nohm bah
Today we’ll start exploring the Navajo numbers from 1 to 10.
Recall that when asking a question involving numbers or quantities a special Navajo word is used (díkwíí). A simple response may be: “T’áá díkwíí” which means “(they are) just a few.”
A more precise answer will involve these base Navajo digits:
nah uts oh sih
Today’s word is Navajo for mouse. It’s hard to say exactly where this word comes from, because the latter part could be a reference to the act of drawing in something (to suck).
There is a story in Navajo tradition about the Twins who defeated giant monsters. It is said by some that during their journey to defeat the giants, the mice spied against them.
Edit: the squeaking sounds that mice make have been compared to the sound of kissing, so in a way, they are “the kissing ones.” (thanks, Christopher!)
nah tah knee
I wanted to take today to shed some more light on the Navajo word for “leader” as it is commonly known.
As a matter of semantic, the Navajo particle -igii (as in Diné Bizaad yee Nidaazbaa’ígíí) is referred to as a nominalizer. I creates an object, more or less, out of an action or process. That particle modifies the root word nit’áh, which signifies the very growth processes that lead to maturity.
The earlier post outlined a framework of qualities in Navajo leadership, but if you were to extrapolate that framework out to deeper levels of society, you’d eventually arrive at the individual (as is intended). At this point, these qualities are practiced as people direct themselves about the way they live their life. In general, the Navajo moral blueprint is that of hózhǫ́, or the balanced and beautiful way.
So in the literal sense, naat’áanii is something that guides growth, or directs it, by means of a process (following a number of rules or conditions). Historically, there was no unified nation of Navajo people, and therefore no universally sanctioned chief like the word naat’áanii has come to imply. The contemporary view of naat’áanii really began in the days of Hwéeldi (the Navajo Long Walk), when American governments demanded that they deal only with “chiefs”, as it was assumed that they could legitimately enter into a treaty on behalf of all Navajo people.
A firm contemporary model of Navajo leadership through governance has yet to emerge even after decades of cycling through from band and clan leadership, to the early councils of medicine men, then onto the Navajo Business Council in the 1920s, and then the subsequent iterations of the Tribal Council that have led up to today’s Navajo Nation Council (complete with balances a checks in the Presidency and Judiciary branches).
oh-sh geh-zh
The Navajo word ooshgę́ę́zh means either cartilage or gristle in English. The most common interaction, by far, with cartilage in Navajo culture has been through the butchering of animals.
When the meat is cooked, the cartilage is soft enough to be safely eaten. Cartilage can be found in the nose and ears, and also between the joint of the bones.
Thanks to medical advances, the term is now used in humans to refer to joint problems. The most notable of which is osteoporosis osteoarthritis, which is a wear and tear of the cartilage to the point that it the bones begin to rub against each other causing pain. Some joint can be corrected by surgery and prosthetic disks.
sihn
Sin is the Navajo word for the noun song. It is pronounced essentially the same as the English verbalisation.
Songs in Navajo are almost always meant to be sung, rather than simply played on an instrument. That is to say that almost every song, up until recently, was heavily laden with lyrics and extreme vocal ranges. Often times, a simple drum was the only instrument available for these songs. These traditional-type songs are often synonymous with a prayer of some sort, or else a kind of memory that is meant to be passed on.