Hair

Yah' eh-teh or hello in Navajo. I am slowly picking up words in Navajo and it is nothing like Spanish. Also different is the Navajo concept of hair. Most Navajo, men and women wear their hair long. The is due to a belief that hair emanates from the brain and is an extension of the brain and thought. To cut the hair means to lose an important part of the brain and ones self. Navajo take great pride in their hair, probably more than any other part of the body. This is why it was such a great indignity and shame when white men would take the hair of Navajo in a raid or when young Navajo boys had their hair cut in missionary and "Indian" schools'

As a Pediatrician this has created problems for me as it is difficult to tell what the sex of a child is by either the name or the physical appearance as some many children could go either way at first glance. I will often say to a child among siblings, "What do you think of your sisters?" and get a reply back, "I have no sister....Those are all my brothers." "Oops" , I say.

Well there is no doubt when looking at me and the amount of hair I have that I don't many brains left so the Navajo take all my comments with a grain of salt.