Sacred sand painting of the Navajo Indian, New Mexico, circa 1935

Subjects: Native American Life Religious & Devotional Life
Card type: Chrome
Date: c. 1935 (Linen)

Back of Sacred sand painting of the Navajo Indian, New Mexico, circa 1935, Alfred McGarr Adv. Service, NM, USA, c. 1935 chrome postcard — Back

About this postcard

A Navajo sand painting, or dry painting, spread on a sandy floor. Dark bands form a central cross with a blue center and white rays. Small yei figures in red, blue, green, and yellow appear at the four quarters, and shallow dishes of colored sand, including yellow, blue, red, black, white, and green, sit around the painting. In Navajo (Diné) tradition, medicine men make such paintings for healing ceremonies. The figures represent Holy People, and the painting is destroyed when the rite ends. 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.
Series	8713N—35
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, New Mexico, circa 1935, postcard, c. 1935. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/sacred-sand-painting-of-the-navajo-indian-new-mexico-circa-1. Accessed November 2, 2026.