Chapter Xiv. Criticism : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 109 XIV CRITICISM The next summer I arrive at Ganado to learn that Marie and Tom have gone to Los Angeles, but Red-Point and his family want me to come there. Atlnaba and Maria Antonia will be my teachers. I arrive at White-Sands and receive...
Chapter Ii. Established : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 6 II ESTABLISHED Upon my arrival at White-Sands early Monday morning the dogs give me a vociferous and unfriendly welcome. I turn off the motor of Jonathan, my Ford, and wait until Red-Point quiets them. His few decided words cause them to slink...
Illustrations : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. xxxiii ILLUSTRATIONS A LOOM STANDS Frontispiece BEN HOLDS SPOT IN FRONT OF MARIA ANTONIA'S SHADE 6 MY HOUSE 6 MARIE AND ATLNABA RIG THE WARP-FRAME 7 ATLNABA STRINGS WARP 7 MARIE CARDS--AND SPINS 24 MARIE SHOWS HOW TO HOLD BATTEN AND COMB 25 MARIE...
Chapter Xi. Rain : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 79 XI RAIN During the first part of my stay the Sun, "our father," has had his will. Each day unhindered he has pushed his way through his own thin white curtain of dawn, passed serenely through the broad blue curtain of daylight, relaxed...
Chapter Xxviii. White Sands Desolated : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 226 XXVIII WHITE-SANDS DESOLATED Early in a fourth summer I appear once more at White-Sands. I am alone and of course expect my usual joyous welcome. I drive up early in the morning. Daily activities should be started, but even so I expect some...
Chapter Xxii. The Holy Twins : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 169 XXII THE HOLY TWINS At the very beginning the Navajo lived in several worlds under this one. They were beings not like man, in some of the underworlds not even like animals. But they had consciousness, even moral ideals, and because...
Chapter Xx. Communion Of Suffering : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 154 XX COMMUNION OF SUFFERING I am up betimes the next morning--I do not want to miss anything. The sun is still only a promise when the men go out for wood. They bring a pile into the hogan and call the patients, who sit in their usual place...
Chapter Xxxvi. Degree In Weaving : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 278 XXXVI DEGREE IN WEAVING In the time I have spent with the Navajo I have seen numerous large rugs either finished or in the process of being woven, but I have never seen one being strung up. One day Old-Mexican's-Son tells me th...
Acknowledgments : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. xxix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Story of Navajo Weavers and Chanters is self-explanatory as to characters and circumstances. The only distortion of which I am conscious is a slight one of time and sequence. There is no twisting of facts; if there is...
Chapter Xxvii. Standards : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 219 XXVII STANDARDS At the post there is one of the most beautiful modern rugs I have ever seen. It is of medium size, and the combination of colors is a stroke of genius. Besides, it is woven with a different technique. Although it has a pattern...
Chapter X. Design : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 70 X DESIGN The stripes of my lower border are done, and quite nice they look too. The weft is only slightly tight and corrected after very little pulling in. I have no idea how to lay out the design. It is a simple pattern involving only...
Chapter Xix. Shooting Chant : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 144 XIX SHOOTING CHANT My behavior this third summer hardly indicates my interest in weaving. I have been at White-Sands three weeks and have not set up a blanket. There are visitors. Then the Navajo Council meets at Fort Wingate, and I attend. I...
Chapter Xiii. Self Reliance : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 100 XIII SELF-RELIANCE My Little rug is strung up and well along. It is over two hands long, not quite two wide. It has a white background and not very much design. This piece is so small that it begins to get tight before it is one-quarter done...
Chapter Xxiv. The Gods Accept : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 190 XXIV THE GODS ACCEPT I know that today the first sand-painting is to be made, so I stay at Ganado only long enough to eat breakfast. Because Red-Point had said that he was going to let me "see everything," and that he was going to "tell me...
Title Page : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. i p. ii A LOOM STANDS p. iii p. iv SPIDER WOMAN "A STORY OF NAVAJO WEAVERS AND CHANTERS" Gladys A. Reichard "Spider Woman instructed the Navajo women how to weave on a loom which Spider Man told them how to make. The crosspoles were made of sky...
Chapter Ix. Taking Counsel : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 60 IX TAKING COUNSEL Red-Point was so excited last evening about the Navajo boys taking pay for helping us that he did not think of anything else. Today, as Marie is stringing the new blanket over the temporary frame and as I unwind the yarn...
Chapter Xxi. The Gods Invited : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 163 XXI THE GODS INVITED The house has been blessed, the inmates have suffered together to purify themselves. Already the materials for the sacrifices have been considered and are in readiness. All is prepared for the gods. A little after one Tom...
Chapter Xvii. House Guardian : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 126 XVII HOUSE GUARDIAN Two days later as I thump one thread upon another, Red-Point comes in. This is a day devoted to much needed rest for all the family. They had to stay at the sheep dip longer than two days. They returned the afterno...
Chapter Xii. Understanding : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 94 XII UNDERSTANDING In Spite of rain, changes of the earth's surface, rites of restoration, and other interruptions, the green blanket has been steadily advancing toward the top. A number of warps have torn--they are the thin ones of the old...
Chapter Xvi. Sheep Dipping : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 121 XVI SHEEP DIPPING I am surprised one day to see my grandmother dressed up just as if she were going away. She usually looks quite shabby. Ordinarily she wears a shirt so much washed that it is difficult to realize it has ever been velvet. Her...
Chapter Xviii. Wedding : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 133 XVIII WEDDING At the beginning of my third summer with Red-Point's family, I arrive with a white visitor; one who had never seen a Navajo before is staying for one night only. As we pull up to the trading-post, Old-Mexican's-Son greets us...
Chapter Xxxv. Father's Sister : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 274 XXXV FATHER'S SISTER During the intervals between my trips with the Twins'-Mother, Marie visits me frequently. She seems to want someone to whom she can talk about her mother. Atlnaba, who looks thin, drawn, and old, often joins us. Marie...
Chapter Xxxii. Tragedy : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 247 XXXII TRAGEDY On Sunday Old-Mexican's-Son is home with his brother, Big-Mexican. They had come by way of Water-in-the Ground about midnight, and like all good Navajo they had stopped at the sing. Instead of monotonous dancing and a large...
Chapter Xxiii. Sun's House : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 180 XXIII SUN'S HOUSE The first day of Marie's sing is a concentrated sample of the four days we put in cleansing ourselves and preparing sacrifices for the various gods. The next three days are similar except for minor variations and intensity...
Chapter Iii. Tension : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 16 III TENSION The place I accidentally chose in my weariness has become my permanent sleeping porch. From it I may look into the Great Dipper all night. Queer how high they hang it out here. Perhaps because they have so little water they do not...
Chapter I. White Sands : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 1 I WHITE-SANDS White-Sands lay silent and motionless in the dead light of mid-afternoon. Here and there a soft, capricious wind stirred up a tiny whirl of dust. A muffled lazy cluck came from a contented huddle of feathers where a hen leisurely...
Chapter Xxi. Marie's Little Lamb : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 244 XXXI MARIE'S LITTLE LAMB Ordinarily the afternoon of the third day is given over to entertainment of some kind. It may be curative clowning, as when the Black Ears act foolish and toss into the air such patients as come for aid. They perform...
Chapter Xxix. War Dance : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 233 XXIX WAR DANCE Maria Antonia, who is never really well, is feeling even worse than usual. Her cough is bad; she feels weak and has little energy. She is sixty-three but sees no reason why at that age she should be able to do less than she did...
Chapter Xxvi. The Kinni's Sons : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 210 XXVI THE KINNI'S-SONS The four days during which Marie and Ninaba imbibed the strength of their paintings have been days of quiet mental work and relaxation. I leave White-Sands to get the saddle-blanket patterns from Mr. Short-Pants and Mr...
Chapter Xxx. Killing The Ghost : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 240 XXX KILLING THE GHOST The crowd, including the participants from Sunrise and the little girls who carry the trophy, is large enough the second night to make the Dance a complete success. But at daybreak the next day the place takes...
Chapter Vi. Marie Learns To Weave : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 37 VI MARIE LEARNS TO WEAVE It is about this period in my own weaving career that Marie tells me the story of her own struggles in learning. "You have good yarn and good tools," she says, "and we help you all we can. You ought to learn fast. When...
Chapter Xxv. Effects : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 205 XXV EFFECTS The songs are over. The singing and drumming continue with only a few short intermissions all night. The Chanter, chorus, and patients may not even doze off, but the rest of us take a cat nap now and then. And now after breakfast...
Chapter Iv. Sand Paintings : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 24 IV SAND-PAINTINGS Marie, arriving early the next morning, finds my hands decorated. I am wearing my favorite blue bandana folded thickly tied around my thumb joint and fastened about my wrist with a square knot I achieved with the aid of my...
Chapter Xxxiv. Collecting Plants : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 260 XXXIV COLLECTING PLANTS The trouble in Red-Point's family, the continual need for him to sing for others has made me despair of his advice in collecting the plants necessary for the vegetal dyes. Atlnaba and Marie know how they are made...
Chapter Vii. Results : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 44 VII RESULTS When I started to weave Maria Antonia had brought a whole armful of reeds of different sizes. We are using two medium-sized ones for healds and four thin ones instead of shuttles. The rest have been lying behind the loom. When...
Chapter Xv. Dan : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 115 XV DAN Our family has a lurking worry. Marie writes us faithfully from Los Angeles. Everything is going well with her and Tom on the white man's ranch. But there is an unreasonable cause for her unhappiness. She is homesick for Dan. She...
Chapter V. Sympathy : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 30 V SYMPATHY Marie places the skein of yarn around her knee and moccasined foot, where it fits loosely. She unfastens the end and unwinds the skein into a loose pile on the floor beside her. This additional maneuver is her substitute...
Chapter Viii. At The Well : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 50 VIII AT THE WELL My white friends, with that thoughtfulness and understanding for which they are known over this entire country, have upon my arrival at Ganado, put a room at my disposal. I may use it as I should my own, come in any day at any...
Chapter Xxxiii. Death : * "Spider Woman", by Gladys A. Reichard, [1934], p. 255 XXXIII DEATH The War Dance has kept me longer than I had planned to stay. On Thursday I leave Maria Antonia with grave misgivings. I am gone something over three weeks, during which she is continually on my mind. I meet someone from Ganado...