Diné Wedding

Dear Friends,

We were blessed to attend two weddings this summer (one virtually). I thought it would be interesting to share a few details about a Navajo wedding.*  The Diné (Navajos) have a traditional wedding ceremony, which is generally used with variations by traditional families even today.  It is still a sacred ceremony.

 

Not so long ago, the groom’s family “hunted” for the right bride for their son. Sometimes the young man was not even told until the wedding was going to take place. The couple was to remain pure until the wedding.

 

The groom’s family took him to the Ceremony and stayed with him in the Hogan. When a couple married in a Hogan with cornmeal mush, it meant that the man and woman were joined together. Now they could have children. Therefore, the wedding was not for entertainment. It was to continue the human race. 

 

In the Hogan, the cornmeal mush in a basket was the most important element in the traditional wedding. Blue cornmeal mush was most often used. The dowry was different from the Western dowry where the bride was “paid for.” In Navajo, the dowry was paid to purchase the cornmeal mush and basket, not for the marriage or the bride.

 

A water container with a single spout was used to wash each other’s hands as the couple wedded. The bride sat facing east on the south side and the groom sat to her left on the north side. The medicine man sat in front of the bride.

 

Traditional weddings are done at sundown as the bride is not to be seen by the sun. The sun is “jealous” of the human race and cannot see the bride. She covers her head as she approaches the Hogan to be married – these days with a Pendleton blanket.

 

There were many teachings to the couple during the ceremony. Teachings about life, about family planning, and about taking care of each other were important topics.

 

The bride’s family prepared a meal for the groom and relatives outside the Hogan. The groom was to move to the bride’s family’s homeland where he was expected to make a home for his future family. 

 

School started on August 11^th. We are happy to report that the enrollment at Hilltop Christian School has bounced back to pre-Covid year levels. Pray for wisdom for the teachers as we navigate the great divide between students who were in school last year and those who did not receive face-to-face instruction.

 

Pray for the health of the students and teachers.

 

*Kawano, Ruth, A Diné wedding or not?, Navajo Times, 7/22/21

Summer 2021

The end of the school year provided a time to count God’s blessings and to look ahead, hopefully, to a more “normal” school year. Hilltop offered face-to-face instruction all year, with a packet option for students who chose to remain isolated.

 

Teachers cheered when chrome books arrived on a cart so 2^nd through 6^th graders could continue with computer class. Through a contact of Teacher Mapes, we also received several donated computers, so the old computers can be retired. The students enjoyed art class with Teacher G and delighted in the projects displayed on the hall bulletin boards. Hilltop did not let Covid interfere with our chapel program. Teacher N hosted chapel via Zoom every week and included all of the children who were doing Hilltop at Home. The children were happy to be in school, and students and teachers had a healthy year.

 

As the staff shared their year’s highlights, spiritual highlights outranked them all. We saw how God’s perfect timing enabled Fallon’s Aunt who had spiritual questions to open up to staff members. Mary, and Lia approached their teachers privately to confide that they had asked Jesus into their hearts. Older children, Rivers and Ed, shared their decisions publically in class and made progress in their personal Bible reading and devotions. For many students, choosing to follow Jesus creates tensions because parents follow their own traditions. 

 

As the children were learning their Bible lessons and verses, parents confided that they were being influenced to re-think their own obedience to God and whether they should continue Navajo Ceremonies. Because of our unshakable faith in God’s provision and sovereignty, we at Hilltop believe the children became more focused on God’s power and lovingkindness. In fact, one of their favorite songs this year was called “Jesus, Strong and Kind.”

 

Before we know it, the 2021-2022 school year will begin. We plan to return all students to face-to-face instruction. We hope that enrollment will increase and we’ll be running a robust program next year. 

 

 

 

*Students’ names are changed.