Adams] SHONTO : ROLE OF NAVAHO TRADER 81 



Shonto women, unlike men, commonly carry Pendleton blankets on 

 all occasions. Consequently, most women have a new "dress" Pendle- 

 ton and an older everyday Pendleton. Additional common but not 

 universal articles are readymade jackets, cotton mittens, and head 

 scarves. 



The dress of boys and of girls not in school is usually an exact mini- 

 ature of their parents'. Girls in school are required to wear ready- 

 made clothes much the same as those of Wliite schoolgirls. Children's 

 garments in all sizes from one year up are bought at the trading post. 



Most personal ornamentation consists of "Navaho" silver jewelry, 

 of which every adult has a considerable supply. Such jewelry was 

 formerly made in the community, but nearly all newer pieces are of 

 Zuni manufacture, bought in the trading post. Small bracelets, rings, 

 turquoise beads, as well as various blouse ornaments are universal, 

 and are worn on nearly all occasions. Concho belts, silver ("squash 

 blossom") beads, and large bracelets are less common, although most 

 households have at least one of each. These items are worn only on 

 special dress occasions — the large quantities of heavy jewelry usually 

 seen in photographs of Navahos is a sure indication that the scene has 

 been artificially posed. 



Hair styles deserve mention in connection with ornamentation, 

 since they are often used as an index of acculturation by outsiders. 

 All but three of Shonto's women wear the traditional hairknot, two of 

 the exceptions being school employees. Hairknots are also universal 

 among very young girls. Older girls who are in boardmg school are 

 sometimes required to cut their hair, and many of these feature bobs 

 or permanent waves when they return to Shonto in the summer. If 

 they return to the community permanently, however, they are almost 

 certain to revert to the traditional fashion. 



The wearing of long hair in a hairknot was universal among 

 Shonto men a generation ago. At the present time it survives pri- 

 marily among the older and uneducated men. Among adult men the 

 community has 58 long-haired and 80 short-haired men. Forty out of 

 54 men over the age of 35 wear long hair, whereas among 84 men 

 between 16 and 35, only 18 have long hair. Short hair is nearly 

 always a sign of boarding-school education, since schoolboys are re- 

 quired to cut their hair. Once cut, very few return to the hairknot. 

 Only three such reversions have taken place at Shonto in recent years. 

 In each case the individual was deliberately symbolizing a return to 

 Navaho ways. 



COOKING AND HOUSEKJEEPING 



Little survives of the aboriginal Navaho diet. As of 1955 all Shonto 

 families were heavily dependent upon the store for both staples and 

 processed foods (cf. Bailey, 1940). The modern basic diet includes 

 mutton, potatoes, fry-bread, canned fruits, coffee, tea, and candy. 



