The Navajo tribe of North America, along with other Southwestern tribes, utilizes sandpainting as a ceremony, balancing out the universe through the healing properties of these constructions, or as a story-telling mechanism. These nonpermanent paintings are produced according to need with over 1,000 ceremonial sandpainting designs in existence. The ceremonial sandpainting is becoming a lost art, however, as only half of the designs are currently in use, but the techniques of producing a painting are well known and may continue to live on after the Medicine Men and Women who produce them are long gone.
Ceremonial Sand Paintings
The ceremonial sandpainting is produced upon need, traditionally on the ground of a patient's Hogan or home. The ceremony begins with chanting and the telling of heroic doings of Navajo heroes. The Medicine Man then places clean white sand onto the dirt, creating a bed for the painting with an eastern facing opening towards the door of the Hogan to prevent evil from entering the home.
The design is created using five sacred colors of sand, White created from gypsum, blue from criscola, black from volcanic magnetite, yellow from sandstone and red from either sandstone or clay. The design is created exactly the same each time it's used, and while decorative elements can be left out no new elements can be added or the basic structure of the painting changed or the balance of the universe will be made worse from doing so. The Medicine Man can mix the sands when using them in order to create variations of colors. When complete the Medicine Man places the patient in the center of the painting then touches areas on the painting and the patient to move the medicine to the patient from the sandpainting and heal him.
If a ceremonial painting is done during the day it must be completed before sunset so that the painting can be erased and placed within a blanket, taken outdoors and dispersed by the wind to carry off trapped evil spirits. If done at night the same ending must be done only by sunrise rather than sunset.
Permanent Sandpainting Technique
Sandpainting can be done permanently with a technique that preserves the creation over time. In order to create your own sandpainting you'll need a few items the Medicine Man doesn't use. Creating the sand from the five colored stones is a matter of grinding them down while removing the impurities. Large stones should be broken down into pebbles then sifted to remove impurities. You should then grind the pebbles down further to create a fine sand that flows easily, sifting several times during the process to make the sand as pure as possible for good color retention.
Once you've created the sand you'll need a backing object for the painting. A piece of particle board works well, as it is strong enough to handle the weight of the applied sand, and sturdy enough for display. Make sure the sides of the boards have been sanded smooth for easy handling. Spread a layer of glue onto the board then cover with a white background sand, allowing it to dry over a period of a few days.
Take a pointed object and design your painting by etching the sand. Paint the sections of your etched painting with a layer of glue followed by a layer of colored sand. Mix the sands to create other color variations. Press the sand down into the glue to ensure that it's firmly held then remove excess sand. When you've completed applying all the sand to your painting allow it to dry and then brush any loose sand from the surface. Spray the completed painting with a clear acrylic paint to seal.
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