hózhǫ́

Hózhǫ́ is the state in which all living things are ordered, in balance, and walking in beauty. The opposite of hózhǫ́ is hóchxǫ́ǫ́, which refers to disorder and chaos in one’s life. In Hillerman's work, chaos and imbalance manifest as as physical or mental illness, an infection obtained from contact with modern values of the mainstream U.S. culture.

Photo Credit

 
"Stable rock, Ash Springs, Lincoln, Nevada, September 2009" by Thure Johnson.

Term Type
References

 

Allen, Paula Gunn and Carolyn Dunn Anderson, editors
     2001   Hozho: Walking in Beauty: Native American Stories of Inspiration, Humor, and Life.
         Chicago: Contemporary Books.

Davies, Wade
     2001   Healing Ways: Navajo Health Care in the Twentieht Century. Albuquerque: University
         of New Mexico Press.

Ladd, John
     1957   A Systematic Reconstruction of Navaho Ethics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Lamphere, Louise
     1969   Symbolic Elements in Navajo Ritual. Southwetern Journal of Anthropology (25):279-
         305.

Reichard, Gladys Amanda
     1950   Navaho Religion: A Study Of Symbolism. New York: Bollinger Foundation.

Witherspoon, Gary
     1977   Language and Art in the Navajo Universe. AnnArbor: University of Michigan Press.