HAILE, Berard. Head and Face Masks in Navajo Ceremonialism
Item #0949
122 p.; 8vo; cloth in printed cream dust jacket; frontis & 26 illus. including 14 color serigraphs [2 folding]; separate pamphlet: Legend to Color Chart of Navaho Mask Combinations, laid in. Also includes 31" x 22" color poster showing cominations of masks used in the Nightway Ceremonial. St. Michaels, AZ: St. Michaels Press, 1947. First Edition. Limited to 500 copies of which this is #250. This monograph is the result of painstaking field work and research by Father Berard, from data gathered 40 years before its publication, during which time the Franciscan priest immersed himself in the further study of Navajo language and culture. The Navajo Bibliography by Correll, Watson & Brugge [1969] lists no fewer than 69 entries dated from 1916, indicating the breadth, scope and devotion of his work. In this book Father Berard examines the origin of the "gods" or "speechless ones" and the masks which they left behind for the use of the Navajo people. To show how they were used in various ceremonials author draws upon much unpublished material and source information, and follows to some extent the text of Dr. Washington Matthews's "Night Chant," a seminal study of Native American ceremony and religion published in 1902. Where his account did not explain the importance and functions of some of the masks, native informants were consulted. They shed light on the presence of certain masks in the set and also revealed the intimate connection between sandpaintings and masks. A wonderful copy of a classic study. Fine in Fine dust jacket. |
