An unknown traveler, weary and far from home, may stop at a hogan along his way assured that he will be welcomed. Although he is a stranger in the sense that he has never been seen before, he will be taken in and cared for. That is the Navajo way.

 

A Navajo is never a complete stranger to another Navajo. It has been a tradition since the beginning that The People identify themselves when they first meet by the process of clan relationships and family order. Through this identification process, a Navajo knows exactly where he stands in relationship to all The People. If he is from the Salt Clan and meets a family that belongs to that clan, he is immediately considered a part of that family. The mother will call him her son, and he will be introduced to the family as a brother.

 

If he meets a distant clan that has no relationship to his, he is still identified through his clan and associated with others of his clan who live nearby.

 

The clan system also serves as a guide for marriage. People in the same clan cannot marry, nor can they marry if their clan is related in some way, although they may be apart from each other. Some clans have branched off from main clans and therefore are related. The clan system keeps The People unified as a family.

 

The hogan is always open to others. When a visitor comes, he is invited to stay awhile. As he visits and talks, his hosts prepare a meal and feed him. It might be just fried bread and water, but the visitor will be grateful for such hospitality.

As a young boy, I met many travelers who came by our hogan. Some stayed for the night; others stayed for just a little while, but my grandmother never failed to feed them. A relative would stop by on his way to a store. Grandmother would feed him, and he would stay all morning or all afternoon before traveling on. In this period of time, Grandmother would find out how everyone was doing and what was going on in other parts of the country. We received news of squaw dances and other traditional events through people that came by. We learned of dances a hundred miles away.

 

We often went to these dances, and as a young boy, I appreciated the hospitality of other people who invited us into their homes as we traveled. Grandmother always expressed her appreciation and left her blessings with the home. She said that it is always good to have your door open; that way people will know you, and they will open their doors to you and will treat you as part of their family.

 

I later learned the concept expressed by a great man many years ago: “If you do it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me”.

 

In this series of short stories, Ray Baldwin Louis takes us from the Hogan—a traditional Navajo dwelling—to the importance of family and elders; the role of the woman, wife and mother; responsibilities; survival; the clan system; the land; the medicine man and more. Be sure to read all the stories and to “Discover Navajo.”