Artisan traditional Navajo wedding basket bowl Coiled Native American 14"

traditional Navajo wedding basket. These baskets are significant cultural objects in Navajo (Diné) culture, used for both ceremonial purposes and as art. Cultural Significance: The basket is used in numerous important ceremonies, including weddings, healings, and the blessing of a home, symbolizing harmony, balance, happiness, and security. Design: Traditional baskets feature distinct black and red bands or triangular patterns, woven from sumac, willow, or yucca. The design typically includes a "spirit line" (or ceremonial break) which allows medicine men to orient the basket in a dark hogan. Symbolism: The center represents the beginning of life or the point of emergence, while the concentric patterns symbolize life's journey and the Navajo worldview. Use in Ceremonies: In a wedding ceremony, the basket is filled with cornmeal mush and blessed by a medicine man, with the couple and guests eating from it.