Storytelling with string games (fwd)

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Storytelling with string games
Navajo teen shares ritual at high school

BETTY REID The Arizona Republic Mar. 8, 2006 12:00 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0308b2localpeople0308.html

Crafting a bird's nest using 2 feet of string is difficult for Alhambra
High School student Isaiah Nelson.

The Navajo teenager helped bring the winter storytelling and string
games last month to his campus in the Phoenix Union High School
District. The student-sponsored event was designed to highlight and
honor the school's diverse backgrounds.

For Nelson, president of Alhambra's Native Student Youth Council, it
means finding and scheduling a meaningful activity that best explains a
tiny part of who he is as a Diné, or Navajo. He found a seasonal ritual
called _Na'atl'o',_ a teaching activity used by Navajo parents for
children offered by the Phoenix Indian Center.

The game requires tying a string together and a lot of looping around
the fingers. Short stories are attached to each design made. The more
common designs are depictions of the stars or animals and designs seen
in textile rugs.

Nelson, 17,  is able to string a hair tie in seconds but struggles with
creating a bird's nest.

"I get confused about the steps, like making sure the string is on the
right finger, and if my fingers are too large for a short string, it
won't come out right," he said.

"If I don't have patience, I get frustrated."

Patience is one discipline that Freddie Johnson, Navajo cultural
specialist with PIC, wants children to gain from playing string games.
He reminds players that the game and art are part of a series of tribal
creation stories told during the winter season when animals such as
snakes, bears and spiders are asleep.

According to Navajo oral traditions, a deity named _Na'ashjé'ii Asdzéé_,
Spider Woman, gave the people the game. Much of the motion tied to the
game is similar to a spider weaving its web.

"Spider Woman introduced string games so that our children will learn
how to control their thoughts," Johnson said.

"It teaches our children patience and discipline. It also teaches our
parents to be patient with their children because string games requires
focus, a lot of repetitive motion with the fingers to design stars, two
coyotes racing in opposing direction, or a bird's nest."

Knowing more about Navajo is important to children like Nelson, who is
among thousands of Navajos whose families move to big cities such as
Phoenix, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles for jobs or
educational opportunities. They call themselves urban Navajos, and many
choose to stay connected to their cultural roots.

Young people such as Nelson are learning their language and culture at
the Phoenix Indian Center.

"It's worth the time to learn a string game and hear the story behind
each design because there is nothing like it available here in the
city," Nelson said. "It's very hard to learn the Navajo tradition here
in Phoenix when you are not connected to Navajo elders."

Phoenix Union enrolls 835  Native American students, who make up 3.6
percent of the 23,312 student population.