A History Of This Navajo Sand Painting

The sandpainting you see originates from Navajo healing ceremonies.  The medicine man builds a sandpainting and places the patient in the middle of it.  To aid in the healing process, sand from the sandpainting is rubbed over certain parts of the patients body.  When the ceremony is over, the sandpainting is destroyed, taking the illness with it.  Modern sandpaintings are very detailed and colorful.  The designs carry special meanings and subjects familiar to the Navajo people.  The colored sand comes from many different sources such as colored rocks, roots, flowers, sand, bark, ashes, and cactus.  This amazing and complex Navajo symbol of healing has been broadened into a unique art from to be appreciated by many.

Signed by original artist!