Bold colors,
eye-catching patterns at Utah fair Elder Fest
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Former
Miss Western Navajo Elderly Ruby Greenstone from Shonto, Arizona,
and Alex Begay from Waterflow, New Mexico, wait to dance in
a round of two-step during the Elder Fest at the 28th annual
Utah Navajo Fair on Oct. 27 in Bluff, Utah. (photo by Krista
Allen - Navajo Times)
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Kélchí
of all styles are seen throughout the Elder Fest during the
28th annual Utah Navajo Fair on Oct. 27 in Bluff, Utah. (photo
by Krista Allen - Navajo Times)
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Elsie
Cly Benally and Tom Benally from Black Mesa, Arizona, dance
in a round of skip dance at the Elder Fest during the 28th
annual Utah Navajo Fair on Oct.27 in Bluff, Utah. (photo by
Krista Allen - Navajo Times)
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BLUFF, UT Even though the Diné traditional style
is fading away, it stood out through bold colors, vintage or handmade
items and eye-catching patterns at the Elder Fest during the 28th
annual Utah Navajo Fair.
Louise Nez, 76, from Mariano Lake, New Mexico, says looking
at what Diné men and women are wearing in each of the five
agencies tells just as much about the state of things as the language
does.
"Men and women in Western Navajo have a style dating back to
the olden days," Nez explained in Diné bizaad. "And men and
women in Eastern Navajo wear contemporary clothing. Like the white
man, they wear clothes they bought in stores such as pants, button-down
shirts and sneakers.
"And even the Navajo language," she added, "it's spoken differently
throughout the Navajo Nation. People in Eastern speak differently
than people in Western."
From tlaakal (skirts) to deijiéé
(blouses) to dootlizhii (turquoise) to kélchí
(moccasins), the stylish fairgoers over the weekend proved that
events like the Elder Fest only tell half the story.
"What I'm wearing, women wore in the olden days," Nez said in
Diné bizaad as she showed the yoonilchíní
(sterling buttons) on her blouse and the yoo?ichií
(red coral necklace) around her neck. She showed her concho belt,
the fleecy fabric and the scarf she wore, which calculated a display
of wealth.
"Women in those days wore three- to four-tiered skirts," she
said. At that point in time, Nez says, women's blouses were heavily
embellished with yoonilchíní. "Nowadays, it's
all nickel," she said.
"Nowadays some women's clothing are immodest. That isn't Diné
traditional style."
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