Diné (Navajo) Basket

Basket in the shape of a bowl, created using a coiling technique. From one of the star tips, a clear path outlined in black emerges and crosses the dark background, the red band, and the trim of black triangles, merging into the upper part of the basket. This path is called “shipapu”, and is the line of the spirit or a channel of communication between the ancestral world and the present world. This line must always point to the east. In Diné myths and ceremonies, the east is the most important geographical point. It is "diyin", which means sacred. The gods and all that is good come from this point. "Hogan" (traditional domed houses of the Diné, comprising a wooden structure covered with mud or clay) entrances also faced east. The “shipapu” meets the basket end of the rim where there is a slight bulge. This is done so the basket can be oriented east even in the dark, as the majority of ceremonies in which this basket is used are celebrated at night. The Diné are thought to be the largest Native American people in the United States—their reservation stretches across approximately 25,000 square miles. The Diné were seminomadic groups who hunted and pillaged other indigenous villages and colonial settlements, and also practiced small-scale farming. From the 17th century onwards, sheep farming became a prominent part of their economy.
Although their crafts, especially woven blankets and silverware, are highly valued, the same does not apply to their basketry. At the end of the 19th century, due to the increase in taboo around the use of ritual paraphernalia, women stopped making them, and the Ute and Paiute started producing them for sale, following Diné techniques and designs. Traditional Diné basketry did not recover until the mid-1960s.
These types of baskets are known as wedding baskets because they play a prominent role in marriage ceremonies, though they are also used in healing ceremonies. During the wedding ceremony, the basket is used to carry the sacred food: the corn meal that will be eaten by the bride and groom. The wedding takes place at dusk in the bride's hogan. The father of the bride draws lines in the basket from the east to the west using white pollen, and from the south to the north using yellow pollen. He then pours water from a bottle onto the hands of the couple, who wash their hands and begin to eat the corn meal, first in the east of the basket, then in the south, west, north, and middle. When they've finished eating, the bride and groom pass the basket to their guests. The empty basket remains with the mother of the groom and becomes a kind of marriage certificate. After this, the banquet and the party begin, which last until dawn.
These baskets are also used in healing and singing ceremonies, which are the most important ceremonies in the community. Their purpose is to heal a particular person, but also to restore harmony in the universe. There are many types: one of the most popular is the Nightway, also known as Yeibichai. These ceremonies are conducted by ritual specialists called “hataalii”, wich means singer. During these ceremonies, the baskets are used to hold corn meal or porridge and ceremonial paraphernalia, to prepare the patient's ritual bath with yucca foam, or are placed upside down and used as a drum.