Whirling Logs by Gladys Manuelito
This Navajo rug measures 64" x 65", hand-spun yarn, natural white and brown, all other colors are aniline dyed, excellent condition, c. 1930's, excellent condition, woven by Gladys Manuelito, "Mrs. Sam."
This textile is a piece of history. It is a Navajo treasure, an American treasure and a piece of aboriginal mythology. Gladys Manuelito was the niece of Navajo Medicine Man, Hasteen Klah.
Klah was the first Medicine Man to break the taboo on creating a Sand-painting image in a permanent form. This was brilliance to the Anglo, Navajo rug buying public and blasphemy to many of the Navajos. The radical break is analogous to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" or Bob Dylan's first electric set at the Newport Folk Festival.
This particular image from "The Nightw ay Chant" depicts the myth of the Whirling Logs. For more information on Klah and Gladys, see "Dances With Wool" by Mark Winter.
This textile is a piece of history. It is a Navajo treasure, an American treasure and a piece of aboriginal mythology. Gladys Manuelito was the niece of Navajo Medicine Man, Hasteen Klah.
Klah was the first Medicine Man to break the taboo on creating a Sand-painting image in a permanent form. This was brilliance to the Anglo, Navajo rug buying public and blasphemy to many of the Navajos. The radical break is analogous to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" or Bob Dylan's first electric set at the Newport Folk Festival.
This particular image from "The Nightw ay Chant" depicts the myth of the Whirling Logs. For more information on Klah and Gladys, see "Dances With Wool" by Mark Winter.
