What does YEII mean?
The yeii or yei (Navajo: yéí or yéʼii) are spirit deities of the Navajo people. The most benevolent of such beings are the Diyin Diné’e or Holy People who are associated with the forces of nature.
What does the Yei symbol mean to the Navajo?
The Yei symbol is a frequently used pattern in Navajo rugs. In Navajo mythology, the Yei spirits mediated between the Great Spirit and humans (the name Yei derives from Yeibicheii, meaning the Holy People. Yeibichai rugs depict the ceremony in which dancers attempt to call the spirits).
What does Chei mean in Navajo?
The Navajo way of life is based on an oral tradition in which stories, lessons and values are passed down from generation to generation. The Creation story of the Navajo Emergence as “The People or Dine” is as sacred as the Bible to the Navajo.
What deity is associated with Navajo weaving?
According to Navajo myth, the Dine or the People, were led to the Southwest from the underworld by the Holy People. Spider Man taught the Navajos how to make a loom from sunshine, lightning and rain. Spider Woman taught them to weave.
What are Yei figures?
Yei is a shortened version of *YeiBiChi, a holy figure in the Navajo culture. Yeis are the supernatural beings that allow communication between the Navajo people and their Gods. One Navajo artist told me, “They are the keepers of the door to the other world.”
What is the significance of Yeibichai?
The Yeibichai are supernatural beings who created the Navajo people and taught them how to live in harmony with the universe. This piece represents the Nightway ceremony of the Navajos, in which a medicine man calls upon the power of the Yeibichai to heal someone.
What does Danae mean in Navajo?
Continue reading the main story. Dine (pronounced din-EH) is an Athapascan word for man, but has been translated as “the people” by the Navajos, who routinely use it to refer to themselves and their language.
What do the Navajo patterns mean?
However, each textile individual and has personal or cultural symbolic meaning. Common symbols include crosses for Spider Woman, triangles or diamonds for mountains and the Navajo homeland, zigzags for lightning, Yei spirits, and a spirit line to release spiritual energy from bordered rugs.
What is a Germantown rug?
Nearly 150 years ago, traders provided the Navajo with brightly-colored, factory-made yarns for their weaving. These generic, yet colorful yarns eventually became known as Germantown rugs because of where the yarns originated from.
What does Whoopty doo mean?
1 : noisy and exuberant or attention-getting activity (as at a social affair or in a political campaign)
What does yi mean in slang?
You In? Academic & Science » Amateur Radio. Rate it: YI.
What does the rainbow represent in Navajo culture?
Folklore tells that the Navajo rainbow is a symbol of protection and the pathway of the Yeis. These healing holy spirits intercede between the Creator and humans and control the sun, moon, wind, and rain. A rainbow yei encircles most traditional sandpaintings to protect the image from evil spirits.
What is the name of the ceremony that contains the Yeibichai songs?
The “Yeibichai” song is a ceremonial piece performed in Nightway ceremony, the last night of a nine night long ceremony. This song calls to ancestors and asks their power and blessing over sick persons.
What musical characteristics do you hear in the Yeibichai chant song?
A distinctive feature of the Yeibichai songs is the dextrous alternation between normal singing voice and falsetto, a singing technique rare in American Indian music.
What does Yei mean in Navajo?
The term Yei derives from the word Yeibicheii meaning the Holy People. Navajo Yei (Yeii) spirits, or deities, are believed to control elements such as the rain, snow, wind and sun and control the night and day.
What are some examples of Yei art?
Depictions of Yei were commonly created on Petroglyphs and Sand Paintings. The picture below are Yei Petroglyphs – drawings that have been carved in stone. Yei Spirits are usually shown carrying pine boughs, yucca strips and rattles and these items feature in Navajo Spiritual Healing ceremonies.
Who is Yébîchai bichei?
Yei bichei ( Yébîchai ), or “maternal grandfather of the yei”, is another name of Talking God who often speaks on behalf of the other Holy People. (He, along with Growling God, Black God, and Water Sprinkler, were the first four Holy People encountered by the Navajo.)
What is the yei’bi’chai deity?
The Yei’bi’chai deity is revered as a “talking God” who can speak to human directly, telling them how to live in harmony with all living things. This Yei deity also provides some simple rules of behaviour to conserve and only to use the things that were needed to survive.