Diné (Navajo) woman wearing her silver jewelry.
Copyright © 1995-2001, The Denver Public Library. |
The Diné
(Navajo) are relative newcomers to the Southwest. They are believed to
have migrated from Northwestern Canada to the Southwest around 1400. In
their own language, they call themselves Diné (DEE-nay), which
means "the people."
The underlying principle of the Diné people is the
term hozho (HO-jzho), which means beauty. Walter Henry, a Diné
(Navajo) man, created this bracelet according to the principle of hozho.
In order to make an object of beauty, the maker had to be in a state of
beauty himself. The Diné (Navajo) concept of beauty is expressed
in an object by its sense of harmony, balance,
and order. In the Diné story of creation, the earth was brought
to order by a four-part division. The bracelet has a center symbolizing
the place where the first Diné entered this world. The center rectangular
bar and the leaves to either side point to the four directions of the
sacred mountains of Diné (Navajo) lands.
Navajo tribal web site: http://www.navajo.org/ |