Honolulu Academy of Arts
A Navajo rug from the early 1900s depicts a Yei god.
The weaver’s art
Art Academy showcases the textile
By Cynthia Oi
craftsmanship of the Southwest
Star-BulletinThe first weavers in the American Southwest probably made sandals from yucca or other native plant fibers. From that simple plaiting comes the rich heritage of weaving among the Indians and Hispanic people in New Mexico and other Four Corner states.
Marian Rodee, curator of Southwest Ethnology at Maxwell Museum of Anthro-pology in Albuquerque, N.M., will recount this history and tradition as part of an exhibition and other cultural activities at the Honolulu Academy of Arts that began today.
"Southwest Weaving: A Continuum," which will run through Nov. 1, features more than 75 examples of Pueblo, Navajo and New Mexican Hispanic hand-woven textiles drawn from the San Diego Museum of Man's collection of historic and contemporary weavings.
Other related activities include an exhibit of Western graphic arts and an American Indian Festival, produced in cooperation with Hawaii's Native American community. The events coincide with the 24th annual American Indian Powwow on Oct. 3 and 4.
Aug. 31 letterAug. 31 letter In an interview from her Albuquerque home, Rodee said her slide show and lecture, "Interweaving Cultures: Conti-nuity and Change in Navajo Weaving," will trace the beginning of that art form to its current incarnation.
"I'm looking for pictures of sheep because I'm told there are few sheep in Hawaii," Rodee said with a laugh.
For her studies, sheep are a familiar animal. Many Navajo weavers raise sheep for the wool that is spun into yarn, colored by commercial or natural plant dyes, then woven into the intricate, stylized rugs and other textiles for which they are famous.
Although wool is the primary raw material for Navajo weaving, cotton was its forerunner, having been introduced to the Southwest from Mexico sometime between the first and eighth centuries, according to "The Navajo Weaving Tradition" by Alice Kaufman and Christopher Selser.
The Indians of the area were already masters at creating beautiful textiles long before Europeans came to the New World, Rodee said.
But when the invading Spanish conquistadores brought sheep, wool replaced cotton as the primary weaving material, she said.
Before the Spanish arrived, Pueblo Indians were the dominant political and cultural force in the Southwest. The Navajo learned weaving from the Pueblo, who were the first weavers in the Southwest area, Rodee said.
"The Navajo were making baskets and maybe mats, but the loom was taken from the Pueblos," Rodee said.
Later, the Navajo developed their own style, which also showed the influence of the Spanish, as well as the Europeans and Anglo-Ameri-cans, as the territory became accessible by railroad.
The changes also came in what was woven, she said. Where in earlier times, woven goods were blankets, mantas, dresses and wraps, worn and used by local inhabitants, products later became trade goods -- mainly rugs.
The weaving began to be influenced by the trading posts.
"The weavers learned what styles would be favored for marketing in the greater United States and made those," Rodee said.
Now there are many styles of weaving, Ganado, Two Gray Hills, Chinle, Pictorials, Crystal, Wide Ruins, Teec Nos Pos, Klagetoh and Yeibechai among them. These evolved as weavers experimented with traditional design and dyes.
Weaving may be a spiritual endeavor for Navajo women, who make up most of the weavers, said Rodee. "The women may say prayers, think good thoughts when they weave.
"And while it is an art form and it is religious," she said, "it is commercial, too, because they have to make money."
Southwest Weaving:
A ContinuumDates: Today to Nov. 1.
The arts of the
American SouthwestThe Honolulu Academy of Arts has a full calendar of events related to "Southwest Weaving: A Continuum":
Film series
All shows at Academy Theatre. Tickets are $3-$5.
These films will be free:
American Indian Powwow
