Navajo Language and Culture 101

Derek and I have been trying to learn at least a few words in Navajo while we are here. This has not been an easy task. There is a reason that during WWII Navajos were used as codetalkers, and all that they had to do was speak their native language. Linguistically speaking, many of the sounds have no English equivalents. Nevertheless Derek and I have learned a few key words:

ya’at’eeh – hello.
bilagaana – white man.
bilasaana – apple. The similarity between these two words might be due to the fact that the white man introduced apples to the Navajos.
k’e – kinship. The ‘k’ here is what’s called a guttural sound…good luck pronouncing that one.
l\ii- horse. I put a slash between the ‘l’ and the ‘i,’ but that is just because the true notation for this word does not exist in Microsoft word. Also a guttural sound which involves saying the ‘ii’ through your nose and moving your tongue in a way that I can only equate to a slurp.

Impressive that we have learned so quickly, I know. What is not impressive, however, is our pronunciation of the aforementioned words. We have already received numerous laughs from the Navajos, in particular when attempting the word ‘l/ii.’

Today, we had the other teachers and staff over for dinner, as Diana was making a surplus of chicken soup for us to eat. Pauline and Sharon showed Ashley and Eileen (two Knox students) how to make fry bread, a staple food of the Navajo culture. Its ingredients include only flour, baking powder, vegetable oil, and salt.

Sharon shows Sarah the finer points of making frybread.

I inquired to Felicita and Sharon as to the precise importance of fry bread in their culture. This led to an interesting discussion about gender roles in the Navajo Nation. Felicita had the following to say:
“It is said that when a boy takes a girl home to his mother, she will judge her skill at making fry-bread. If she makes good fry bread, then she is useful and she should stay. If not, she should go.”
Of course this led to an inevitable discussion of the flipside of the coin. Felicita had this to say about boys:
“My Grandfather always told me to bring home a man who was strong and wise, and I think this is good advice. A man should be useful and not just sit around the whole day.”
Sounds sensible enough to me.

Chatting it up with the teachers.

We continued chatting with the teachers for another half hour or so before they had to leave. We let our curiosity flow, asking them whatever questions came to our minds about Navajo culture. They informed us of many interesting things. For example, it is not bad luck if a black cat crosses your path but it is if a coyote crosses your path, especially if the coyote is traveling north. And you should never point at a rainbow, because that would be extremely bad luck, and would put a slash through the rainbow. I think I’ve done that quite a few times. Whoops. And you must never talk about tornados. Science classes have to get a special dispensation from an elder in order to talk about them in school. Looks like this is going to be a first-hand experience in culturally appropriate teaching. I just hope I don't accidentally reference whirlwinds in class...that could be bad.

M.D.