Navajo Medicine Man's Tartan Headband

[Riverkilt]

I work for the Navajo Nation as an alcoholism counselor. Our agency is moving to a new, larger facility. Only it used to be an assisted living center for what the Navajo call "Elderlies." Most who lived there were moved to the local hospital before they died, but some died there. So in Traditional Navajo thinking the building needed to be cleansed by a Navajo Medicine Man.

That happened today. No photos due to the traditional prohibition of same. The Medicine Man showed up with what prooved to be heavy "Juju" and did a three hour long cleansing. When he first arrived and opened his cedar box of tools the took out a tartan headband and wore it throughout the cleansing ceremony.

I was amazed! - is a small small world. I've been to other ceremonies by other medicine men but always saw them wear plain colored headbands.

This tartan wasn't one I could identify, and I suspect it was a fashion tartan of some sort. Was red with white and black rails.

Amazed at the acceptance of tartan that we'd find it in a most holy cleansing ceremony.