Navajo Sheep
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Sheep to us mean life, for this animal gives us many things. Their meat gives us food, their wool gives us clothes, blankets and other cloth, and their skins give us warm blankets and pads to sleep on. Without this animal our lives would be poor. Since the 15th century most families have had sheep. It is not so any more. We also have sheep dogs. They know how to keep the sheep together and move them from one grazing spot to another. They also protect the sheep from predators. Sheep must be cared for. They can't take care of themselves. In times past, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions and bear would have eaten them. Sheep often spend their summers in the low lands, such as in the Canyon De Chelle. In the winter months they are moved up on the rim of the canyon. There is more food for the sheep up on the open plain. In the spring of the year the sheep are sheared of their wool. The wool is then given to the women for washing, carding, spinning, dyeing and weaving.
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We build circular corrals out of poles to put the sheep in at night to protect them from predators. Inside this corral is a very small corral for the lambs, protecting them from the press of the sheep. In the mornings they are released and put out into the pastures. Because of the good sheep dogs we don't have to watch the sheep all the time ourselves. They spend the day out on the pastures and at night the sheep are brought back into the corral.
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When we butcher a sheep for food we catch it and tie it up to a pole. We take a sharp knife, lay the sheep's neck down on a pole and quickly cut it's throat so it will not suffer. As the sheep bleeds, we catch it's blood. After the sheep has died, we hang it by it's hind feet in a tree and skin and clean it. After it has been skinned, we lay it on a large outside working table and cut it up. During this process the fat is cut off and put by itself. It will later be wrapped in whatever intestine is left over, cooked and eaten. The blood is made into a worst. The stomach and intestines are carefully washed out and are filled with chopped up potatoes. Then the blood is poured in. After it is full, the top of the stomach or intestine is tied off, sealing the bag. It is then boiled in water until it is completely cooked through. This is then eaten by cutting off a slice and putting it with the meal. The meat of the sheep is eaten, usually within a couple of days. What the immediate family doesn't need is given to the extended family. Sometimes, if there is meat left over, it will be cut into thin strips and dried. This will take several days. After it is dried, it is hammered until it is pulverized into individual strands of meat. This can be stored and eaten like this, or reconstituted in soups. In this pulverized form it reconstitutes quickly in water. The skin of the sheep is often laid over a pole to dry. This pole is about 10 feet up in the air so animals can't get to it. The skin can also be stretched out tightly to dry. After it is dry, the inside of the skin is scraped with sharp rocks to remove any fat or other mater that might be left on the skin. Then it is softened by working it. We don't use a chemical reaction to tan hides like so many other peoples do, but tan it only by working it. This takes a long time but results in a very soft, pliable skin. If we want a hide that has no wool on it, it can be thrown in the fire and left just long enough until the wool has all been singed off. All parts of the sheep are used, not a thing is wasted. Even the bones are used by giving them to the dogs. |
These pages a public service of Walton Feed, Montpelier, Idaho.
Copyright 1997 by Al Durtschi. All rights reserved.
Updated: 2 Feb 99