October 12

Dear Friends and Family,

This week one of the students came to school late and asked permission to eat her breakfast in class after a certain time. When asked why, we learned some of the taboos concerning the eclipse (October 8^th).  According to Navajo tradition, the moon and the sun are sacred in the way they were created, and you are not supposed to watch the moon or stare at it for any length of time.  It is a sacred time when the heavenly bodies line up and everyone is called to show reverence – people are not allowed to eat or drink water. They just go into the house until the eclipse passes to show respect for the sun and moon. In addition, if a pregnant woman sees an eclipse, it will affect her and the baby, and a special ceremony must be conducted to rid them of the influence.

Playground fun

Generally, the children run around on the playground playing various games. Last week they spotted a tarantula, which they followed around – probably stressing it out. These hairy spiders come out this time of year for mating. There will be hundreds of them for a month or so, so we are told. Then they will retreat to the crevices in the hills for the winter.

Then one boy caught a cute little horny toad about the size of a quarter. There is a taboo against harming horned lizards because they are traditionally called “grandfather” or guardians of the arrowheads. If you kill one, you will have a stomachache or a heart attack. Some even have a taboo against picturing a horned lizard in a rug-weaving design. One of the girls told me (as they were gathered around the lizard) that it was “shicheii,” which means grandpa. Another voice in the crowd said, “It’s just a lizard.”

I love the rocks in the background.

Still, the tradition is that when you pick one up, you rub it on your chest and say, “I will be in good health and harmony.”  The armored body and spiky horns represent arrowheads, which protect it from predators.  As far as the classroom, horny toads should be handled with respect and must be released in less than a day. Students are allowed to read and write about them and draw pictures of them. We have this kind of traditionalism permeating the belief system of the people. Think how confusing this can be for the children.

 Authentic moccs with leggings

I was listening to my children as they were singing “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus.” Because of vocabulary limitations, here is what I heard: (real lyrics in parentheses)

Stand up, Stand up for Jesus,

Be (Ye) soldiers of the cross.

Lift high His royal banner;

It must not suffer loss.

From victory unto victory,

His army shall believe (He lead)

‘Til every foe is vanished (vanquished)

And Christ is Lord in me. (Indeed)

Somehow, I like theirs better. Let’s pray that the foe is vanished and Christ is Lord in me!

Have a great week! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

My birthday!

Art Project - painting beads.