Visiting from Tselani, Arizona, traditional Navajo weaver D.Y. Begay came to Charlottesville last Wednesday to share her culture and hand-made pieces with University students and the Charlottesville community.
Begay led a community weaving at OpenGrounds from 5 to 7:30 p.m April 1. After the event, weavers and non-weavers alike stayed past the end of the event to talk with Begay informally.
The first portion of the weaving circle involved talking with members of the community who brought their portable looms, spindles and fibers.
Community weavers and spinners observed Begay and imitated her patterns and techniques. Margaret Briggs, University alumna and head of the Whirling Whorls, a local spinning club, attended the event, bringing with her a castle Lethrum spinner with two treddles. Charlottesville resident Candy Hargett raises her own Navajo churro sheep — the same breed that Begay uses for her pieces. Laurie Buxbury, also a Charlottesville resident, attended the weaving circle because she also uses a loom like Begay’s, she said.
The women all expressed excitement to learn about Begay’s techniques.
During the event’s second half, the lights dimmed, and attendees gathered around Begay in a circle as she spoke about her work. She introduced herself in her native language and described lineage from her maternal clan, the Totsoni’ — meaning “Big Water” — and her paternal clan, the Tachnii’ — meaning “Red Running into Earth.”
“Weaving is my life, my job, my tradition that I practice,” Begay said.
U.S. and international museums showcase Begay’s tapestries — pieces of patience and tradition. Begay raises her own Navajo churro sheep to produce her wool and fiber. She said the washing and cleaning process alone can take several days. This is the preliminary work she must complete before the preparatory work, which she said could take hundreds of hours.
Begay said her mission is to pass down what she learns to the next generation or to anyone interested. Her eight- and 12-year-old nieces have both already produced their first and second weavings, she said.
Begay said that Navajo tradition is fully embedded in her weavings, and that she is inspired by her surroundings —the color, the landscape and the sky. Born and raised on a reservation, she has learned to bring aspects of her home into her tapestries.
When asked if her pieces are planned, she said, “It’s intuitive.”
“The only requirement I ask them is if there are certain colors they don’t like,” she said.
She also described Navajo sayings and beliefs about weaving. When there is lightning, one is discouraged from weaving, she said, because the warp strings on the loom represent the rain.
Weaving at night is also discouraged.
“If you finish at night, it can affect your eyes, and you can go blind,” Begay said.
Begay spoke to how she recently found her first tapestry, made when she was 12. It was three feet high and two feet wide with a Ganado pattern featuring the colors red, black and white.
“Although my piece is not pretty, it reminds me where I started,” she said.
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