Original Painting “Feather Dance of the Mountainway Ceremony”

Myron Denetclaw graduated 10 May 2024 from Diné College with a degree in Bachelor Fine Arts, Emphasis on Traditional Painting. He will continue his education towards a master's degree in the Fall. Myron does not paint to just produce works, but he paints to record and protect the history of his Diné heritage. When he brings us a painting or two, he provides a complete written explanation of the work. With that stated, we will switch to his description of this painting.

Description: The painting depicts the rehearsal scene of the nine-day/night Dził'Kí'Jíh Hatáál (Mountainway Ceremony). Although the ceremony continues correspondingly as traditionally conducted, rehearsal of dancing and singing from invited singers/practitioners (medicine men/women who practice different chantways, i.e lightningway, nightway, red antway, windway, waterway, etc.) perform the vital role of healing the mountainway ceremonial patients. This painting represents the rehearsal scene of the Níyol Jih' (Windway) branch group performing the feather dance for the Mountainway ceremony on the 6th, 7th, or 8th night. The dancers below are young siblings; the youngest is the girl who looks straight forward at the viewer; to the far left is the brother, the middle sibling, and across from him is the eldest sister, dancing in the far right. Each dancer holds in each hand the áliil or wands; its purpose is to direct and motion the eagle plume to dance by itself magically simultaneously by the chanters. The áliil is symbolically made and explicitly decorated for the chantway presented in the Mountainway ceremonial. The aliil the dancers carry represents the homes of the wind people, in disguise as small birds.

Each color represents the four worlds. The woman sitting in the upper left corner is the ceremonial patient, healing from the dance. She holds a basket containing yellow cornmeal in her hands, carried with her for nine consecutive days. The four individuals sitting aside from her are the invited chanters; the individual in the brown fur cap is the leading chanter who leads in/exits his dancers yet begins and leads the singing altogether. The two individuals next to him are his helpers, one of whom is the drummer, who keeps pace with the rhythmic chanting. The drum is again a basket turned upside down; the drumstick is made of braided yucca leaves. The last person is a young girl who assists in singing. The entire painting has a light stipple effect, representing a light snow shower. Below the foot of the painting is a black bar, representing the storm clouds; the white dots represent raindrops, and the yellow and white bordering lines represent the dawn and evening twilight. The guardian plants and roots growing from the
Storm clouds are mountain chokecherry shrubs.

Condition: new

Provenance: this Original Painting "Feather Dance of the Mountainway Ceremony" is from the artist who also selected the framing

Recommended Reading: NAVAJO PAINTING by Katherin Chase

TAGS: Native American Painting, Diné of the Navajo Nation, Dorothy Dunn, Harrison Begay, Beatien Yazz, San Ildefonso, Myron Denetclaw, Diné Painter