Introduction

The Cultural Significance of Navajo String Games
by Mark Sherman

In his book on the cosmos of the American Indian, Ray Williamson writes: “The Navajo maintain a deep interest in string games. However, they are not just games, as they are for children of Western influence.” (Williamson 1984:314). The author cites a book by folklorist Barre Toelken as the source of this information. In her book on Navajo sandpaintings Trudy Griffin- Pierce (1992a:59) writes: “Spider Woman taught the allegorical string figures to the Navajo to help them keep their thinking in order and thus also keep their lives in order.” She likewise cites Toelken. What, exactly, did folklorist Barre Toelken say about Navajo string games? Perhaps it is appropriate here to quote the entire passage from his book The Dynamics of Folklore (Toelken 1979:95-96; 1996:123-124):

The string passes to others in the family, and in rapid succession we see a Navajo rug, a bolt of lightning, two coyotes racing away from each other, a bat, and a worm that crawls over and under two parallel strings.

“Where did you learn those designs?” we ask. The children confer with their father for a while, then one answers, “I don’t know. I guess it’s all from Spider Woman. They say if you fall into Spider Woman’s den she won’t let you out unless you can do all these. And then if you do these in the summer you won’t get out at all anyway.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, we’re only supposed to do it in the winter when the spiders are hibernating, because it’s really their kind of custom to do things with string.” During this conversation, the mother has gone back to weaving momentarily, and the other children are still doing string figures.

“The Spider Woman taught us all these designs as a way of helping us think. You learn to think when you make these. And she taught us about weaving, too,” a teen-age daughter puts in.

“If you can think well,” the first boy adds, “you won’t get into trouble or get lost. Anyway, that’s what our father says.”

Toelken: “But Spider Woman didn’t teach you these things, right? Where did you learn them?”

“Well, we probably picked them up from each other and from our father, but they were already around, you know. All the people know about them. Spider Woman taught us.”

The father (Yellowman) speaks now for the first time and, taking thestring, makes a tight design. “Do you know what that is?” he asks us. We do not. He shows his children and they all respond: “S-' Tso” (literally, “Big Star,” Venus). He nods with satisfaction and makes another figure; he holds it up to us, and we shake our heads. He holds it up to the children, and they respond, “Dily4h4.” Since I have never heard the term I ask one of the children to translate it: everyone looks blank. “That’s the only word there is for it.” Suddenly, in an attempt to explain, Yellowman motions us all outside. There, shivering in the night wind, we watch him carefully hold the string figure above his head and point beyond it with pursed lips to the Pleiades.

Back inside, the father helps cover our embarrassment at not knowing our astronomy by making string figure caricatures of those present: a face with vague glasses to represent Brunvand, another with a loop hanging down for Foster’s beard, another with a piece of string trailing down to depict the power cord on Toelken’s tape recorder.

Finally, the father puts the string down and says seriously, “These are all matters we need to know. It’s too easy to become sick, because there are always things happening to confuse our minds. We need to have ways of thinking, of keeping things stable, healthy, beautiful (h0zh=). We try for a long life, but lots of things can happen to us. So we keep our thinking in order by these figures and we keep our lives in order with the stories. We have to relate our lives to the stars and the sun, the animals, and to all of nature or else we will go crazy, or get sick.” (Toelken 1979:95-96; 1996:123-124).

From this illuminating passage we learn a great deal about the role of string games in Navajo culture. First, we learn that string games are a gift from a deity, Spider Woman. This is the same deity that taught weaving, braiding, and knot tying to the Navajo (Mitchell 1999:3). Second, we learn of a seasonal taboo associated with string games, namely, string games are a winter activity. A reason for this taboo is also given: weaving webs (string figures) in the presence of spiders steals the spotlight from these expert weavers, thus offending the Holy People associated with them. Third, we learn that string games are used as tools for developing one’s ability to concentrate on a given task. As every string figure enthusiast knows, just one mistake in the weaving process can ruin the entire outcome. Fourth, we learn that some string games are used to teach children about the night sky. Two celestial objects are mentioned here: a star cluster (the Pleiades or Seven Sisters), and a planet (Venus). Fifth, we learn that some string games are made for amusement only. Recently, Jack and Suzanne Page made a similar observation: “A number of people were doing string games around the hogan, some of them competing to see who could do a pattern the fastest, leading to some dazzling displays of adroitness that looked like intense conversations using the sign language of the deaf” (Page and Page 1995:114). Finally, we learn that string games and stories perpetuate “right thinking” and beauty (h0zh=) in the world.

But what exactly is h0zh=, and how do string games perpetuate this unique state of being? To what extent are string games connected with Navajo astronomy? Are string games merely child’s play among all Navajo, or do some figures have a deeper cultural significance, perhaps only appreciated by medicine men and other knowledgeable members of the community? Navajo herbalist/healer Mike Mitchell alludes to deeper meanings with many of the phrases he appends to the string game illustrations in his recent booklet (Mitchell 1999). And why are string games still so popular among the Navajo? Almost all the designs gathered by Jayne nearly a century ago are still made and enjoyed today, whereas knowledge of string games among many other tribes has died out completely. Is there something unusual about their language, art, or world view that fosters a perpetual interest in string games? These are the issues I wish to explore in this essay.

To fully appreciate the cultural significance of Navajo string games, one must acquire rudimentary knowledge of Navajo philosophy and how it influences their behavior, art, and culture. The following section is a much abbreviated attempt to supply such knowledge. It draws heavily on material presented by Trudy Griffin-Pierce in her excellent book entitled Earth is my Mother, Sky is my Father: Space, Time, and Astronomy in Navajo Sandpainting. One should note that an appreciation of string figures like Male Arrowhead and Female Arrowhead, Chest, Opposite Hogans, and Pinching Stars requires knowledge of Navajo philosophy and taboos. A true appreciation of figures like Milky Way, Four Stars, Big Star I, Big Star II, Big Star III, Big Snake, Lightning A, Lightning B, Lightning C, Bow, Arrow I, Arrow II, and Representation of a Cloud requires knowledge of Navajo sandpaintings, since many of the symbols found within these paintings are replicated in Navajo string game designs. Furthermore, sandpaintings have many features in common with string games, which may explain why string games are so popular among the Navajo. Knowledge of Navajo astronomy and their stellar creation myths is essential for understanding the significance of Pleiades, Seven Stars, Three Stars, Milky Way, Four Stars,Man Standing with Legs Apart, Pinching Stars, Horned Star, Big Star I, Big Star II, Big Star III, and North Star.

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