210 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuU, 188 



In essence, Navahos handle cash as they trade out a due bill, and 

 for good reason. The first "money" which was introduced in the Nava- 

 ho trade was scrip. It was issued against rugs and other commodities 

 just as are due bills today, and like them could only be taken out in 

 trade at the store. Since the amount was absolutely limited to the 

 value of the produce sold, Navahos learned to spend it carefully and 

 to keep track of their standing by counting the remainder after each 

 purchase, as they now inquire how much is left on a due bill after 

 each purchase. The attitudes and spending habits thus acquired have 

 carried over from trade money to legal tender (see Franciscan Fathers, 

 1910, p. 490). 



The role of soda pop in the Navaho trade has often been remarked 

 by popular observers. It is the lubricant of Navaho commerce; so 

 much so tliat its consumption on some occasions has become almost 

 literally a ritual. In this respect its function is closely comparable 

 to that of tea in the Orient, and to some extent of whiskey in the 

 United States. It is nearly always the first and often the last item 

 purchased when trading, and in between times it is consumed from 

 time to time whenever the customer wishes to "take a break" long 

 enough to refresh his memory or to take stock of his financial posi- 

 tion. It may be ordered by a customer who is losing an argument 

 with the trader as furnishing a welcome excuse for silence; likewise 

 an individual who wins an argument or makes his point may get a 

 free bottle as a concession of apology from the trader. It is the 

 only currency with which minor services such as helping to load and 

 unload mercantile trucks are rewarded. Finally, it is traditionally 

 and more or less ritually given as a reward for large purchases or 

 paying ofl; large accounts. "Anyone paying his bill in full gets a 

 bottle of pop" is or was standard trading-post policy throughout the 

 length and breadth of the Navaho Reservation. 



TEADEE BEHAVIOE 



The distinctive behavior of the Navaho as a buyer has its 

 complement in equally distinctive behavior of tlie trader as a seller. 

 The Navaho trade is almost certainly the only retail business in mod- 

 ern America in which, as it is said, "the customer is always wrong." 

 This humorous allegation has its source in the essential truth that 

 the trader is always right. Another expression of the same concep- 

 tion is "You don't have to take any g-uff off the customers." This 

 is regarded as one of the great compensations of the Navaho trade. 



The trader comes by his attitude partly through the inherent 

 advantages of territorial monopoly and a protected market, which 

 make it unnecessary for him to encourage local trade by being extra 

 polite to the customers. A very popular trader's joke, expressing 

 recognition of this state of affairs, is to say "if you don't like it you 



