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Hózhqqjí Naat’ áanii: The Navajo Justice and Harmony Ceremony

Bluehouse, Philmer
June 4, 2015

Source: (2005) In, Nielsen, Marianne O. and Zion, James W., editors, Navaja Nation Peacemaking. Living Traditional Justice. The University of Arizona Press. Tucson pp.156-164

The Navajo term hózhqqjí naat’ áanii denotes a process of peacemaking. Navajo common law is a process that uses principles that are internalized by songs, prayers, origin scripture, and journey narratives. It builds on k’é solidarity in a procedure to summon assistance from the Holy People and humans to diagnose how people are distant from k’é or their k’ei relations (to identify disharmony that creates disputes), teach how Navajo values apply to the problem, and restore the continuing relationships of the parties in their community. It is in fact a justice ceremony. (excerpt)

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