As a doctoral candidate in anthropology preparing for field research among the Navajo, I surveyed the literature of cognitive anthropology (a subdiscipline of cultural anthropology) searching for analytical tools and methods that might suit my research needs. This inquiry led to the development of an experimental project, which is the subject of this article. I will begin with a brief account of my research problems and follow with a description of the experimental project, including a discussion of problems encountered and lessons learned.

The subject of my field research is: “The Role of ‘dance’ (alzhish) in Navajo Curing Ceremonials.” Portions of Navajo ceremonials were labeled “dance” by early researchers, presumably because they fit the Western concept—movement accompanied by music (drumming and singing) and performed before an audience. The Navajo call this component alzhish. The meaning of this term has not been investigated. We do not know how the other parts of a ceremony are labeled, and we do not know why this group of actions receives this label and not a different one. I devised three questions for exploring this domain: 1) What is alzhish? 2) What is the ceremonial function of alzhish? 3) How is that function achieved?

A special Fall 1993 issue of Time magazine titled “The New Face of America. How Immigrants Are Shaping the World's First Multicultural Society” examines the explosion of the immigrant population in the United States. The editors tell us:

In the small island state of Hawai‘i the intermixing of cultures simultaneous with retaining individual identities has long been a fact of life. At the same time awareness of ethnic identity and native rights is increasing nationwide, Hawai‘i is experiencing a push for sovereignty from some sectors of its population together with a continuation, from other sectors, of public displays of ethnic identity of many different peoples that have been part of daily life for many years. As the strands of this ethnic tapestry continue to weave their way into the fabric of this island state, dance is one cultural manifestation that has become an integral part of the visible pattern and a reflection—or rather, embodiment—of issues relating to identity.