INTRODUCTION

The account of the houses or hogáns of the Navaho Indians which is
presented here will be of interest to the student of architecture,
it is believed, because data concerning such primitive types of house
structures are quite rare. It is also thought to be of interest to the
archeologist and ethnologist as well as to the general reader, for it
is well known that no one product of a people’s art exhibits so clearly
their mental attitude and their industrial status as the houses which
they build.

Much of the material here presented was obtained some ten years ago,
when the recent changes which have taken place in Navaho life had
only just begun. Although the same processes are now employed in house
construction as formerly, and although the same ceremonies are observed,
they are not so universally nor so strictly adhered to as they were. The
present tendency is such that in a comparatively short time the rules
for the construction of a hogán which have been handed down through
many generations and closely followed, and the elaborate ceremonies of
dedication which formerly were deemed essential to the well-being of the
occupants, will be so far modified as to be no longer recognizable, if,
indeed, they are not altogether abandoned. Such being the case, even a
bare record of the conditions which have prevailed for at least two
centuries must be of value.

As the architecture of a primitive people is influenced largely by the
character of the country in which they live, a brief description of the
Navaho reservation is deemed necessary. Similarly, the habits of life of
the people, what a naturalist would term their life history, which in
combination with the physical environment practically dictates their