Lightning is a powerful force on the Navajo Reservation...Many taboos are associated with it...We hope you enjoy the following "taboos"....
Storms influence patterns on Navajo weavings...the Navajo have a great respect for Nature and her fury.....
Don't eat nuts from a lightning struck pinion tree...You'll swell up, get sick, and have bad luck....
Don't use aspen wood for a fire.....It causes thunder and lightning.....
Don't play around a lightning struck tree....You will get sick....
Don't use partially burned wood...It might be from a lightning struck tree...It will cause illness or bad luck....
Don't have a dog or cat in the hogan during a storm....It will draw the lightning....
Don't yell when it is raining....You'll be struck by lightning.....
Don't wash your hair when it is raining....You'll be struck by lightning.....
Don't kill a Night Hawk....You'll be struck by lightning.....
Don't stand by the loom when it is raining...the lightning will strike you....
Don't look at lightning in a mirror...It will strike you or your hogan.....
Don't stand up when it is lightning....if you sit down, it will go away......
Don't touch metal objects when it is raining....You'll get electrocuted by the lightning.....
Don't ride a horse during a storm...you'll be struck by lightning....
Don't climb a tree when it is raining....Lightning might strike that tree.......
Don't lean against a wall during a storm...The lightning will strike you.....
Don't weave when it is storming.....It will cause lightning, depending on the pattern.....
Don't lay facing the sky in a storm....the lightning will strike you......
Don't do a Rain Dance during a rain storm....You'll be struck by lightning....
Don't eat corn when it is raining...the lightning will strike you....
Don't eat an animal killed by lightning....You'll be struck by lightning...or you'll get sick.....
Don't Call the thunder's name....The lightning will get you.....
There are a large number of Navajo "taboos" surrounding Lightning....if you have ever been in the southwest and witnessed a thunder and lightning storm come up just out of the blue...you will understand that lightning is one of the most powerful effects of Nature. In the southwest, the storms are awesome, but create a sense of fear, as they are the major cause of fires, livestock deaths and they kill a number of people on the Reservation every year. However, their magnificence cannot be denied. Wes and I have watched (or been caught in) many storms in the southwest. Storms that turn the sky as dark as night in the middle of the afternoon...so dark, that even if we are in familiar surroundings, we can lose our bearings, and become momentarily "lost". Some of the neatest lightning storms I have ever witnessed have been over Monument Valley....the lightning over the monuments is spectacular...in all of the darkness, the buttes will light up for one brief moment as a lightning bolt streaks across the sky. We stay in the small town of Bluff, Utah quite often...this is close to the Four Corners area, and the Navajo Reservation...the hotel we stay at has a porch to sit out on....many a night, we have sat in the silence of this tiny town, watching the sheet lightning out over the bluffs in the distance, and then hearing the roll of thunder. It is a serene feeling to me....but to many Navajo people, lightning is associated with the supernatural...hence, there are many Navajo lightning taboos. Most of these taboos share the common thread of being respectful of natural powers....and supernatural powers. Lightning and storms play such an important role in the Navajo culture that many rug weavers create "Storm Pattern"
or "Lightning Pattern" rugs....these are a favorite among collectors...and are definitely a "favorite" of mine! Without even realizing it...I look around at all of my Navajo rugs I have collected over the years, and 90% of them are "storm pattern" designs! I hope you have enjoyed some of the Navajo lightning taboos....Watch for more taboos in future postings.
