Vintage Navajo Yei Weaving
created the Navajo people and taught them how to live in harmony with the universe. One of the most popular regional styles of Navajo weaving have been the combined depictions of the Yei (holy people) and Yeibichai. During the 1900s, weavers began putting the figures of Deities from the traditional sand painting ceremonies into their rugs.
The Yeibichai dancers usually depict human impersonators dressed as Yei's who are participating in a nine-day healing or blessing ceremony. This usually takes place after the first frost in the fall. The figures in these rugs usually face sideways to show movement. They are essentially loaning their bodies to the spirit of Yei's. During the ceremony, a team will be comprised of fourteen dancers: the leader Yeibichai-the Talking God, six male dancers, six female dancers, and the Water Sprinkler-the God of Precipitated Waters. In the Yeibichai weavings the Male Yei's have round heads and Female Yei's have square heads. On the final night of the ceremony, teams of dancers appear in public in what is referred to as the Yeibichai Dance until just before dawn. The celebration ends with the chanting of the Bluebird Song which celebrates the happiness and peace symbolized by the blue bird.