In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was not unusual for Navajo people to be referred to by descriptive names, primarily because English-speaking newcomers to the reservation had not yet mastered the pronunciation of the complex Diné language.
Names like “Left-Handed Mexican,” “Yellow Mustache,” and even the common name “Many Goats” often reflected relationships or circumstances rather than Western-style surnames. Many Navajo people maintain their Navajo and Anglo names, but usually use the one on their driver’s license.
Mark Winter's amazing book, The Master Weavers: Celebrating One Hundred Years of Navajo Textile Artists from the Toadlena/Two Grey Hills Weaving Region, is wonderful in its use of both Navajo and Anglo names for many of the early weavers.
These women created the style known as the Cadillac of Navajo weaving. Working with the early traders at Toadlena and the Two Grey Hills trading Posts, weavers created a style based on natural-colored wool and geometric and symbolic symbols enclosed in a border. When he purchased the Toadlena Trading Post, Winter was obsessed with tracing the origin of early Two Grey Hills weavings and giving recognition to the women who had woven them decades earlier. For the best of them, he coined the title “Master Weavers.”
One of those women was known as Blind Man’s Wife. Her Navajo name was BINA’A’ A’DINI BIASDZAA. She was the daughter of Spotted Horse’s Wife (Yes Kleehi Biasdza’a’) and the granddaughter of Asdza’a’ fMa’ii deeshgiishnii, the earliest remembered family member. She would have been born before the Navajos’ Long Walk and imprisonment (1864-1868).
There is no record of when Blind Man’s wife was born or when she died; however, she had a son, John Sherman, in 1898, and a daughter, Frances Manulito, in 1910. According to research uncovered by Winter, the couple had 10 children, but he only found information on four of them. He also found government records that in the early 1900s, the government paid Blind Man and his wife $500 for their land at Toadlena. They then moved closer to the Two Grey Hills Trading Post.
Blind Man’s wife is considered one of the earliest Master Weavers. Many of her weavings, including those of her daughter Frances, draw inspiration from the early catalogs by J.B. Moore at the Crystal Trading Post, published in 1903 and 1911. These weavings featured floating elements and strong geometric designs.
Her work is featured in collections at the School of American Research, the Heard Museum, the Birmingham Museum of Art, and other prestigious collections. There are no known photographs of her, but her legacy has been carried on by her dependents and Master Weavers Frances, Ruby Manulito, Lucy M. Tsosie, and Ben Tsosie Jr.
We are fortunate to be able to share one of her wonderful weavings. It was purchased by Larry Sumner from Steve Getzwiller at the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery in Sonoita, Arizona, in 2017. The piece was probably woven in the 1920s. There is no way to know, but it is a treasure. It measures 49” x 73” and, like many weavings made by women born in the 1800s, it is soft and feels like a blanket. This is a real treasure! It comes with documentation from Getzwiller.
We also have two copies of Mark Winter’s book available for sale. These were both owned by collectors who are passing them on. The Master Weavers was published in 2011 and sold out within a year or two. One is a limited edition (16 of 150). It is contained in a cover box that features a small Two Grey Hills weaving by Pamela Brown and a facsimile of a letter by Gilbert Maxwell, one of the early Navajo traders. It has never been opened.
The second book is also in perfect condition. It was dedicated to our clients, but I don’t believe it has ever been opened.
This is the same book that I own.
The Master Weavers is the most complete book ever written on the work of weavers from a single trading post area. I can safely say that this is the best-researched book ever written on any style of Navajo weaving and the artists that wove them. It is easy to sit down and spend an evening learning about one weaving family or the history of the post. It is a deep look into Navajo families from the Two Grey Hills area.
The book took years to research and write, and is equivalent to a doctoral thesis in scope.
Any collector of Navajo weaving or Navajo history should own “The Master Weavers.” And someone needs to have the beautiful weaving by Blind Man’s Wife to display with it!
