No.^Tir* ^^^' ^^^™ RAMAH NAVAHO KLUCKHOHN 345 



not been made since 1938. There are variations by sub-area as well 

 as in time. For instance, I have not seen a bow and arrow made or 

 used within 10 miles of the village of Ramah since 1936. On the other 

 hand, I have seen these articles both made and used 30 miles south of 

 Ramah as recently as 1948. 



A few simple and rather obvious generalizations can be made. 

 There has been a steady increase in the buying of articles from trading 

 stores as opposed to home manufactm-e. As of 1950, only four or 

 five elderly men still made and wore moccasins. In 1936, the Ramah 

 Navaho possessed only 3 iron bedsteads; in 1950, they owned more 

 than 30. In 1936, only two Ramah Navaho families had automobiles. 

 In 1952, they owned 39^ automobiles (more than half of them pickup 

 trucks and more than half manufactured prior to 1942). Three 

 possessed Ferguson tractors and planters; about 35 had plows and 

 cultivators. Native foods (see Bailey, 1940) are less and less fre- 

 quently prepared except that sheep and corn are still ordinarily cooked 

 in the old styles. About 5,000 pounds of meat was dried in 1951. 

 Ritual paraphernalia is still made, but the number of individuals who 

 have requisite knowledge decreases each year. Moreover, as Tschopik 

 (1938) has documented in the case of basketry, the sheer ritualiza- 

 tion of some features of material culture has tended to make for the 

 obsolescence of these objects. 



Another dimension of material culture has been beautifully docu- 

 mented by Roberts (1951) who examined the complete inventory of 

 three contiguous households to a total of 578 items. Of these, 154 

 were held in common by all three households, 58 were possessed by 

 A and B, 50 by B and C, 33 by A and C: 89 existed only in A; 185 in B, 

 and 109 in C (p. 77). 



The general environmental setting has been considered elsewhere 

 in this volume. Here I shall review briefly only some features of 

 the specifically Navaho adaptation. Of the 456 uncultivated plant 

 species collected in the area, there were only 3 for which no Navaho 

 name was given when shown to two or more informants, and for 1 

 of these a use was stated. This does not mean that every plant is 

 well known, but it does mean that the people are observant of their 

 botanical surroundings and can readily distinguish between plants of 

 major, secondary, or minor importance in their lives. Even the 

 very young children know the names and uses of the common plants. 

 The vegetation enters into the lives of everyone from birth until 

 death. Poisonous plants are a threat to livestock; many plants have 

 magico-religious and/or economic significance. The uses of plants 

 are multiple, and from the Navaho standpoint they fit into that 



' Most families lacking automobiles have wagons. 



