Native American Navajo Fine Etched Horsehair Smoke Pot with Turtle

Description

Native American Navajo Fine Etched Horsehair Smoke Pot with Turtle by Hilda Whitegoat

This beautiful traditional pot has a turtle as the focal point, surrounded with traditional etching. The turtle is a symbol for longevity and for water, a scarce resource in the desert southwest. It is believed by many Native Americans that we are living on the back of a turtle. The shape of this pot indicates that it would have been used as a "smoke pot" or one in which the individual would place dried herbs and light the herbs in order to have them smolder and "smoke" or smudge to cleanse the area and the people of evil spirits.