On the death of the head of the family, his property “descends to his brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts to the exclusion of his wife and children, a custom which is often very harmful in its effects, since if the wife should happen not to be possessed of some property in her own right she and her children are made to suffer penury and want.”[47]
In past years a number of the older men possessed two or three wives. Polygamy was to be expected, for the Mormons settled north of the San Juan, (Utah), long before white settlers came from the East. Although the Navaho probably believed in polygamy long ago, only those who were well-to-do had more than one wife, and the increase in polygamous marriages was undoubtedly due to the example set by the Mormons.
The Government has taken steps to wipe out this practice and no more plural marriages are permitted. Men having more than one wife have been encouraged to give up their plural wives, and this has been done in some cases, mainly where there are no children by the marriage.
The Navaho are invariably kind and considerate to each other, and their family life is of higher plane than among most Indians. The children are seldom punished, for the good reason that they do not merit punishment. In the case of very old persons, it is sometimes observed that the children do not love and protect them as completely as might be expected.
The chief taboo of the Navaho is the fish. Under no circumstances will a Navaho eat fish. He believes that upon the death of a very evil person, the spirit enters the body of a fish, hence his utter horror and hatred of the finny tribe. An Indian student entered Phillips Academy, Andover, some years ago. He was employed in the dining hall and thus earned his tuition. He informed me that his most disagreeable duty, and that which he loathed, was the preparation of fish for the weekly Friday dinner.
When we were in camp at Chaco canon in 1897, the Navaho came to us in large numbers at meal time. Our larder rapidly diminished. Something must be done. The cook found that one of the packing boxes had a large blue codfish stamped on the side. He placed this box out in plain view and the Indians who had assembled to eat supper with us withdrew to their own camps.