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A Field Guide to Southwest Jewelry · by Mateo James

What Is a Naja? The Crescent Pendant and Its Origins

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What Is a Naja? The Crescent Pendant and Its Origins

The naja — Dine (Navajo) for crescent — is the horseshoe-shaped silver pendant that anchors a squash blossom necklace and appeared independently as a bridle ornament on Navajo horses. Its form traces from Phoenician and Greek religious art through Moorish Spain and the Conquistadors to Dine silversmiths of the 19th century. It is one of the most traveled ornaments in American jewelry history.

Mateo's Field Notes

Bedinger is precise about the etymology: "Common usage calls this ornament a naja, an anglicized form of the Navajo word for crescent." The crescent form predates the Dine name; what the Dine named it, and what they made it mean, is the more interesting story.

The ornament's route to the Southwest is documented in the TSkies blog by Dine writer Ungelbah Davila-Shivers: "The Naja, which is the crescent pendant at the center of the Navajo squash blossom necklace, has roots in the Goddess-based religions of Phoenicia, Greece, Crete and Rome... It was the Moors — who dominated Spain for eight centuries — who adopted what would become known as a 'Naja' on their horses' bridles to protect the animal and its rider against 'the evil eye'. In the 16th century, the Spanish arrived in the New World in search of gold, executing their conquest upon ornamented Andalusian horses and introducing the Moorish bridle design to the Dine and other first inhabitants."

Bedinger's research confirms the bridle-first sequence. Mera found that all the oldest, most primitive naja examples "had clearly been used on headstalls." The naja moved from horse forehead to human necklace as fashion shifted — and became interchangeable between both uses at the owner's discretion.

Dine elder Carmalie Denetclaw offers the philosophical re-reading that grounds the form in Dine cosmology: "The Naja on the squash blossom should be symbolic to the path of goodness. My son, Andrew, suggested that to be in perfect balance with life, we follow a path that leads out to the East (from the hogan) with a circle around us, and from the East everything leads to hozhon." Her reading points the naja's opening east — toward harmony, balance, beauty. The Moorish evil-eye protective origin is the archaeological layer; the Dine living meaning is the path of goodness.

Dine elder Paulo Dineclah adds the metalworking context: "Dine learned silversmithing from people to the south. They picked up silver coinage from them and melted it down to make Concho belts. It is said we wear turquoise jewelry, diyiin dineh, to acknowledge and honor land, people, and show respectfulness to a good life."

The constructional evolution of the naja is documented in Bedinger. Early najas on horse trappings are single — a single curved arm. As silverworking knowledge grew, double-armed najas appeared (one set within the other); later still, triple-armed najas. Arms are typically triangular in cross-section, though rounded and flat surfaces occur. Terminals vary considerably: tapered to a point in early examples; domed like a button; flattened into a round disk with stamping; or shaped like a tiny hand. Many are set with turquoise. A turquoise may dangle inside the curve, and cast silver fringes or loops appear above and below.

The distinction between the naja and the full squash blossom necklace is worth stating plainly. Mathew James, in a documented TSkies show, corrected a viewer: "The naja is the centerpiece — the crescent moon shape — that you typically see on the squash blossom. The blossoms are actually on the sides of the squash blossom." The naja is the crescent; the blossoms are the flanking petal-form beads. They are distinct elements, often discussed as a unit, but made and assessed separately.

This guide will have a dedicated symbol entry for the naja forthcoming. For now, this form page covers the naja as a jewelry object — the pendant and bridle ornament — rather than its full iconographic history.

Collector's Handbook: Naja

  • Era cues: Earliest najas have single arms and minimal decoration. Double-armed najas (one set within the other) indicate more developed smithing. Triple-armed najas reflect high technical skill and appear after the craft's maturation. Simple tapered terminals are generally earlier than domed or turquoise-set terminals.
  • Construction tells: Arms triangular in cross-section are consistent across periods — this is the characteristic Navajo form. Flat or rounded surfaces suggest either earlier work or a later revival. Check the loop at the top: hand-forged loops are slightly irregular; cast loops are uniform.
  • Terminals: A naja with hand-shaped terminals (tiny cast hands at each tip) is a documented variant — unusual and collected. A turquoise or coral setting at each terminal is more common; an unset tapered point is the earliest form.
  • Najas as standalone pendants: Many najas have been separated from their original squash blossom necklaces. A standalone naja may show wear at the loop consistent with long necklace use, or at the attachment point if it was a bridle ornament. Neither diminishes its value, but the history matters for documentation.
  • What to look for: Symmetry of the arms (slight natural asymmetry is correct for handmade; perfect machine symmetry is not), patina consistent with age claimed, and a loop that has not been repaired or replaced — repaired loops often show solder lines inconsistent with the original.

Makers Known for This Form

Related Links

Browse necklaces including naja pendants at T.Skies.

References

  • Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers. University of New Mexico Press, 1973, pp. 73–76.
  • Davila-Shivers, Ungelbah. "The Naja." tskies.com/blogs/news/the-naja.

By Mateo James | T.Skies Co-Op Field Guide