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Being comercializes means that the art will never be lost. That would be a shame. Sand painting are done the world over by indigenous peoples. The Tibetan monks are a fine example. The Australian aborigine also works sand paintings. Its strange that this occurs throughout the world for more or less the same purpose.

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In the sandpainting of southwestern Native Americans (the most famous of which are the Navajo), the Medicine Man (or Hatałii) paints loosely upon the ground of a hogan, where the ceremony takes place, or on a buckskin or cloth tarpaulin, by letting the colored sands flow through his fingers with control and skill. There are at least 600 to 1000 different sandpaintings that are recognized among the Navajos. They are not viewed as static objects, but as living things that should be treated with great respect. There may be more than thirty different sandpaintings associated with one ceremony alone.

The colors for the painting are usually made with naturally colored sand, crushed gypsum (white), yellow ochre, red sandstone, charcoal, and a mixture of charcoal and gypsum (blue). Brown can be made by mixing red and black; red and white make pink. Other coloring agents include corn meal, flower pollen, or powdered roots and bark.

The paintings are for healing purposes only. Many of them contain images of yeibicheii, or the Holy People. While creating the painting, the medicine man will chant, asking the yeibicheii to come into the painting and help heal the patient.
The paintings are for healing purposes only. Many of them contain images of yeibicheii, or the Holy People. While creating the painting, the medicine man will chant, asking the yeibicheii to come into the painting and help heal the patient.

When the medicine man finishes painting, he checks its accuracy. The order and symmetry of the painting symbolize the harmony that the patient wishes to reestablish in his or her life. However accurate the sandpainting is will determine how effective it will be as a sacred tool. The patient will then be asked to sit on the sandpainting, and the medicine man will then proceed with the healing chant. The sandpainting acts like a portal for spirits to come and go, and also attracts them. Sitting on the sandpainting helps the patient absorb some of their power, while in turn the Holy People will absorb the illness and take it away. Afterwards, the sandpainting has done its duty, and is then considered to be toxic, since the illness is absorbed into it. That is the reason they must be disposed of afterwards. Because of the sacred nature of the ceremonies, the sandpaintings are begun, finished, used, and destroyed within a twelve hour period. (Wiki)

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Being done as art work alone is entirely different. The images are different. These are typical of what tourists buy as a memory for them.



However it is an art form seperate from Native Culture if inspired by it.

I remember it was explained to me, when I bought my clock which is designed with sand, that there is many meanings in the differents designs. And the symmetry of the designs (there is an identical design in the 4 corners of the clock) has meaning also. I wish I remembered what the symbols represented.

I bet we could find out what the symbols mean by looking them up online. I think that the modern designs are not the same as the ones they used for medicine etc. I have several paintings myself that I could not resist when we were in Arizona and New Mexico. I saw the picture of your clock and its lovely. The colours are wonderful. I think thats one of the things I love about the clock and my own things, earth tones and that pop of blue.

Having lived in Albuquerque, NM for a number of years, I came to love the beliefs and art of Sand Painting and have a couple in my home; not only for the beauty but to remind me of what they represent. If you will look, there will always be an opening somewhere for the evil spirits to leave and to show that nothing is absolutly perfect in this world. The same is done in traditional Navajo rugs.

That will be another subject later. I would love for you to do a post about Navaho rugs, in fact anything you can tell us about the Navaho beliefs and traditions. I will at a later date read up and do one, but its better when someone actually lives there and knows first hand. The Navaho have lots of really nice little gift items that we purchased when we were out there. I think it was Story tellers? would that be right? I would absolutely love a real authetic rug to display but doubt that will happen haha. Then of course the jewelry ahhhh thats so nice too. I really enjoyed the time we spent in New Mexico and Arizona. That reminds me there is a museum out there that we went to that we enjoyed a lot. It a lovely area. We felt really at home in New Mexico and want to go back some day. Do you have pictures of your sand paintings?