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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Taupou, post: 267844, member: 45&quot;]All sand paintings like this are made for sale to tourists and collectors.&nbsp; The authentic sand paintings are made on the ground during a ceremony and destroyed as part of the healing.&nbsp; They are not made to be seen by outsiders.</p><p><br /></p><p>These souvenir &quot;sand paintings&quot; are made to be permanent, and made&nbsp; specifically not to be accurate depictions of the real sand paintings.&nbsp; They therefore are either complete fantasies, or made to look similar to the real thing, and basically just commercial souvenirs.</p><p><br /></p><p>The top photo is meant to show a female Yei (the holy people of the Navajo culture).&nbsp; Female Yei have square heads, male Yei have round heads.</p><p><br /></p><p>The bottom figure is meant to show a Yeibechai dancer (the Navajo dancers who portray the Yei in ceremonies.)&nbsp; Yeibechai are always shown with blue heads (signifying they are wearing a mask) and in profile, to make clear that they are not the actual Yei.</p><p><br /></p><p>Male Yeibechai dancers typically have a green spruce ruff around their neck, two eagle feathers on their heads, and a fox pelt hanging from his back.&nbsp; In addition to the 6 male dancers, there are 6 female dancers, a Talking God, and a Water Sprinkler, who are dressed slightly differently.&nbsp; The fact that this figure wears a long sleeved shirt and long pants, means he is probably representing a Water Sprinkler. </p><p><br /></p><p>Neither figure is exactly like it would be in a real sand painting, but this is what they are based on.</p><p><br /></p><p>No relation to Two Grey Hills, despite the (misspelled) penciled reference.&nbsp; The background looks more like Monument Valley, a long way from Two Grey Hills.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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