NAVAJO
720
NAVAJO
iiso the rommunion cup. lie also aiivLscd Cologne »r
Kalistion iis iho pliico for liolilinn the Ufnoral Council.
He wa^; prevented from being present at the opening
of the Council of Trent by contrary orders from the
king, but met Paul III at Parma (154t)) and there gave
to him his ■'.Sylva- Synodales". When the Council
was reopenetl iit Trent in lo.'jl Nausea was present,
taking an active part in its deliberations, esi)ecially
on the Sacraments. Only a short attendance wiis
granted him, for he died there of a fever. His body
was brought to Vienna and buried in the cathedral.
In the Acts of the Council Nausea is praised for his
great knowledge, his exemplary virtues, and his ec-
clesiastical convictions (Theiner, " Acta genuina Cone.
Trid.", I, Zagreb, 1874, 652). Among his writings
are: "DistichS" on the works of Lactantius; "Ars
Poetica"; sermons and homilies on evangelical virtues,
the Sacrifice of tli<' Ma,-is, the Blessetl \irgin Mary,
the life of a true Christian; "Calechismus cath.
(Cologne, 1543); "Pastoraliura inquisitionura elenchi
Ires" (Vienna. 1547); "On the Resurrection of Christ
and of the dead" (Vienna, 1551) ; etc. For full list see
Metzner.
Mktzxkr, Fr. Nausea aus Weissenfels (Ratiabon, 1884); Kirch- tnlci.: Allg- >i- Biogr., XXIII, 321; Pastor, Gcsch. tier Papste, V (Frcitjurg, 1909), passim; Maher in Trient, Hist. Jahrb., I (18S7).
Francis Mershman.
Navajo Indians, numbering about 20,000, con- stitute the largest group of Indians belonging to the Athapaskan or Oeiu' stock. Other groups of the same stock are the Ap.aches (Nde), Lipanes (Lipa Nde), Hupas of California, and various Den6 tribe inhabit- ing British Columbia and Alaska (see Den6s). This points to a migration of the Navajos, centuries ago, from the extreme north. They themselves have a vague tradition of "Dine Nahodloni", i. e., "other Navajos", living far away. According to their myths they emerged from lower worlds somewhere in the San Juan Mountains in south-western Colorado. At present they occupy an extensive reservation in the north-east corner of Arizona and the north-west cor- ner of New Mexico; but many of them live beyond its borders, especially towards the south. Formerly their habitat extended somewhat farther to the north- east .
They are first mentioned in the writings of Zarate- Salmer6n in 162(j, as Apaches de Nabaju. In 1630, a Franciscan, Alonzo Benavides, in his Memorial to the King of Spain mentions the "Province of the Apaches of Navajo" and adds that "these of Navajo are very great farmers, for that is what Navajo signi- fies — great planted fields". Consequently the word "Navajo" may be derived from the Spanish nava meaning "plain, or field". The Navajos call them- selves Din^, that is, people. Benavides then mentions the treaty of peace he concluded between the Navajo and Pueblo Indians at Santa Clara in 1630. Previous to this date, as Benavides states, and subsequently, till 1862, an almost continuous guerilla warfare existed between the Navajo and the Pueblo Indians and Mexicans. The number of Navajo captives in Mex- ican families in 1862 has been estimated at between 1.500 and 3000. In 1846 Colonel Doniphan made an expedition into the Navajo country, in 1849 Colonel Wa.shington, in 1854 (Jeneral Sumner. In 1859 war again broke out , and in 1 860 1 he Navajos attacked Fort Defiance. Colonel Miles and Colonel Bonneville and General Canby made campaigns against them. When the Rebellion broke out and the Texans made their invasion, all the troops were withdrawn from the Navajo country, whereupon the Navajos rode over the country rough-shod. In 1862 General Carleton sent Colonel Kit Carson with a force against the Navajos. He .subdued them, and, mainly by killing their stock and destroying their crops, forced them through starvation to surrender, whereupon about
73tH) were transferred to Fort Sumner in south-eastern
New Mexico, .\bout 1500 never surrendered; about
400 fled from Fort Sumner to their old homes. On
1 June, 1868, General Sherman concluded a treaty
with them by which they were permitted to return.
Ever since they are a peaceful, pastoral people, living by, with, and off their flocks of sheep and goats. Though the arid character of their country — good for grazing i)urposes only — forces them to lead a nomadic life, yet most of the families have one abode for their main home, generally in a well-watered valley, where they raise corn, beans, potatoes, melons, oats, alfalfa, etc. The Navajo women weave the renowned Navajo blankets, noted for their durability, beauty and variety of design, and careful execution, whilst a number of the men are clever silversmiths, making silver necklaces, belts, bracelets, wristlets, rings, buttons, etc., of rare beauty, out of Mexican silver dollars. They have always been self-support- ing. They have little of the sullen, reticent disposi- tion atlribuled to Indians generally; and are cheerful, friendly, hosjiitable, and industrious. Their govern- ment is democratic; there is no chief of the whole tribe, and their local chiefs are men of temporary and ill-defined authority, whose power depends largely upon their personal influence, their eloquence, and their reputation for wisdom and justice. The tribe is divided into about 58 clans or genles, grouped under several original or nuclear clans. Exogamous mar- riages with Mexicans, Utes, Apaches, but more es- pecially with the neighbouring Pueblo Indians, cap- tured or enslaved and eventually adopted into the tribe, are responsible for a number of clans. In con- sequence there is nothing like a pronounced or a prevailing Navajo type. Every variety of form and figure can be found among them. Marriage is con- tracted early in life. Polygamy and divorce are still prevalent. Their marriage ceremony is only permis- sible at the marriage of a virgin. The vices of abor- tion, infanticide, race suicide, are practically unknown among them.
The elaborate system of pagan worship, expressed in chants, sacrifices, sand paintings, dances, cere- monies, some of which last nine days, make the Navajo appear intensely religious. Though they have no conception of one supreme being, their anthropo- morphous deities are numerous antl strikingly demo- cratic. The ideas of heaven and hell lii'ing unknown to them, they believe in a hereafter consisting in a life of happiness with the peoples of the lower worlds. They are firm believers in witchcraft and charms. Their pathology is largely mythological. Diseases are attributed to evil beings, to malign influences of enemies, and to various occult agencies. Their reme- dies are largely magical and constitute an integral part of their religion. The superstitions, ceremonies, and customs are diligently kept alive by an extraor- dinary large number of medicine-men who wield a powerful influence among them. Though Protestant missionaries have been among the Navajos since the early eighties, and have at present (1910) eleven dif- ferent missions, an hospital, and three small schools, the number of their adherents is very insignificant.
After the unsuccessful attempt of Fray Benavides in 1630 to Christianize the Navajos, Padre Menchero, in 1746, induced several hundred to settle at Cebol- leta, now a Mexican town north of Laguna; but the enterprise soon came to an end. In 1749 Padre Menchero made another attempt, re-establishing the Ceboeleta mission and founding another at Encinal, now a Laguna village; but on 24 June, 1750, the In- dians abandoned them to return to their wilderness. On 13 October, 1897, the Franciscans of Cincinnati, Ohio, accepted the Navajo mission at the request of Mgr. Stephan, Director of the Bureau of CathoUc Indian Missions, and of Mother Drexel. The mis- sionaries took charge at St. Michael's, Arizona, on 7
