White Shell Arrow People, Adventures Among Earth People from the Shooting Chant Rug
Diné (Navajo)
Medium Specific
Handspun yarn, aniline dyes
Classification
Textile
Dimensions
37 x 47 in. (94 x 119.4 cm)
Accession Number
2019.35.40.04
Credit
Gift of Patrick V. and Mary Beth Musick
Memo / Artist Statement
The image is based on a myth of the Hero Twins who encountered the White Shell Arrow People near the entrance to earth. "Sandpaintings of the Navajo Shooting Chant" by Franc J. Newcomb and Gladys A. Reichard discusses the myth and the use by medicine men in the Shooting Chant. Most of the weavings that use the imagery show a ladder that leads from the lower world to earth in the center of the weaving. However, this weaving has a rectangle of red with a black border.
Date of Bio