A hogan was the type of house the Navajo built after they arrived in the Southwest.
Hogans were round one-room structures made from a frame of wood poles covered with mud. Each had one entrance, which faced east, and a hole in the roof to release smoke from cooking fires set inside the house.
The Navajo believed that the hogan was a gift to them from Talking God. He told the people not only how to build these homes, but also how to care for them, since hogans were thought to be alive.
When a family built a new hogan, its members gathered to sing special house-blessing songs and sprinkle corn pollen to the north, south, east, and west. By performing these rituals, the family ensured that they would live in harmony within their home.
Hogan means “home place” in the Navajo language.
Related Posts
-
What is the Creation Story of the Navajo tribe and Where did the Navajo Come From?
According to the creation story of the Navajo tribe, the Navajo passed through three worlds, the Black World, the Blue-Green World, and the Yellow World, before coming to their southwestern homeland, the Glittering…
-
What is a Navajo rug and How did Navajo rugs originate?
The Navajo have a long history as weavers. They were introduced to weaving on an upright loom by Pueblo Indians who moved to Navajo territory after fleeing from the Spanish in the mid-seventeenth…
-
When did the Navajo first encounter non-Indians and Who were the first explorers to reach Navajo territory?
Expeditions of Spanish soldiers first came to Navajo territory in the late sixteenth century. Although the Navajo sometimes traded with these intruders, more often they fought with them to protect their own territory.…
-
Who were the Navajo Code Talkers and Why were the Navajo Code Talkers important during World War II?
During World War II, the U.S. Marines were searching for a way they could send top secret messages that their Japanese enemies could not understand. A Navajo engineer, Philip Johnston, suggested that they…
-
What is Navajo life like today and Where is the Navajo Indian reservation located?
Today, the Navajo are the second-largest Native American tribe in the United States, but they live on the largest reservation. Through many negotiations with the U.S. government, the Navajo have been able to…
-
What Does the Expression “Like Hogan’s Goat” Mean and Where Does It Come From?
Poor old Hogan is merely an innocent bystander in the modern Americanism "like Hogan's goat". Just as with "Hogan's brickyard," a slang designation of a baseball diamond, the goat could be the property…
