Directionality and the compas points denote the sacred geography that characterizes the Navajoland and Dine cosmos. As a result, the hooghan is constructed with four main structural poles. Each pole corresponds to a direction with the entrance of the house always in the east. The poles create special sections within the hooghan that are also linked to sacred geography and directionality. A fifth pole flanks the doorway, demarcating the presence of the fifth element.

Birth offers the opportunity to hear and speak the First Language, which is forgotten and inaudible to contemporary humans ("The Nature of Life in the Navajo World"). These so-called "mind sounds" are a substance in themselves ("The Nature of Life in the Navajo World"). Like the other four more concrete elements, primal sound is consciousness. All the elements possess consciousness and therefore all objects are sacred, with the potential to hold both knowledge and power.

The...
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