Sacred sand painting of the Navajo Indian, circa 1950s

Subjects: Native American Life Religious & Devotional Life
Card type: Chrome
Date: c. 1907 (Golden Age)

Back of Sacred sand painting of the Navajo Indian, circa 1950s, Alfred McGarr Adv. Service, NM, USA, c. 1907 chrome postcard — Back

About this postcard

A Navajo sand painting (dry painting) spread on a sandy floor, built around a central cross of dark bands with a blue center and white rays, with small yei figures in red, blue, green and yellow at the four quarters and shallow dishes of colored sand — yellow, blue, red, black, white and green — set around it. In Navajo (Diné) tradition such paintings are made by medicine men for healing ceremonies, the figures representing Holy People, and the painting is traditionally destroyed at the end of the rite. The photograph records a demonstration painting rather than a ceremonial one.

Postcard Details

Message

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PublisherE. C. Kropp Co.

SACRED SAND PAINTING OF THE NAVAJO INDIAN --- DESERT MEDICINE—Beautiful with symbolic figures and design these sand paintings are sacred to the Navajo. They are a part of the elaborate rituals of their "sings," or ceremonial chants and must be traditionally perfect. Made with desert sands and minerals of different colors these sacred paintings are prepared under the directions of the Navajo Shamans or Medicine Men. The work on them is begun shortly after sunrise and they are destroyed before sunset. 8713N—35 POST CARD PLACE STAMP HERE Distributed by Alfred McGarr Adv. Service, Box 646, Albuquerque, N. M. Natural Color Post Card Made in U.S.A. by E. C. Kropp Co., Milw., Wis. — (EHY) "From the Land of Enchantment" Photo by New Mexico State Tourist Bureau

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Postcard record

Publisher	E. C. Kropp Co.
Condition	Very good
Place mentioned	Alfred McGarr Adv. Service, Box 646, Albuquerque, NM
Publisher	E. C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, WI
Notes	Wide yellow band across the top carrying the printed caption; glossy chrome-era color reproduction, sharp corners, no visible creases. No postmark; unused divided-back E. C. Kropp "Natural Color Post Card" (8713N—35), ca. 1930s–40s; pencil dealer marks "1.00" and "88" at top right; light edge wear, no message or address.

Cite this card

Sacred sand painting of the Navajo Indian, circa 1950s, postcard, c. 1907. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/sacred-sand-painting-of-the-navajo-indian-circa-1950s. Accessed October 24, 2026.