纳瓦霍人

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美国印第安居民集团中人数最多的一支,约有200,000人散居於新墨西哥州西北部、亚利桑那州犹他州东南部。纳瓦霍人操阿萨巴斯卡诸语言的一种,与阿帕契人所操的语言有关联。约西元900~1200年间,纳瓦霍人与阿帕契人自加拿大向西南迁移,在此之後纳瓦霍人则处於普韦布洛印第安人的影响之下。彩陶及远近闻名的纳瓦霍毛毯,还有沙画,全是在这影响下的产物。银器制造大概是19世纪中叶向墨西哥人学得的。传统经济基础为农业,稍後还有放牧绵羊、山羊和牛群。基本的社会单位为宗族。其宗教着重於记述原人来自地表以下的各个世界。1863年美国政府命令卡森使纳瓦霍人与阿帕契人停止掠夺,卡森的攻击使得约8,000名纳瓦霍人被监禁,作物与牧群也被破坏。今日许多纳瓦霍人居住在纳瓦霍保护区(64,000平方公里)内或其附近,数千名纳瓦霍人以做临时工维生。他们的语言已被保留下来。

Navajo

Most populous Indian group in the U.S., with about 200,000 individuals in northwestern New Mexico, Arizona, and southeastern Utah. The Navajo speak an Athabaskan language related to that of the Apache. The Navajo and Apache migrated to the Southwest from Canada c. AD 900-1200, after which the Navajo came under the influence of the Pueblo Indians. Painted pottery and the famous Navajo rugs, as well as sandpainting, are products of this influence. The craft of silversmithing probably came from Mexico in the mid-19th century. Their traditional economy was based on farming, and later herding of sheep, goats, and cattle. The basic social unit was the band. Religion focused on the emergence of the first people from worlds beneath the earth's surface. In 1863, the U.S. government ordered Col. Kit Carson to put an end to Navajo and Apache raiding, his offensives resulting in the incarceration of about 8,000 Navajo and the destruction of crops and herds. Today many Navajo live on or near the Navajo Reservation (24,000 sq mi; 64,000 sq km); thousands earn their living as transient workers. Their language has been tenaciously preserved.