The Hogan Story

It is like being reborn from mother earth’s womb

~ rose j yazzie, bitahni clan matriarch

My mother, Rose J Yazzie grew up in 1950 through much of 2000 until her passing in 2020. She never went to school but she had a wealth of knowledge in diné culture, diné traditions, stories of the elders, weaving teachings, hogan significance, knowledge of medicinal herbs and caring for the livestock.

my personal favorite was to hear the teachings of the female hogan. every year, usually around spring time, my mother would tell me what i should know about the hogan. she began her story late in the evening, with a dip of her chewing tobacco and a bag of cleaned wool that she want to card and spin them into weaving yarns. in a soft tone, she begins in diné language….

the hogan was built by the holy deities, it represents hayoołkál hoghaan - house made of dawn. it belongs to the matriarch of the family. when the man marries into the family, he begins gathering logs of juniper trees to build a hogan. he must go to the mesa, where juniper trees are abundant.

First, the doorway always face to the east direction, where all good blessings come from. there are nine main posts from the entry doorway all the way around and back to the doorway. the nine posts represents the nine month pregnancy of a woman. each log are placed interlocking in a clockwise fashion ; there are no nails to hold them together. an opening is left open at the center for ventilation. this opening represents the belly button - Atsáá. This is our connection to our father, the sun, the one who gave us life. the hogan is built round to represent the womb of mother earth. we are her earth surface children. in this sacred hogan, it is where our body nourishes and rests; where we find our balance, and our mental health is back in harmony. this is where our spiritual self is being reborn. everything you do, everything you say, and your thoughts should be sacred in a hogan home. from the moment you walk in through the doorway, from the east, where it represents nitsá’hakees - our thinking process. you continue to the south, where it represents nahatá - our organization. you continue to the west where it represents iiná - our life. then you continue to the north, where it represents siih hasin - our assurance.

she ends the story by singing a sacred hogan song which lulls me to sleep, there on the soft sheep hide, on the ground, close to mother earth.