The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy

by John R. Farella

"Although they are among the most studied people on earth, the Navajo possess a complex philosophy. . . . A valuable source for those deeply interested in the structure of the Navajo universe, its mythology, and its central concept of long life and happiness." — Masterkey

"This is a stimulating book. Essentially, it criticizes previous discussions of Navajo religion and philosophy for greatly underestimating their complexity and sophistication. . . . What the author discovers in Navajo thought is that the key concepts are interrelated in a grand, moral, ethical, philosophic, and cosmic unity." — American Anthropologist

"Discredits dualists, both non-Indian and Indian, who see simplistic oppositions of Good and Evil in Navajo culture and philosophy. The concept of walking in beauty, as related to the proper growth of the corn plant, unifies the book, and Farella does some impressive cross-cultural linguistic analysis to derive practical and ceremonial applications of these central Navajo metaphors. . . . This is one of the better books on Indian religion." — Choice

Genres: Indigenous

221 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1985

Reviews

[Feliks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though it promises to clarify Navajo religion; such clarity only crystallizes in tiny bits-and-pieces, scattered here-and-there, throughout an otherwise murky and muddled read. I'm not getting much out of it so far.

[Dylan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A subject I really wanted to like but I feel this book doesn't come close to delivering on what it says it wants to impart on the reader at its opening. I feel I have post-it notes on my board with ideas about Navajo religion, philosophy, culture, etc. but all of the strings connecting them are gone. And even these notes are not very fleshed out but at least they are there. This really gets to the point where I don't feel I have an understanding of this unique culture with any sort of depth.

One area I can very much appreciate is using the native pronunciations/names rather than the English 'translated' versions. It gives it a much more natural feel than the forced feeling English transcribing of the same concepts.

I appreciate the challenge of putting a very verbal source into a digestible written work with the variation that can create (compared to trying to philosophy a written work like the bible, etc.) but it just doesn't hit for me.

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provides a detailed and fairly comprehensive discussion of Navajo philosophy.

[Michael Kuehn · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reading of WOMEN AND MEN and the heavy influence of Navajo myth and religion on the backstory of some of the characters brought me to THE MAIN STALK. I needed a volume that would give me some background on these Navajo myths, and after searching through a number of books, this one seemed the best, most concise.

The early chapters were helpful in explaining some of the powers of the diyinii, like a form of astral travel, ability to “see” the future, to also “see” great distances -- all elements that were woven into the WOMEN AND MEN story.

The Navajo creation story is told here in some detail, also important for a deeper understanding of WOMEN AND MEN. All in all, an interesting, informative book, if at times very academic [no surprise there, authored by an anthropologist, no doubt for other anthropologists].

[Angrboda Lyndasdottir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thought-provoking, if difficult to read in parts because of the assumption of the reader's familiarity with various aspects of Navajo studies. I felt it had something important to say and said it well.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no other book in the world like this. It is an amazing investigation of an aboriginal religion. It is brilliant.