, the actual practice of this branch is less well known and less practiced than the male cycles of this healing ceremonial. In general, the Female Shooting Way is meant to alleviate illnesses provoked by association with menstruating women, or when a pregnant woman comes into contact with lightning, its effects, or curing ceremonials that are inappropriate for pregnant women to attend.

A ceremonial stick used in the Navajo Enemyway ceremonial. On the first day of the Enemyway, the scalp stick is created at the patient’s home and at sunset of the stick is presented to the stick receiver. If he finds it properly made, the stick receiver accepts the stick and portions of the Blessing Way are sung.

A ceremonial stick used in the Navajo Enemyway ceremonial. On the first day of the Enemyway, the scalp stick is created at the patient’s home and at sunset of the stick is presented to the stick receiver. If he finds it properly made, the stick receiver accepts the stick and portions of the Blessing Way are sung.

A ceremonial participant in the Enemyway whose job is to shoot the ritual “scalp” of the enemy that is causing illness in a patient. The Enemyway is a Navajo ceremony performed to cure people from illness caused by coming into contact with an "enemy," typically someone or an experience outside the Navajo culture and traditional lifeways. The symbolic scalp is collected during a ritualized warpath prior to the ceremony, brought to the place of healing without being touched, and kept out of sight until it is time to be destroyed by the scalp shooter, thereby eradicating the cause of the imbalance being suffered by the patient who is the focus of the healing ceremony.

The person chosen during the Enemyway ceremonial to collect and carry a symbolic enemy scalp to the place where it will be shot and ritually defeated. The object representing the enemy scalp is tied to a pole with yucca fibers and is not touched by the naked hand. Not to be confused with the scalp shooter, the scalp carrier must not pass his burden to any other person, and he must travel unaccompanied.

In curing ceremonials, such as the Navajo Enemyway, the scalp referenced is a token object representing an enemy. The Enemyway is a ceremony performed to cure people from illness caused by coming into contact with an "enemy," typically someone or an experience outside the Navajo culture and traditional lifeways. The symbolic scalp is collected during a ritualized warpath prior to the ceremony, brought to the place of healing without being touched, and kept out of sight until it is time to be destroyed.

The portion of epidermis, or skin, that covers the dome of the human head, from the hairline above the brows back to the nape of the neck. In many cultures, historically the scalp has been harvested from slain enemies as proof of their death. Scalps can also be removed from living victims, who may or may not survive the process.

In curing ceremonials, such as the Navajo Enemy Way, the scalp referenced in some versions of the ceremony is actually a token object representing an enemy. The Enemy Way is a ceremony performed to cure people from illness caused by coming into contact with an "enemy," typically someone or an experience outside the Navajo culture and traditional lifeways. The symbolic scalp is collected during a ritualized warpath during the ceremony, brought to the place of healing without being touched, and kept out of sight until it is time to be destroyed.

Also called “Yeibichei hogan,” a ceremonial hogan is constructed specifically for Navajo ceremonials. During ceremonials, these hogans are the space where sandpaintings are drawn and generally are only used for the length of the ceremonial. Ceremonial hogans are often cone-shaped, with an east facing door, and are considered male, as opposed to the dome-shaped female hogan constructed for daily use.

In some versions of Navajo healing traditions, a star gazer completes a ceremony to diagnose the type of illness a patient has. The star gazer first creates a sandpainting in his patient's hogan. He then exits the hogan to sing star-songs and use a “glass rock” to cast light upon the hogan or the patient. The color of light that comes from the quartz crystal determines if it is a serious sickness or not. The star-gazer uses this information to give a diagnosis on the illness.