Belt (Sis’łichíí)

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-waist garments

Culture Pueblo

Dateearly to mid 20th Century

Made AtNew Mexico, United States, North America

MediumWool and pigment

Dimensions4 × 94 in. (10.2 × 238.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Frieda O. Wray from the Estate of Dr. & Mrs. Douglas and Carolyn Osborne

Object number2020.6.4

DescriptionThis is a Navajo sash belt or sis’łichíí made in the Southwest in the early 20th century. These belts were traditionally woven by Navajo women and worn by women as a belt to the two-panel traditional Navajo dress. Though it serves as a corset wrapping around a woman’s waist to shape her figure, these belts and their designs also symbolically indicate that a girl has entered womanhood. The field represents the universe, the designs depict the sacred mountains and the loose fringe is representative of a woman’s sacred menstrual cycle. Given the demand for this style of textile, during the middle of the 20th century sash belts were made by the Hopi and other Native American peoples as well as Navajo weavers.

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