In Navajo culture, the shaman, or hataali is one of the persons responsible for spiritual healing. For the hataali, art is not just an object; it also has spiritual value and can bring healing to a person or a people.
Conversely, some spiritual events are beautiful, carry tremendous significance and are thought of as art. Sometimes acts of spiritual significance are separated from their original source, and used only in the context of their beauty. Does that mean that they lose their spiritual power? In some schools of thought, it is believed that they don’t, and that we have to be careful of how we use beautiful objects or acts that have spiritual significance.
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The process of Navajo sand painting as well as the object produced through Navajo sand painting have equal value. They are both beautiful and carry tremendous spiritual significance. The creation of the art is regarded as a sacred work.
The hataali creates the sand painting. During the process of creating the sand painting, the hataali invokes spiritual power, in order to bless or heal a person who is ill.
After the hataali, who is appointed as a Navajo religious singer, chants a Navajo legend, he then makes the sand painting by sifting colored sand through his fingers and onto the floor. The painting acts as an altar and the person who is ill sits in the center of it when it is completed.
The hataali transfers the illness from the sick person to the painting. After the process is complete, the painting is swept up into a blanket, and disposed of where it can do no harm to anyone with the sickness it has taken on.
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