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Washington Matthews
Washington Matthews (1843–1905) was an American ethnographer and U.S. Army surgeon who is renowned for his in-depth studies of Native American cultures, particularly the Navajo people. He documented Navajo ceremonies and traditions, and his works, such as "Navajo Legends" (1897) and "The Night Chant, a Navajo Ceremony" (1902), remain significant contributions to the field of anthropology. Matthews emphasized the importance of preserving Native oral traditions and was among the first scholars to record and analyze Navajo language and mythology. His work influenced the understanding of Native American culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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NAVAJO SILVERSMITHS. BY WASHINGTON MATTHEWS. Among the Navajo Indians there are many smiths, who sometimes forge iron and brass, but who work chiefly in silver. When and how the art of working metals was introduced among them I have not been able to determine; but there are many reasons for supposing that they have long possessed it; many believe that they are not indebted to the Europeans for it....
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NAVAJO WEAVERS. By Dr. Washington Matthews. § I. The art of weaving, as it exists among the Navajo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, possesses points of great interest to the student of ethnography. It is of aboriginal origin; and while European art has undoubtedly modified it, the extent and nature of the foreign influence is easily traced. It is by no means certain, still there are many reasons for...
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INTRODUCTION. 1. The ceremony of dsilyÃdje qaçàl, or mountain chant—literally, chant towards (a place) within the mountains—is one of a large number practiced by the shamans, or medicine men, of the Navajo tribe. I have selected it as the first of those to be described, because I have witnessed it the most frequently, because it is the most interesting to the Caucasian spectator, and...
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