Today a father came in to have his second daughter's footprint placed on his chest, playing yin-yang footsie with the print of his first daughter that I installed many years ago. In addition we placed a tiny Navajo Naja symbol in the center of his chest. It is an exact size replication of the one he has worn for 25 years, a gift from a beloved cousin who committed suicide. The Naja symbol is found in various forms throughout the world, and is a central part of the squash blossom necklaces of the Navajo. It is seen in Paleolithic art, and is even mentioned in the Book of Judges as an ornament worn around the necks of Moorish camels and on the browband of horses and mules to ward off the evil eye. It is thought to have been brought by the Moors to Spain, then to Mexico by Spaniards, then with Mexicans up to the Navajo.
Naja and footprints