Spirit Guide & Medicine Man, Don Mose - Indian Summer Video Series

You can refer to me as the Naive Chef for this video blog post. What I know about Navajo culture you could fit on the sharpened edge of a tomahawk. Any info I heard has been secondhand through popular media (movies) or the occasional radio interview. To learn directly from Don Mose, our Monument Valley Navajo Spirit Guide, was a special treat. And I got it on video for you to view at the end of this post.

If you were here a couple of weeks ago then you've seen him in wise man mode. My Vision Quest Video with Don featured him pointing out amazing landscapes, deciphering petroglyphs, plus a Navajo sweat lodge ceremony lesson. Just scroll down a couple of blog posts to view, if you missed it.

This time Don gets into how the Navajo language is being preserved. He also describes the differences of  Male and Female Hogans. These living quarters and ceremonial structures are made of cedar wood and covered in dirt for insulation. There is a hole in the roof for smoke to escape during the cooking of meals. And the doorway, or opening, always faces East to catch Father Sky's sunrise (and to tell time of day.)

Inside a hogan

Male and Female Hogans serve different purposes, but I'll let Don describe that to you in the video below.

Male Hogan

While at one of the many scenic stops of our tour, I mentioned to Don that I write and make videos about food. He lit up and excitedly walked us into the scrubs on the side of the dirt road.  He broke off a handful of scraggly stems and explained that you steep these in hot water for a tea to soothe a stomach ache. He looked around and immediately picked another herb from Mother Nature and explained it's pharmaceutical use, as well. (Whew, I managed to work in a food/herb theme into this blog post after all.)

Not only was Don our Spirit Guide, he's also a Medicine Man!

Allow me to be blunt, this blog post is a sure-fire hit! So check out my latest Indian Summer Vacation Video to learn a little more Navajo culture, plus I make a humorous appearance at the end of this video.

Spirit Guide & Medicine Man, Don Mose - Video #5

Play it here, video runs 3 minutes, 42 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

99 thanks to Don Mose for a memorable tour. To read about getting Don Mose as a Spirit Guide in Monument Valley, click here.

Indian Summer Vacation Series (click on any title below to see the blog post).

1. Introduction

2. Driving to Monument Valley

3. Monument Valley Tour + a Vision Quest

4. Frybread Recipe

5. Spirit Guide & Medicine Man - Don Mose

6. Indian Clan Names

7. Camping in Moab, Utah

8. Arches National Park

9. Frybread Taco Recipe

10. Canyon de Chelly Tour