NAVAJO RUG 1960's, MOUNTAIN TOP WAY, Night Chant

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AUCTIONS BY ROCKYLADY PAYMENT PAY PAL ONLY TO: Interpretation of design for this vintage Navajo Rug: From the Mountain-Top-Way: The Mountain Chant, together with the Night Chant, is one of the Navajo ceremonials best known to the White Man for two reasons. It was the first Navajo chant to be disclosed to the public, through Washington Matthews' elaborate monograph in 1887. Moreover, the spectacular public performances of the last night have attracted much attention at public demonstrations. A nine-night chant, the last night culminates in a Corral Dance, sometimes called a Fire Dance, from its final act, which is like a sacred vaudeville show in which teams representing various chantways present special acts. Mountain-top-way is used to treat diseases attributed to infection from bear, porcupine, or snake. "Bear sickness" is most commonly mental disturbance, nervousness, or fainting spells, and "porcupine sickness" may be kidney, bladder or stomach trouble. The main theme symbols of the sandpaintings are the Mountain Gods or the hero in their form, the Long Bodies, Changing Bear Maiden (or her home), great plumed arrows, bears and their dens, porcupines, snakes, feathers, Rainbow People. In later days, the ceremony has been extended to get rid of the ghosts of evil whites, as in the case of returning school children, who are haunted by bad dreams of their custodians. According to the myth, after his escape from captivity by the Utes, the hero of the Mountain Chant ("the Prophet"), visited the homes of various supernatural beings to accumulate ceremonial knowledge. On one of his stops, the Prophet visited the home of the Mountain Gods at Wide Chokecherry. They give him one of the Great Plumed Arrows and taught him the dance of the great plumed arrows, actually arrow swallowing. In practice, the shaft is made in two parts, half hollow reed and half wood, and in the Corral Dance of the final night, impersonators of the Mountain Gods pretend to swallow the arrows by telescoping the shafts. As mentioned above, the final night of this ceremony is very popular, since it is sometime called "Navajo Vaudeville Night." Arrow swallowing is one of the "acts." NAVAJO RUG 1960's, MOUNTAIN TOP WAY, Night Chant NAVAJO RUG VINTAGE, MOUNTAIN TOP WAY, PICTORIAL 1960's, very colorful green, purple, red, pink, golden yellow, aqua blue, charcoal grey, and black. The background color is not a bright white maybe closer to bone white. Measures 46 inches long and 29 inches wide. I have provided 28 pictures to load in this listing. As I do not have the knowledge about Navajo rugs. Hopefully the pictures will tell the story of this rug and the condition. I do not believe it was ever hung on a wall. It came to me folded in a plastic bag with the original tag as pictured in upper right hand corner. I would like to call your attention to the 11th picture of black and yellow area out from foot seems to be showing some areas that are thinner. Also 21st and 22nd pictures is showing and area of yellow with green outline from the arm area that has some kind of breakage (this is very small and I have provided a close up with 10 x lens and enlarged picture), 22nd picture is an enlarged close up with a flash which made the colors lighter and brighter. As far as I can tell these are the areas that may or may not be a problem. I have not cleaned, press or altered this in any way from which I received it from an estate collection. I spent several hours searching the websites of vintage Navajo Rugs and could not find any with a design like this one and also so colorful. I think this is a very special rug to be treasured and added to a collectors, collection! The owner apparently wrote to the Pahaska Tepee in Cody, Wyoming and send a photo of the rug and they in turn sent a request onto Shiprock Trading Co. and sent her the letter giving the following information: In a letter dated 1966 from the Shiprock Trading Co. , signed by Ed Foutz. What he stated in... read more

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