Hosteen Klah (medicine man)
Hosteen Klah was a prominent Navajo medicine man and skilled weaver, born in October 1867 near Fort Wingate, New Mexico. His name, meaning "Left Handed," was given based on Navajo tradition, where personal names hold significant cultural meaning. Klah began his spiritual training at an early age, learning various ceremonial chants and practices from family members, many of whom were shamans. By the age of ten, he was already proficient in the Hail Chant and went on to master the complex Yeibichai Ceremony, becoming recognized as one of its leading chanters.
In addition to his spiritual practices, Klah was an accomplished weaver, showcasing his work at significant exhibitions, including the World's Columbian Exposition in 1892. His innovative approach to weaving, particularly in creating rugs based on sand paintings, stirred controversy within the community but ultimately contributed to his legacy. He created numerous ceremonial rugs between 1919 and 1937, including the renowned "The Whirling Log," which garnered accolades at various exhibitions. Klah passed away in February 1937, and his contributions to Navajo culture and art are commemorated at the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art in Santa Fe, which features many of his works.
Subject Terms
Hosteen Klah (medicine man)
- Born: October 1, 1867
- Birthplace: Bear Mountain, New Mexico Territory
- Died: February 27, 1937
- Place of death: Near Gallup, New Mexico
Category: Medicine man, weaver
Tribal affiliation: Navajo
Significance: Klah was an influential Navajo medicine man; as a weaver, he represented his people at two world’s fairs
Hosteen Klah was born in October, 1867, at Bear Mountain, near Fort Wingate, as his family returned home from captivity at Bosque Redondo. As was Navajo tradition, he was called Away Eskay (Baby Boy) until some characteristic suggested a nickname—“Klah” (Left Handed). The ceremonial name given to babies at their naming rites is considered personal property and is seldom known outside the immediate family.
Navajo custom dictates that one studies chants and ceremonies only with teachers belonging to the clans of one’s mother, father, or grandmother. In Klah’s case, many of his kinsmen were shamans and he began studying at an early age. By age ten, he knew the full ceremony of the Hail Chant; then he learned the Wind Chant and the Bear Chant, which lasts for nine days and includes hundreds of chants, prayers, and several elaborate sand paintings.
When not studying, Klah tended sheep and helped his mother and sister with their weaving. He became an accomplished weaver himself and, in 1892, exhibited his Navajo weaving at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago as a representative of the New Mexico Territory.
As a youth, Klah began learning the Yeibichai Ceremony from its leading chanter, Hathile Nah-Cloie (Laughing Chanter). There were seven forms of this long and complicated ceremony and Klah eventually knew five of them. Altogether, Klah studied for twenty-six years before holding his first Yeibichai Ceremony as principal chanter. He sent invitations to this nine-day ceremony throughout the Navajo Reservation and, at its conclusion, was acknowledged as the greatest Yeibichai chanter.
In 1916, Klah wove a rug illustrating several Yeibichai dancers. Other medicine men objected, demanding that the rug be destroyed, but the furor died out once the rug was sold and off the reservation. In 1919-1920, Klah wove the first rug based on a sand painting; it was called “The Whirling Log,” from the Yeibichai Ceremony. Again, other Navajos protested, thinking that an accurate and permanent representation of a sand painting would bring disaster to the tribe. Klah’s status as a medicine man allowed him to do as he pleased, however, and he exhibited the rug at the Gallup Ceremonial, where it won a blue ribbon. The rug was sold to a tourist, who asked Klah to weave two more to complete the set of Yeibichai sand paintings. This was the beginning of Klah’s career as a weaver of ceremonial rugs, and between 1919 and 1937, he wove twenty-five sand-painting tapestries.
In 1934, Klah again represented the Navajos in the New Mexico exhibit at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, demonstrating sand painting. He died in February, 1937. The Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art in Santa Fe was built as a memorial to Hosteen Klah and houses many of his sand paintings and weavings.