On December 15, Vice president and medicine man Rex Lee Jim, from the Navajo Nation, was part of the delegation visiting Paris to buy back sacred Navajo masks at the Drouot auction. He explains to ICTMN the fundamental importance of the masks, their identity as breathing living entities, and the necessity of informing the potential owners on this unknown esoteric aspect, to avoid future misunderstandings, given their strong esthetics and powerful attraction, misleading those who ignore their real status, beyond their artistic value.
What was the reaction in your community, when they saw you coming back with the masks?
The people were grateful; they stopped me in grocery stores, parking lots… To give thanks, “we needed the sacred masks to return: it is part of our culture, of who we are”. They understand the purposes of the masks: why, where, and when they are used, that they represent the Gods. When put on by dancers, the Gods are here. They know that spiritual connection. Also, whether it is a coincidence or not, that same night we came back, it was snowing, but since their return on, it rained. So, we believe the sky and the earth are happy, because our masks are back.
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So most of the Navajos know about their significance?
The Navajo Nation represents 300,000 people, on 37,000 square miles, with a variety of religions, including Christianity, Baha’i, the Native American Church…etc. So not everybody knows the meaning of the masks, just like every one does not know about Shakespeare’s plays, in the Western culture. But those who continue to practice traditional ceremonies understand their significance, as well as for any other sacred paraphernalia.
You studied at Princeton University: did you ever feel foreign to your culture, or did you always remain connected to your Navajo traditions, how did you learn about the meaning of the masks?
I never questioned who I was, and always participated in the ceremonies; it is part of the culture I grew up in. There are a lot of ceremonies: we grow up with them, dancing with the families, learning the prayers through medicine people. It is an esoteric knowledge. The masks are worn by dancers during the ceremonies, to bring healing, restore harmony and balance to the families, patients, clans, and the land on which they live. They are spiritual connections.
What about the young generation‘s attitude towards the ceremonies?
More and more young people are learning, dancing, wearing the masks: when one of their family members get sick, and does not get cured through the Western system, and they see them after the ceremonies, walking again, or healed, they realize those ceremonies do work. And that is why they relearn: they see, in certain areas, the limitations of Western knowledge, and the value of traditional medicine.
And the importance of maintaining the traditional culture? A challenge?
Yes; it is very, important. The medicine men and the dancers attend the ceremonies, which means hundreds of people. And from the Navajo point of view, the masks are a collective right: no medicine man, or families, has the right to sell them, because the ceremonies are collectively practiced. We do not know how they ended up in Europe; unfortunately, some of our medicine men drink too much, and might have sold them. Or some Navajos converted to Christianity. That is how ceremonial items are given away, thrown, or sold. But the important point is that now, the masks are returned to the Navajo Nation, and reintroduced in the ceremonial system. And yes, keeping our culture is a challenge! As some young will say they do not need to do the ceremonies any more; then we have Christian missionaries coming to Navajo, telling us that our ceremonies are “pagan,” and we should become Christians. And those ceremonies imply years of discipline: it is very challenging. Fortunately, some people know their spiritual importance, and commit to learning our language and rituals. And we will continue to educate each other: we have radio and TV stations, to encourage people to relearn. Also, with the medicine men, asking them to be more opened; as some of them can be very strict, considering that you can only learn under certain circumstances. But then they end up dying before transmitting, and we loose entire ceremonies!
And the masks, precisely, have to go through a cleansing ceremony, before being used again?
Yes, they are now back with the medicine men, and go through this process of purification before the ceremonies, as we do not know where they have been, who touched them, how they were sold, or what happened before they got to France. So they need to be cleansed, revitalized, and brought back to life, through specific prayers. We have done that for some of them, and there will be more. The winter season for this ceremony is coming to an end, and the masks have not been used yet, as they are cleansed. But next fall, they will be used again, and reintroduced in the healing ceremony.
With the concept of the masks as living entities, the auction becomes a sacrilege, an important mistake?
Absolutely: for the Navajo mindset, they are breathing living entities. That is why we strongly oppose any selling of our items. They should be repatriated to our people, and brought back to the medicine people who practice the specific ceremonies: every time a new medicine man is initiated, there is a new mask done for him.
Then, can a mask, improperly possessed, have a negative, or even dangerous, impact on its owner?
Certainly. As they are living entities, and breathe, just like any living person: and being captured, or frustrated… The energy they emanate can impact the people who possess them. We need to respect one another religion, and what is associated to it: masks, or any paraphernalia… That is why we have to learn about one another, and support each other; so we understand each other’s culture, practices. And continue to educate on the importance of not selling those Navajo sacred masks, our Spiritual Beings.
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