• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • UA Graduate and Undergraduate Research
    • UA Theses and Dissertations
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • UA Graduate and Undergraduate Research
    • UA Theses and Dissertations
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of UA Campus RepositoryCommunitiesTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsPublisherJournalThis CollectionTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsPublisherJournal

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    About

    AboutUA Faculty PublicationsUA DissertationsUA Master's ThesesUA Honors ThesesUA PressUA YearbooksUA CatalogsUA Libraries

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    POWER THROUGH ORDER: ETHNOASTRONOMY IN NAVAJO SANDPAINTINGS OF THE HEAVENS.

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    azu_td_8803255_sip1_m.pdf
    Size:
    10.10Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Description:
    azu_td_8803255_sip1_m.pdf
    Download
    Author
    GRIFFIN-PIERCE, TRUDY.
    Issue Date
    1987
    Keywords
    Sandpaintings.
    Navajo art.
    Navajo Indians -- Astronomy.
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Publisher
    The University of Arizona.
    Rights
    Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
    Abstract
    This study documents consensus and variation in the interpretation of symbolism in Navajo sandpaintings of the heavens. Navajo sandpaintings are sacred designs created to attract supernaturals and to create a ritual reality in which the patient and supernaturals interact for the purpose of curing and blessing. Precise rules of tradition determine the form of all images. Yet even ritual forms are created by individuals whose unique experiences pattern their interpretation of forms. Thus, ritual images index a system of cultural knowledge which possesses the interpretive variability and consensus of belief characteristic of any system of cultural knowledge. This study focuses on celestial constellations because they are a universally perceivable domain which therefore facilitates cross-cultural and intracultural comparison. This study identifies those constellations which are salient for the Navajo and documents their visual depiction in sandpaintings. By examining a corpus of sandpaintings defined by subject matter--sandpaintings with constellations--across ceremonials (sandpainting not limited to one chantway), more detailed comparison of form and meaning becomes possible. Thus, such variation can be systematically documented. Several factors are at work to produce this variation: the nature of the oral transmission process, infrequent performance of sandpaintings which contain constellations, and the relatively monotonous nature of constellation images in comparison to other more distinctive features in the sandpaintings. Interpretive variability in meaning is related to chantway specialization: different chanters provide different interpretations of the same constellation depending upon their ceremonial specialization. A fundamental internal consistency exists in the use of the same cognitive principles applied by chanters to identify and order the constellations and in the way they project key symbols from their chant specializations onto the constellations. Because constellations do not play a dominant role in chantway stories (which form the basis for sandpaintings)--relative to other supernaturals--variation in their depiction and interpretation is not disruptive of the ceremonial-symbolic system.
    Type
    text
    Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic)
    Degree Name
    Ph.D.
    Degree Level
    doctoral
    Degree Program
    Anthropology
    Graduate College
    Degree Grantor
    University of Arizona
    Collections
    Dissertations

    entitlement

     
    The University of Arizona Libraries | 1510 E. University Blvd. | Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
    Tel 520-621-6442 | repository@u.library.arizona.edu
    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2017  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.