The H Ózhó Way by Noelle John

The Hózhó Way
By Noelle John

Yá'át'ééh, shik'éí dóó shidine'é. Shí éí Noelle John yinishyé. Adoone’e nishlinigii ei Kiis’a’nii
nishłí̜, Hashtl’ishnii bá shíshchíín. Kiis’a’anii doo’ bilaga’ana dashicheii adoo Naasht’ezhi
Ta’baaga’ dashinálí.
Hello, my relatives and my people. My name is Noelle john. My clans are the Hopi, born
for the Mud Clan. My maternal grandparents are Hopi and White people, and my paternal
grandparents are Zuni Edgewater.

In the Navajo culture, our language and beliefs are embedded in everything that we lead
with our way of life. Whenever we meet Indigenous peoples, we introduce ourselves by sharing our
clans, our birthplace, and how these attributes define us as people of the Diné. This helps identify
clan relations with Navajo people in the Diné Bizaad and it helps cultural identity. In the Navajo
culture, the kinship shared serves a reminder that not only are you responsible for yourself but
also your community, actions, thoughts, and culture; this creates a sense of balance and harmony.
To the Diné people, this is their way of life but to an outside perspective, this can be seen as a
philosophy known as the Hózhó way.

The Hózhó way is the complex philosophy and belief system of the Diné people, made up
of principles that guide one’s thoughts, actions, behaviors, and speech. The beliefs of Hózhó are
traditional teachings of the Diné that emphasizes that humans have the ability to self empower
and self destruct simply by thinking, speaking, and behaving responsibly or irresponsibly. The
Hózhó philosophy key elements are the moral and behavioral conducts necessary for a long life
and reflects the process, the path, and journey an individual strives towards to attain a state of
wellness. The Hózhó way models a teaching to live humble, intelligent, patient, respectful, and
thoughtful, and teaches that these attributes should be nurtured along with relationships made in
life, including the creations in this universe, and should be supportive and positive.

The many characteristics that are used to teach and convey Hózhó are conceptually vague
and general and is open to multiple explanations and interpretations however there are six distinct
attributes that the Hózhó way conveys. Spirituality, respect, reciprocity, discipline, thinking, and
relationships are necessary elements to a whole person and system of wellbeing. Spirituality
represents respect and honor through prayer, paying homage through ceremonial and
spiritual/religious practice. Respect is the act of sustaining loyal reverence by offering respect to
self, others, nature, spirit, animals, the creator, and the environment. Reciprocity represents the
constant graceful and respectful exchange and receipt of support acts of kindness, helpfulness,
and tokens of appreciation or honor. Nothing is ever received without giving, and the
characteristic of generosity is essential for authentic reciprocity. Discipline represents the
commitment to achieving life goals through maintaining disciplined productive daily activity in the
form of study, self-care, physical activity, and helpfulness to others. Thinking represents the
cognitive functioning required to maintain consistent positive thought while planning and
organizing the present and future. The honoring of relationships, also known as Ké, the Diné
connectedness to family, clan, tribe, community is a central theme, requiring a constant awareness
of the relationships and interconnectedness between one and the environment (others, family,
community, tribe, spirits, people of the world, all living creatures, nature, and the universe).

As a Navajo-Hopi, the traditional teachings of Hózhó have been passed down to me from
my own family and I’ve grown up guided among this ‘philosophy’ of the Diné. Throughout my life,
I’ve shared moments that the Hózhó way has conducted certain periods that are marked to be
crucial and important. One of the moments that is seen as a major event to the Navajo, is the
‘Kinaaldá’. A Kinaaldá is a ceremonial celebration for the transition a girl takes to becoming a
woman, and it takes place for four consecutive days. During the four days, traditionally, the Diné
believe that the girl through this process is in their fragile state of transition, and therefore
abstinence to certain foods, activities, thoughts, words, and actions are carefully advised so they
are able to ensure their rite of passage through womanhood goes smoothly. At the same time, the
girl is viewed to also be powerful because they’re in between leaving behind their childhood and
entering womanhood. Should there be any children or elderly, the girl massages their body,
stretching their limbs to guarantee a faster growth in the kids, and kneading the elder in areas
where there is a pain to get rid of. As a woman of the Diné, I, myself have gone through this
journey as one of the very few women that have in my family.

To many Native American tribes, ceremonial practices are placed as an act of spirituality
and reciprocity, by honoring and paying homage. For the Diné, ceremonies can occur for many
different reasons, whether it be for in health, education, the future, or the wellbeing of the earth,
and people around them. In these situations, there is a reoccurring pattern of respect and
reverence that is given in recognition when someone asks from the ceremony. Most of these
services are performed by medicine men or women, the purposes of these people to lead an
important role of carrying on traditions and knowledge of healing. All ceremonies involve singing
and prayer, and many of these events can be held for different moments in a persons life. Some
ceremonies are performed for major life events and are mostly happy occasions that are
celebrated, such as the Kinaaldá. Other ceremonies are performed for when people need to rid
away negativity, bring back strong health and bless themselves with prosperity and luck. These
healing ceremonies help restore balance and harmony to a person. This is only a sliver of how the
Hozhó way is incorporated in the life of the Navajo.

There are many circumstances in which Hózhó is exercised and in common cases, it’s not
always intentional. For the Navajo people, this way of living only exists as a philosophy for people
who don’t practice it are able to understand. Many Navajos who abide under the Hózhó do not
see it as a philosophy to guide them as many are led to believe, but it is simply the way of life and
how they live. Just as race, it’s a characteristic they are born into and don’t often question, simply
because it’s who they are. With the key concepts of the Hózhó way broken down to spirituality,
respect, reciprocity, discipline, thinking, and relationships, we are able to understand that these
elements make up the ‘philosophy’ of Balance and Harmony between all beings.

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