should i build a Hogan in my back yard?

Question

for my ancestral religious ceremonies? i am a navajo but i just heard on PBS about hogans for the first time :) how crazy is that.
i never did learn about my ancestars religions just about what i wanted to know about others religions but now i found out that wicca the religion i originally based my religoius beliefs on is quite similliar to navajo and i think i will base my religion on my ancestars religion :) i can honor them and have an ancient religion that is truley my own :) so do you think this is a good idea and also about the hogan? and i just want to clear something up i am only asking your oppinions about this, i do not need you to tell me what i can and connot do but what you have to say will sway my final choice either way but in the end it WILL be up to me. i just wanted to make that clear so that you wont have to tell me that it is up to me, because i already know:)

oh and sorry about the spelling error's :) lol

what idols? do you even nkow what a hogan is?

it is a house were ceremonies take place, there are NO idols!

Answer 1

i would urge you to study the Native spirituality.
especially when associated with a paticular tribe.

i have been studying and participating in Native Spirituality for about 2 years now and it does fill a place in my life. but the Lakota only believe in one god. and i believe in many.

I will always be a Celtic Pagan. but that leaves me free to experience the religious ceramonies of the Native Americans.

Inipi (sweat lodge) is an awesome spiritual experience. and so too is tending the sacred fire that heats the stones for the Inipi.

when i do these things i do them Their way. the Cherokee and Lakota and especially the Apache have been very good to me and taught me much. all that they have asked is that i keep their religion pure. that i do not mix it with my Pagan beliefs. the Ancestors of both religions had good reasons for how they did things. and they took time to develop.

i wish you godspeed on your quest to find a spirituality.

before you build a Hogan talk to the Navajo. find out how and why they were built. PBS left alot out of that special.
find out the ceramony behind building it. because building a house of prayers is a ceramony and a prayer in itself. just like building an inipi.

many would look at an inipi and say . it is a small dome of saplings that have been stripped of bark and tied together with animal sinew and is covered with hides or blankets.

that sounds easy enough to make .

to make one.

you need a medicine man and several warriors. the medicine man will select the sapling to be cut, ask the tree if it will give it's life to make the Inipi. sage and bless the tree. the warrior will cut it
with a single blow severing the trunk. the people will carry the saplings out of the woods never allowing them to touch the ground and strip from them all bark. (they will not touch the ground untill they are set into the ground to build the Inipi.
and all of this is done skyclad (nude). once cut stripped and taken to the site to build they will lay them out in a manner that will create a star pattern with the top being an open hone and 2 doors (east and west)..

then just making the fire to heat the stones is a in depth ceramony in and of itself.

as is taking the blankets off ot the inipi and removing the stone people from the inipi afterwards.

Answer 2

A hogan is a home; the fact that it is occassionally used for ceremonial purposes is incidental. Also, traditional Dinè ceremonies, hatáál, aren't intended to be performed by those who haven't been trained to perform them. If you really want to learn, then find a hitaałíí and have them teach you.

Aside from the above, having a hogan is nice; it's simple and relaxing. Just make sure you follow these simple rules :

1. The door should open to the East.

2. Keep a hole in the center of the ceiling so smoke from a fire can exit. This has ceremonial implications which you may be familiar with.

3. There are two styles of hogans, a male and female design hogan. Off-hand, I forget which is which, but one is round and the other is octagonal when you look at it from the outside. Both are octagonal on the inside. I'm fairly sure the round design is feminine which coincides with Yeii seen in Dinè sandpaintings, 'iikááh.

Here is an interesting link that can tell you more.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma97/dinetah/hogan.html

Answer 3

I think it great that your finding interest in you heritage. I would encourage you to seek those of Navajo blood and tradition to help you in your quest. There is much for you to learn and the Navajo history is rich and quite original. Though Wicca is similar, it is not the same, so definitely find an elder to guide you there. About the hogan...I'm not sure but I seem to think that there is a particular way it must be built for ceremonial purpose. There too, you need to ask one who truly knows. Well...welcome back to the red road.

Aho,
Fenix

Answer 4

There was an article on The Witches Voice about Navajo Hogan, and a family.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-na-navajo19nov19,0,402052.story?coll=cl-tv-features

Answer 5

it is a spiritual dwelling in which many different practices occur. i think you should first visit the navajo reservation, most of the state of arizona, is navajo and apache land, before deciding whether or not to build a hogan in your yard. if i am correct, and i say if, there are a number of pre-requisites to having a hogan which would be what you seek, especially in the method and materials used to construct one. i, however am not navajo, but coree indian. my anscestors lived in grass huts in tennessee, along with the cherokee.

Answer 6

Great idea! Just make sure you don't have to have a permit where you live it would be sad if someone made you take it down because of some neighborhood regulations. Also a sweat lodge would be great to have for purification and meditations. It's really healthy too. I am a Christian who has a lot of Native American friends and have joined them in sweats and medicine dancing. I see no conflict with my beliefs and these activities.

Answer 7

Pardon my lack of education on this one, but exactly what is a Hogan? And in answer to your question: if it does no harm, go for it!

Answer 8

Hulk Hogan is my favorite wrestler.,

Answer 9

worshiping idols will wind you up in hell