Dine Cosmology Reflects a Sophisticated

Dine cosmology reflects a sophisticated pantheism that represents the universe as an integrated spiritual whole. Elements of the physical world are manifested microcosms of abstract concepts. The Dine abstract level is similar to Plato's world of Forms. All that ever existed in the physical universe and all that ever could exist is comprised of the same basic elements that make up the cosmos. All is one. The primordial elements are the "seeds" of all creation ("The Nature of Life in the Navajo World"). Four basic elements are united by the fifth: which is sound. Earth, Air, Water, and Fire each resonate a unique sound, and that sound is the spirit that binds those elements. The physical world not only reflects the divine: it is divine. Thus, all Navajo creations are emblems of spirit manifested. The basket and the hooghan are the most important Dine constructions, the ones most representative of Dine cosmology. Baskets, hooghan, and the universe share a common source. They illustrate the homology of Dine cosmology. For instance, the butt-end of a basket weave becomes a "doorway," connecting the basket to the hooghan. Likewise, both basket and hooghan are constructed in sunwise fashion, with respect to the four cardinal directions. The basket's twelve coils symbolize the twelve layers of knowledge including the abstract.

In a world in which all things share a common ancestral source, all human constructions must reflect divine realities. The hooghan is among the most sacred of Dine creations and is imbued with life. In fact, the hooghan has anthropomorphic qualities. Designated as a sacred space like the human body itself, the hooghan also has its own anatomy. Hooghans are gendered, too. Their gender corresponds with human gendered social roles as well as with geometric renditions of male and female forms. For example, the male hooghan has a pointed top, whereas the female's is rounded. Within the hooghans, separate stations are established for male and female people as well as for people of different social ranks or functions. The male hooghan is the place for prayer and social meetings, the realm in which song and ceremonial gatherings take place. The female hooghan is the realm of the individual family, a place of peace and of childrearing.

Like the body, each section has a special purpose and all are necessary. The microcosm of the hooghan therefore reflects the entirety of the Navajo world, which also possesses senses, sense organs, and body parts. The world is "linked by metaphoric structures including complementarity, permeated by vibration in the form of sound or movement" and "possessed of the same seven senses and anatomical components," ("The Nature of Life in the Navajo World").

Without the strict binaries that characterize the cosmologies of other cultures, the Dine propose a more integrated vision of the universe. The breath of life permeates everything, and life is cyclical and eternal. Death means only a transition from one phase of life or one form of life to another. Upon death, the same basic elements of creation continue to characterize life and that individual. The number four is structural and represents not only the four elements of moisture, air, substance and heat but also the four cardinal directions and the movement of the sun throughout the year. Directionality and the compas points denote the sacred geography that characterizes the Navajoland and Dine cosmos. As a result, the hooghan is constructed with four main structural poles. Each pole corresponds to a direction with the entrance of the house always in the east. The poles create special sections within the hooghan that are also linked to sacred geography and directionality. A fifth pole flanks the doorway, demarcating the presence of the fifth element.

Birth offers the opportunity to hear and speak the First Language, which is forgotten and inaudible to contemporary humans ("The Nature of Life in the Navajo World"). These so-called "mind sounds" are a substance in themselves ("The Nature of Life in the Navajo World"). Like the other four more concrete elements, primal sound is consciousness. All the elements possess consciousness and therefore all objects are sacred, with the potential to hold both knowledge and power.

The Dine creation story reflects the structure and order of the cosmos. The First Man and First Woman also represent the gendered construction that is manifest in the hooghan. However, the creation story is not binary; male and female are viewed as syntheses of the four basic elements, united by the fifth through sound and chanting. Chanting often occurs in sets of four, because the creation story emphasizes the role of the number four in the emergence of the universe ("Dine (Navajo) Creation").