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~ Navajo &
Tohono O'odham Indian Baskets ~
Authentic Navajo ceremonial and pictorial baskets along with genuine Tohono
O'odham (Papago) geometric, pictorial, and effigy baskets, and intricately
detailed miniature horsehair baskets are all handwoven in the same traditional
manner and of the same materials as woven by their ancestors. The materials
are gathered, carefully prepared and then woven into articles of true artistic
beauty. Authentic Navajo Indian baskets are handmade from the fibers of sumac
plants. Genuine Tohono O'odham baskets are handmade from the fibers of yucca
plants, devil's claw, banana yucca root, and beargrass with some made from
the branches of the desert willow tree. The Tohono O'odham are also well known
for their miniature baskets made of horsehair.
Please Note: The picture size is not an indicator of actual
relative size.
For complete product information and larger photos, click on the picture.
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| Ester Lopez Tohono O'odham 9.5 " dia SOLD |
Debbie Lopez Tohono O'odham 11.5 " dia $180 |
Melinda Garcia Tohono O'odham 9.75" dia $165 |
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| Erma Juan Tohono O'odham 3.75" dia $54 |
Evelyn Cly Navajo 9.5" dia SOLD |
Faye Ventura Tohono O'odham 3.75" h x 6" dia $50 |
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| Debbie Lopez Tohono O'odham 10.5" dia $140 |
Suzi Ventura Tohono O'odham 7" diameter SOLD |
Cecilia Aguila Tohono O'odham 1.5"h x 8.5" dia $75 |
Mary Yazzie Navajo 10" dia $175 |
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| Barbara Francisco Tohono O'odham 6.5" dia $95 |
Alice Francisco Tohono O'odham 9.25" dia $175 |
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~ Miniature Horsehair Baskets and Sumac Baskets ~
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| Adeline Jose Tohono O'odham Rattlesnake/Whirlwind 2" diameter $175 |
Adeline Jose Tohono O'odham Tortoise 2" dia $180 |
Flora Ambrose Tohono O'odham "O'odham Women" $38 |
Eldina Jose Tohono O'odham Friendship Dancers 2 1/8" SOLD |
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| Rose Wiskers Paiute Ceremonial Basket 1.75" diameter SOLD |
Rochelle Enos Tohono O'odham Man in the Maze 2.5" diameter $180 |
Rose Whiskers Paiute Ceremonial Basket 1 15/16" diameter SOLD |
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| Marcella Enos Tohono O'odham 2" diameter $220 |
Adeline Jose Tohono O'odham 1 7/8" diameter $180 |
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PLEASE NOTE: Orders of multiple items may result in a reduction of the total
amount charged for shipping/handling/insurance that is listed per item.
Any such reduction will occur before charging your credit card.
Free Shipping/Handling/Insurance for basket orders over $250.00
~Tohono O'odham Baskets~
Members of the Tohono O'odham tribal nation (formerly known as Papago Indians), live along the Arizona, Mexico border. Their present tribal lands, established in 1874, consist of a three parcel reservation of 2,854,881 acres (approximately 5,000 square miles), in the Sonoran Desert in south central Arizona and into Mexico, an area comparable in size to the state of Connecticut, but with a population of 27,500 members. Basket making is a long-honored tradition of the Tohono O'odham people who make baskets from various materials such as willow, yucca (most common today), and horsehair. Traditionally, the men harvested the materials and women were the basketmakers. Some families began making the natural material harvesting a family event leading to a transition where now there are some men who are basketmakers in their families as well.
Decorative basket patterns include fret designs, turtle back designs, coyote tracks, dragging coyote tracks, cross designs, stars, squash blossoms, dust-devils, human figures, saguaro fruit picking scenes, the well-known "man in the maze" pattern, and representations of antelopes, bats, bees, ducks, humming birds, rattlesnakes, and turtles. Some designs are done in the negative using devil's claw as the the background and yucca or willow for the design
~Navajo Ceremonial Baskets~
The present day tribal lands of the Navajo Nation consist of 17,686,465 acres (over 27,000 square miles) in northerneastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico. Approximately the size of West Virginia, the Navajo Reservation is larger than ten of the 50 states in America. The reservation was created in 1868, and has since been expanded to its current size. It features over a dozen national monuments, tribal parks, and prehistoric sites. Population on the reservation today is over 180,000. Sumac is the material that Navajo weavers gather to make ceremonial baskets. Thin sumac branches are used for the rods around which the split sumac is woven. Baskets are used in most of over fifty different kinds of sacred ceremonies practiced in the traditional Navajo culture and depending on the length of the ceremony, up to seven different baskets may be needed.
(Regarding the Navajo ceremonial or "wedding" basket) "The basket is viewed as a map, through which the Navajo people chart their lives. The central spot in the basket represent the sipapu, where the Navajo people emerged from the prior world through a reed. As the people emerged, all was white. The inner coils of the basket are white to represent this lightness, or birth. As you travel outward [in a circular direction] on the coils you begin to encounter more and more black. The black represents darkness, struggle and pain; the darker side of life. As you make your way through the darkness you eventually reach the red bands, which represent marriage; the mixing of your blood with your spouse and the creation of family. The red is pure. During this time there is no darkness. Traveling out of the familial bands you encounter more darkness however, the darkness is interspersed with white light. The light represents increasing enlightenment, which expands until you enter the all white banding of the outer rim. This banding represents the spirit world where there is no darkness. The line from the center of the basket to the outer rim is there to remind you that no matter how much darkness you encounter in your world, there is always a pathway to the light." (As told to Steven P. Simpson by an informant, 1993)
See books for sale about Native American Indian Baskets
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