New Website Celebrates Legacy of Southwest Spirit Jewelry
(PRWEB) August 03, 2013 -- The Southwest is full of flavorful Native American history, as well as age-old folklore. A large portion of those historical accounts and folklore tales are discoverable within jewelry pieces owned by Native American Southwestern tribes. Many of these pieces have transcended culture and history, and—to this day—reveal very much about Native American culture.
Now, a new website is exploring the folklore and lasting legacy of Southwest spirit jewelry.
“Southwest spirit jewelry commonly appears within Native American culture, and has been a large portion of Native American jewelry and art,” says SouthwestSpiritJewelry.com spokesperson Selina Nelson. “Southwest spirit jewelry features many Native American symbols, and feature depictions of spirits, animals and natural elements. They, themselves, are cultural icons.”
The Hopi tribe has created many spiritual totems, and is known for their silver-workers and crafters. While they aren’t known for utilizing stones within jewelry production, the Hopi people are considered masters of symbolism integration, and many traditional Hopi symbols have been expertly hand-crafted into sterling silver—and greatly represent cultural significance.
While many understand the Hopis’ virtue for sun symbolism, as they do with spiral symbolism, they might not know of the tribe’s more private symbolism. Hopi silver jewelry is considered sacred, and isn’t normally shown to the public.
“The Navajo Native American tribe was the first Southwestern American tribe to utilize silver. The Navajos are believed to have learned the craft from a blacksmith named the ‘Thin Mexican’,” says Nelson. “They’ve provided beautiful jewelry for many years. Today, the Navajo tribe is also known for creating beautiful Southwest spirit jewelry, and creating lavish designs of turquoise jewelry. Many of these pieces feature intricately carved and designed sterling silver, and a popular example of Navajo craftsmanship is the squash blossom necklace.”
The squash blossom necklace has been expertly crafted for ceremonial occasions, and is considered sacred jewelry. Many Navajo’s have incorporated symbolism into their art and jewelry, and continue to do so today.
The Navajo didn’t keep secrets pertaining to silver-working to themselves. In the early 1900s, the Hopi, Zuni, Acoma and other tribes utilized sterling silver jewelry, and implemented their own—unique—styles and traditions. Many Zuni symbols played an important role for artists, and many renditions of classical symbols have made appearances over the last century.
For more information, please visit SouthwestSpiritJewelry.com.
Selina Nelson, Southwest Spirit Jewelry, http://www.southwestspiritjewelry.com/, 62324968321, [email protected]
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