Navajo sandpaintings are an art form that evolved from the traditional healing ceremonies of the Diné people, in which medicine men created elaborate designs from coloured sand and ground minerals to summon the Holy People and restore balance to a patient. The Navajo word for sandpainting is iikááh, meaning "place where the gods come and go." Commercial sandpaintings produced for sale are related to but distinct from the ceremonial originals. Navajo artists adapt traditional designs and motifs into permanent works mounted on board, using finely ground sandstone and minerals applied layer by layer with a glue mixture. The sand is not painted. Designs are drawn from traditional Navajo symbolism but are deliberately varied from the sacred originals, as exact reproduction is considered sacrilegious. The sandpaintings stocked at South West Trader are original works by Navajo artists, sourced on buying trips to New Mexico and Arizona.
