Initiation Ceremony

In the mural Initiation Ceremony by Navajo painter Gerald Nailor, two masked
and costumed figures initiate two young girls into the home of the Gods through
a ceremony that involves hitting their backs with bundled yucca leaves. As
described by the artist, “this is done during the Yei-Be-Chei Dances in the
Winter,” and “usually the children are very much frightened about this
Ceremony.” Correspondingly, Nailor portrays the children clinging closely to
their mother. One of them sticks a finger in her mouth, acting much as children
do. In the upper left corner, the artist includes the “Rain Cloud Symbol.”

Gerald
Nailor, also known as Toh Yah, which translates to “Walking by the River,” was
commissioned in 1939 to create a series of murals at the new Department of the
Interior building in Washington, D.C. He was one of four Native American
artists who painted 2,200 feet of murals for the penthouse, which served as the
employee lounge. Zia Pueblo artist Velino Herrera painted the north corridor,
and Potawatomi artist Woody Crumbo covered the south corridor. In the main
room, the walls were divided between Nailor and Chiricahua Apache painter Allan
Houser. The Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, insisted on commissioning
artwork by Native American artists. Because of this mandate, the Section of
Fine Arts invited Herrera, Crumbo, Houser, and Nailor to participate in the
penthouse project and contacted two Kiowa artists, James Auchiah and Stephen
Mopope, to paint murals for the cafeteria.