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Whirling Logs Information

Whirling Logs

The following legend is a verbatim transcription of the information accompanying the Whirling Logs 1 sandpainting. It was written by the artist at the time he made the painting. The second painting, Whirling Logs 2 has a very similar attached legend, although it contains a little different explaination of the symbolism.

Whirling Logs

This is a Navajo Indian Sandpainting called Whirling Logs. Made during the eight days and nine nights curative ceremony called "The Night Way" chant.

At the center is an emergence lake. Four black logs extend to the four directions. Surrounding the logs are white water suds, yellow sunlight, and the gray and red rainbows.

On the logs sit white female Yeis. They carry fir boughs. Also black male Yeis. They carry white gourd rattles and fir boughs. They wear two eagle tail feathers, and three owl plume feathers each.

The plants are white corn plant, gray bean plants, yellow squash, and black tobacco plant.

At the top is Soft Talker, with a head dress of eight eagle tail feathers and six owl feathers. He carries a tree squirrel skin bag.

On left and right are hunchbacks. They each wear two mountain sheep horns. Each have a black basket with ten red flicker bird tail feathers. They each carry darkness with white vegetable seed dots, rainbows, and feathers of red flicker birds and eagles.

At bottom is House God. His head dress is of eight eagle tail feathers and six owl feathers. Four big stars of wisdom decorate torso. He carries a staff of life with feathers.

All figure have arm streamers and sashes, are of the rainbows.

A rainbow goddess surround the painting.

This painting is all hand done, out of pulverized natural colored sand stones and silicon sands.

By: Grey Squirrel (Fred Stevens, Jr.), Navajo Indian Sandpainter and Medicine Man

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Notes on Whirling Logs:

The entrance into this present world is illustrated beautifully in this painting. This painting is the first large picture made during a Night Way Chant and has become one of the best known of all the hundreds that are made for Navajo ceremonies. The center circle is the "Place of Emergence" into this present world, and is said to be a badger hole located in the La Plata Mountains of southeastern Colorado. The First People ascended from a lower world through a hollow reed and legend speaks of a ladder, which projects through the opening. This emergence place is said to be the most dynamic of the numerous sacred places mentioned in Navajo mythology.

At first, the land of this world was covered with water; it was a very wet and disagreeable place. The people reached dry land by sitting on four black spruce logs, which are seen here extending to the four directions. White water suds (foam) surround the logs and the lake.

The eight figures shown in the center are the male and female Harvest Deities. The female deities are the white figures, which wear square masks; the male deities are black and wear round masks. Female deities are usually shown with square masks and the male with round. These deities are sitting on the logs as they float to dry land - their feet can he seen protruding below the logs.

From the center lake sprout the four sacred plants of the Navajo - corn, beans, squash and tobacco.

The Hunch Back Gods (shown here on the north and south), and the House God (on the west) are supposed to be causing the four logs to whirl around by blowing on them. Talking God (Soft Talker) is shown at the east of the painting. He scatters corn pollen from a squirrel skin pouch as the logs whirl.

The Hunch Back Gods (they are known as the seed gatherers, bearers and guards) carry black darkness with white dots of vegetable seeds on their backs. The outer edge of this black darkness is decorated with a rainbow, and also with five eagle tail feathers and five red flicker bird tail feathers. The Hunch Backs each hold a staff of life, which consists of black darkness outlined with white dawn and held together with jagged lightning. They are decorated with two black turkey tail feathers and two eagle plume feathers.

The Hunchback masks are decorated with Mountain Sheep horns and with eagle plumes. A black basket, with ten red flicker bird tail feathers, surrounds the head.

The arm streamers are of the rainbows. The feet are of the black clouds with red streaks of the sunset rays.

At the east (top) of the painting stands Talking God, who is the Yei-bei-chai leader. He wears a white mask. The headdress consists of eight eagle tail feathers and six owl plumes, three on each side at the base of the headdress. This is a tall headdress and points upward to indicate great knowledge and power. In Navajo mythology, Talking God has control of dawn and the eastern sky, of rare game and corn. Although he is noted for being extremely modest, his leadership is outstanding and he has charge of the most valuable of earth's treasures. His ordinary mode of travel is on a rainbow or sunbeam, which he furnishes. He stands at the helm, so to speak. Earth People, and often the other gods, take their places behind him. He often acts as mentor between the Gods and earth people, directing them, warning them, or telling them the answers to test questions, which they would not otherwise know. He is characterized by playfulness. He looks funny. His sound, his motions and actions, are funny.

A white line shown at the forehead of a deity usually denotes the conscience; the yellow chin line is the corn pollen path.

Wrist bands, arm streamers, knee garters and sash are of the rainbow. His feet are of the black clouds.

In the west appears the figure of House God. His mask is crowned with eight eagle tail feathers and six owl plumes. Again, the yellow chin line is the corn pollen path. The four big stars on his chest are for wisdom. House God is the god of reproduction. Legend teaches that House God built and decorated the white peak of Mount Taylor in New Mexico, which is Turquoise Mountain, the eastern sacred mountain of the Navajo. He later knocked its top off and forbade any living thing to reach the top of it because he was enraged when he could not get the name that he wanted for it. He too, has arm streamers and sash of the rainbows and feet of the black clouds. He wears a universal scarf. His staff is decorated with eagle plume feathers and a black turkey feather at the top.

The top of the painting is the east; surrounding it on three sides is the Rainbow Goddess; who wears a rectangular mask and carries at her waist an embroidered pouch tied with four strings. The rainbow surrounds the painting on three sides so that no evil spirits can enter. The east entrance is not accessible to them, since those deities who are beneficial use it.

The Holy People shown here in Whirling Logs had many separate adventures in Navajo mythology. This painting comes from the Night Way chant, a major winter ceremony that lasts nine nights and eight days and is commonly called the "Yei-bei-Chai". It is used to treat patients suffering from insanity, paralysis or deafness.

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Here are the two representations of Whirling Logs. There are several variations of this painting extant. Some of these are unique or very unusual depictions of Whirling Logs, but most of those available have been made for commercial or tourist trade and bear only superficial resemblances to the traditional ceremonial sandpaintings.

Whirling Logs 1 by Fred Stevens Jr.
Whirling Logs 2 by Fred Stevens Jr.

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