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Eyedazzlers!
DINE
The People
Sacred to the Diné, the tradition of weaving
is not a mere cultural “artifact” but a living heritage whose
energy and continuity have bound families and communities through generations
of hardship and radical social change. But as today’s weavers struggle
to balance the old ways with our glittering world of e-commerce, hip-hop
and MTV, demands of modern life are posing threats to the vitality of
weaving as serious as those posed in the years of the Long Walk. Once
again, Germantown yarn is playing a major role in revitalizing this essential
Diné tradition. Aided by a remarkable collaboration between the
owner of Philadelphia’s last historic yarn mill and one of the Southwest's
last fourth generation reservation traders, some of Dinétah’s
finest weavers are combining traditional with modern digital, video and
Native American Church-inspired visual influences to spark the Germantown
Renaissance, the second Germantown yarn-inspired revolution in Navajo
weaving and design. Most Germantown Renaissance weavers make their homes
near Canyon de Chelly or in Nahata Dziil, New Lands, Arizona,
the oldest and the newest lands of the vast Navajo Nation.
Captions
COVER: Overlooking the Spider Rock formation rising
800 feet from the floor of Canyon de Chelly near the traditional hogan
of their grandmother, Rose Yazzie, (clockwise) LaVera Blake and her cousins
Harriet and Carrie Whitney hold a pair of their signature “Spider”
rugs. Top: Larissa Blake works at a traditional Navajo upright loom. Inset:
Sherwin Begay joins a new generation of boys and men playing an increasingly
prominent role in Navajo weaving. INSIDE: (left) Beverly Nez, Bah Yazhi
Ashley, (right) Larissa Blake, Rose Yazzie, Chyrell Lee and niece Alycia
King. Artworks by: (left) Pauline Tsosie, Marie Nez Yazzie, (center) Janet
Tsinnie, (right) Rose Yazzie. BACK COVER: Eloise Lee, passing on the tradition
to daughters Chancee (left) and Dannee, was the first weaver to create
a Germantown Renaissance Eyedazzler.
Incorporating
a sampling of the patterns used in 19th century Navajo Germantown textiles
(including pictorial elements such as the train) this Germantown Renaissance
masterpiece was created, c. 1998, by Jennie Slick, Navajo weaver and weaving
instructor.
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AHEHEE’;
Thank you!
The Eyedazzler Project is an unfinished tapestry,
the work of many hearts and hands. Conceived by Linda Woal and the late
Sallie Melnicoff Gross, Eyedazzlers debuted as the first interpretive
exhibition of the Sedgwick Cultural Center, located very near John Wilde
& Brother Mills which provdes the Germantown yarn used in over 50%
of the Navajo weaving being done today. (Wilde Mills, founded in 1880,
is in the heart of Philadelphia’s historic Germantown neighborhood)
The project has evolved through the tireless work of artistic and cultural
consultants and the generous support of numerous individuals, organizations
and communities. The Navajo language, spoken for centuries before it was
recently transcribed, has no real word for “thank you"; gratitude
is traditionally conveyed wordlessly, face-to-face, and resists being
captured in type. Although ahéheé is merely an
approximation, it is especially fitting that we offer our first expression
of ahéheé—thank you—to the Germantown
Renaissance artists of Dinétah for sharing Spiderwoman’s
gift through their works and through themselves. May you Walk in Beauty
always.
Germantown
Renaisance Eyedazzler style weaving, c. 1999, by Janet Tsinnie (Detail)
Text by Linda Woal, with Diane Eacret and
Jessica DeVos; photography by Bruce Hucko; design by Brad Weinstein; web
publishing by Mike Woal.
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