The rules which govern the building of a regular hogán or winter house,
although clearly defined and closely adhered to, do not apply to the
summer huts or shelters. These outnumber the former and are found
everywhere on the reservation, but they are most abundant in the
mountain regions and in those places where horticultural operations
can be carried on.
These structures are of all kinds and of all degrees of finish, although
certain well-defined types, ancient in their origin, are still closely
adhered to when the conditions permit. But under other circumstances
the rudest and most primitive shelters are constructed, some of them
certainly not so high in the scale of construction as an ordinary bird’s
nest. There is a certain interest that attaches to these rude attempts,
as they exhibit the working of the human mind practically untrammeled
by precedent.
Perhaps the most primitive and simple shelter the Navaho builds is a
circle or part-circle of green boughs, generally pine or cedar. Half an
hour of work by two men with axes is all that is required to erect one
of these. A site having been selected, a tree is felled on the windward
side, and the branches trimmed from it are piled up to a height of
4 or 5 feet on three sides of a circle 15 or 20 feet in diameter. A fire
is built in the center and the natives dispose themselves around it.
Blankets are thrown over outstanding branches here and there, affording
an abundance of shade in the hot summer days when even a little shade
is agreeable. Rude as this shelter is, it is regarded by the Navaho as
sufficient when no better is available. During the recent construction
of some irrigating ditches on the reservation, when from 50 to 100 men
were employed at one time, this form of shelter was the only one used,
although in several instances the work was carried on in one place for
five or six weeks. Shelters of this kind, however, are possible only in
a wooded region, and are built only to meet an emergency, as when a man
is away from home and there are no hogáns in the vicinity where he can
stop.
Another form, scarcely less rude, is sometimes found in localities
temporarily occupied for grazing or for horticulture. It consists of a
circle of small branches, sometimes of mere twigs, with the butts stuck
into the ground, and not over 2-1/2 or 3 feet high. The circle is broken
by a narrow entrance way on one side. This form of shelter, hardly as
high as a man’s waist, does little more than mark the place where a
family have thrown down their blankets and other belongings, but it may
afford some protection against drifting sand. Shelters of this type
are occupied several months at a time. They are often seen on the sandy
bottom lands of Canyon Chelly and in other regions of like character,
and the same sites are sometimes occupied several years in succession.
From these rude makeshift types there is an unbroken range up to the
standard winter hut, which also meets the requirements of a summer
house, being as comfortable in warm weather as it is in cold weather.
The kind of house which a man builds depends almost entirely on
the purposes which it is to serve and very little on the man or his
circumstances. The houses of the richest man in the tribe and of the
poorest would be identical unless, as often happens in modern times, the
former has a desire to imitate the whites and builds a regular house
of stone or logs. If, however, a man builds a summer place to which
he intends to return year after year, and such is the usual custom, he
usually erects a fairly substantial structure, a kind of half hogán, or
house with the front part omitted. If it is possible to do so he locates
this shelter on a low hill overlooking the fields which he cultivates.
The restriction which requires that the opening or doorway of a regular
hogán shall invariably face the east does not apply to these shelters;
they face in any direction, but usually they are so placed as to face
away from the prevailing wind, and, if possible, toward the fields or
farms.
[Illustration: Fig. 233--Ground plan of a summer shelter]
Figure 233 is a ground plan of a shelter of this type, which is shown
also in plate LXXXV. The effect is that of a half hogán of the regular
type, but with a short upright timber in place of the usual north piece.
The example shown is built on a somewhat sloping site, and the ground
inside has been slightly excavated, but on the front the floor reaches
the general level of the ground. The principal timbers are forked
together at the apex, but not strictly according to rule. The structure
is also covered with earth in the regular way, and altogether appears
to occupy an intermediate position between the summer shelter and the
winter hut. It is a type which is common in the mountain districts and
in those places where a semipermanent shelter is needed, and to which
the family returns year after year.
The supporting post in front in this case was so short that the use of
its fork would have made the roof too low. To overcome this the side
beams were not laid directly in the fork, but a tablet or short piece of
wood was inserted, as shown in figure 234, and the timbers rest on this.
The entrance or open front faced to the northwest, and to protect it
from the evening sun a temporary shelter of piñon brush was put up, as
shown in the illustration. This feature is a common accompaniment of
summer shelters and is often found with the regular winter hogán.
[Illustration: Fig. 234--Supporting post in a summer hut]
Figure 235 shows another type of summer shelter in plan, and figure 236
is a section of the same. It is of the “lean-to” type, and consists of a
horizontal beam resting on two forked timbers and supporting a series
of poles, the upper ends of which are placed against it. The structure
faces the east, and the southern end is closed in like a hogán, but it
was covered only with cedar boughs laid close together without an earth
facing.
This shelter stood upon a slope and the timbers used in its construction
were small and crooked. Perhaps on account of these disadvantages the
interior was excavated, after the shelter was built, to a depth of
nearly 24 inches on the higher side, as shown in figure 236. By this
expedient the space under the shelter was greatly enlarged. The
excavation was not carried all the way back to the foot of the rafters,
but, as shown in the section, a bench or ledge some 18 inches wide was
left, forming a convenient place for the many little articles which
constitute the Navaho’s domestic furniture.
[Illustration: Fig. 235--Ground plan of a summer hut]
Mention has been made before of this interior bench, which is an
interesting feature. It has been suggested by Mr Victor Mindeleff, whose
well-known studies of Pueblo architecture give his suggestions weight,
that we have here a possible explanation of the origin of the interior
benches which are nearly always found in the kivas or ceremonial
chambers of the Pueblo Indians, that the benches in the kivas may be
survivals of archaic devices pertaining to the primitive type from which
Pueblo architecture developed. If a low wall of masonry were used as a
support for rafters, in the manner shown in figure 237, and additional
space were sought by excavation, the form shown in the illustration
would be retained, for the construction would be seriously weakened if
the rude stonework were placed directly on the edge of the excavation.
Possibly this practice has some bearing on the Pueblo requirement that
the kivas should be at least partly excavated, a requirement still
rigidly adhered to. The conservatism of the Indian mind in matters
connected with their ceremonials is well known, and forms and practices
long abandoned in ordinary house construction still survive in the
building of the kivas.
[Illustration: Fig. 236--Section of a summer hut]
Plate LXXXVI shows a shelter somewhat resembling that last described,
but of more simple construction. Here the main crosspiece which forms
the front of the shelter is supported by forked upright timbers, as in
the previous example, and here also the fork of the main upright is too
large and has been filled in.
[Illustration: Fig. 237--Masonry support for rafters]
Aside from the types described, which illustrate the more common forms
of summer shelters, all kinds and degrees of variation are found. As
they, unlike the regular hogán, do not follow any rule or precedent,
their form depends largely on the facilities or the particular
requirements or abilities of the builder. Figure 238 shows a shelter in
the mountains, where timber is abundant. Except that it is not covered
with earth and has no door-frame, it might be classed as a regular
hogán.
Figure 239 shows a form that occurs in the valley regions where
driftwood can sometimes be obtained. It is closely related to the
“lean-to” type, but it is formed partly by excavating the side of a hill
and is well covered with earth. It will be noticed that the front is
partly closed by logs leaned against it and resting against the front
crosspiece or ridgepole.
Figure 240 shows a type which is common in the valleys where timber is
scarce and difficult to procure. Sage and other brush is used largely in
the construction of shelters of this sort, as the few timbers which are
essential can be procured only with great difficulty, and usually must
be brought a great distance.
[Illustration: Fig. 238--A timber-built shelter]
Plate LXXXVII shows a structure that might easily be mistaken for a
summer shelter, but which is a special type. It is a regular hogán, so
far as the frame and timber work go, but it is covered only with cedar
boughs. The illustration shows a part of the covering removed. This
structure was a “medicine hut,” put up for the performance of certain
ceremonies over a woman who was ill. There are no traces of any fire in
the interior, perhaps for the reason that the women’s ceremony is always
performed in the day time. Aside from its lack of covering, it is a
typical hogán, and the illustration conveys a good impression of the
construction always followed. This kind of hut is called an _ĭnçá
qoġán_.
Rude and primitive as these structures seem, a certain amount of
knowledge and experience is necessary to build them. This has been
discovered at various times by whites who have attempted to build hogáns
and failed. An instance occurred not long ago where a trader, finding it
necessary to build some kind of a travelers’ house, where Indians who
came in to trade late in the evening or on Sunday could spend the night,
decided to build a regular hogán. He employed several Navaho to do the
work under his own supervision. The result was a failure, for, either on
account of too much slope to the sides or for other reasons, the hogán
does not remain in good order, and constant work on it is necessary to
maintain it in a habitable condition.
[Illustration: Fig. 239--Shelter with partly closed front]