What is a Hogan?
A hogan, also spelled “hoghan,” is a traditional residential structure of the Navajo people. Although Navajo people also build and, at times, reside in sweat houses, underground homes, and summer shelters, the hogan is the most frequently used structure. In the Navajo religion, the hogan is considered to be a sacred space.
There are two types of hogans. There is the “forked stick” hogan and the “circular” hogan. The forked stick hogan is also known referred to as the “male” hogan. Forked stick hogans resemble pyramids in their shape. However, they have five faces instead of four. The shape of the pyramid, which is created with wood and sticks, is sometimes obscured by the earth that is mounded up on top of the wood. The earth creates strong walls that can stand up through wintertime and insulate the interior. Forked stick hogans have small vestibules. They are traditionally used for religious ceremonies rather than everyday living.
Circular hogans are known as the “female” hogans. A circular hogan differs from the forked stick variety because it does not contain a vestibule and it much larger in size. These hogans are used as the primary homes for the Navajo people. Inside circular hogans, cooking, domestic craft work, and friendly entertainment takes place. These are also spaces for children to play.
The circular hogan was reinvented to be more of a hexagonal hogan in the 1900s when the railroad came through Navajo territory. The availability of wooden railroad ties allowed Navajos to enlarge the traditional circular hogans. As they were working with straight lumber, however, the smooth roundness of the circular hogan gave way to the sharper corners of the hexagonal hogan. However, these hogans were still referred to as the “female” hogans and were used for the same purposes.
In Navajo tradition, if a member of the community dies within a hogan, the structure is abandoned and none of the building materials are reclaimed for new structures. Either the body is buried inside the hogan, or the entrance is blocked and the body is taken through a hole that is broken into a north wall of the structure. Hogans that are abandoned for such reasons may be burned. A hogan can also become taboo if lightning strikes nearby it, or it a bear rubs up against one of the walls of the structure.
Although hogans are still used for ceremony today, they are rarely built for residential purposes.
Written by Diane Goettel
