Hogan

The hogan is the traditional house of the Navajo people, an American Indian tribe located in the Southwest region of the United States that includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The traditional name of the Navajo people is Diné, meaning “The People.” Hogan is a Diné word, translating roughly into “home place.” It may have additional meanings of shelter, house, and a place for family activities. In Navajo mythology, the gods and spirits journeyed from other worlds, and the first hogan was built on this Earth for a newly born Navajo goddess, Changing Woman. Because of this supernatural beginning, the Navajo hogan is viewed as sacred. Therefore, a hogan must be constructed in a certain cultural manner. After construction is completed and before [Page 275]occupation, a Navajo House Blessing Ceremony must be conducted to bless the new home to ensure good fortune for the new hogan and the extended three-generation family household that will occupy it.

Traditional hogans are windowless, one-room dwellings. The single room is never subdivided. Female and male forms of the hogan exist. The female hogan is the well-known rounded form while the male is a pointed-cone shape. While Navajos construct the female hogan with different local materials, such as adobe, logs and stone, the male cone-shaped hogan uses a wooden forked log with two supportive logs. This forms the central support as other logs are placed in a circular manner. Completion occurs by placing smaller tree branches between the larger logs and finishing with adobe mud to seal the structure. These hogans can be constructed very easily and fit the precontact Navajo mobile lifestyle. Today, the male hogan is constructed mainly for ceremonial purposes.

The larger female hogans are the norm and are found throughout Navajo land. The traditional female hogans represent Changing Woman and are never rectangular. The hogan is a circular and dome structure. This hogan form is typical and represents the female element. These hogans are ordinarily a circular polygonal shape with the octagon being popular. The diameter may vary from 12 to 16 feet in diameter. A female family member typically owns the hogan and surrounding land.

The hogan walls are constructed of overlapping mud-covered logs or sandstone. The perimeter walls are about 5.5 to 6 feet high. The domed ceiling is constructed by overlapping and diminishing the size of the logs, with a smoke hole placed off center in an eastern direction. On average, the interior height of the dome will reach 10 to 12 feet. The dome roof is a cribbed ceiling made also of overlapping plastered mud-covered logs. The dome form represents the Male Sky while an earthen floor represents the Female Earth.

Evolution of the Navajo Hogan

The floors of old style hogans were about 24 inches below ground level. This allowed a natural bench to be created inside the hogan. Today's modern hogans, which are widespread on the Navajo reservation, do not have this bench since they are constructed at ground level. The female hogan has an east-facing door, and on the first day of construction, the hogan's single doorway is centrally oriented toward the rising morning sun. The first rays of light mark the central point of the doorway. The traditional doorway was covered with animal hides or by a woven ruglike covering. Contemporary hogans use wooden doors with hinges attached to a door frame with dimensional lumber for the walls and roof.

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