Rez Life#2 Dwellings
Entry posted by Rezgirl
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The structure in the picture is called a Hogan (pronounced ho-gone). This is the traditional dwelling for the Navajo people. A hogan can be constucted of logs, adobe block , modern lumber or stone as this one is. The roof on this old hogan was made of logs and filled in with mud. I can imaging it created quite a mess during the monsoon season. My husband's family lived in this one, probably before my husband was born. By the time he came along, they were living in a 4 room house. He's the youngest of 9 children. Some of the older siblings had already left home by this time.
There are still families who live in Hogans, but not as many as when I came here 15 years ago. Today many families live in single and doublewide trailers. There are many houses also and there is the Navajo Housing Authority housing. The joke for NHA is that it means "No Hickeys Allowed" or "No Happiness Allowed"
Inside of a hogan you would typicaly find a small wood stove in the center with the stove pipe going straight up through the roof. A bed or 2 along one side, a table and a couple of chairs and a cupboard or shelves for food. A chest of drawers for clothing. Most had a dirt floor. To sweep a dirt floor, you would sprinkle water on it, then sweep with a broom. Children mostly slept on a sheep pelt on the floor.
Most hogans have only one or two windows, and the door was always to the east. If someone passed away in the hogan, it was usually deserted by the family. A hole would be broken through the north side to allow the spirit of the deceased to leave. Some Navajo's are superstitious about owls. If an owl perched on a hogan, it too would be abandoned.
I know a family with 5 children who live in a hogan. It is a large hogan and they have built a room on that they use as an entry way/ mud room/ kitchen. They have a large closet built along one wall in the hogan that is used for clothing storage and changing room. The larger part of the hogan is used as a dining/living/bedroom. They do not have electric or running water. They use a generator some. (did a double take once when I visited near Christmas and they had Christmas lights outside 
) They now have solar & wind power. The windmill and the solar panels are on a platform as large as a skid. These are rented from the tribe for about $25 a month. They have a propane refridgerator/ freezer and a propane stove. The solar/wind power gives them light and runs the TV!
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