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A hogan (/ˈhoʊɡɑːn/ or /ˈhoʊɡən/; from Navajo hooghan [hoːɣan]) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or square; with or without internal posts; with walls and roof of timber, packed earth, and stone in varying amounts, and a bark roof for a summer house.[1] The door traditionally faced east to welcome the rising sun, believed to bring good fortune.
Today, while some older hogans are still used as dwellings and others are maintained for ceremonial purposes, new hogans are rarely intended as family dwellings.
Hogans are also considered pioneers of energy efficient homes. Using packed mud against the wooden walls, the home was kept cool in summer by natural ventilation and water sprinkled on the packed dirt floor. In winter the fireplace kept the inside warm well into the night, due to the high thermal mass of earth in the construction.[2]
- ^ Franciscan Fathers, An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navajo Language. 1910 Saint Michaels, Arizona, reprinted 1929 by Max Breslauer; Leipzig, Germany.
- ^ DeVault, Kayla (2018-10-19). "The Energy Efficiency and Cultural Significance of Traditional Housing: Comparing the Navajo Nation and Pueblo of Acoma in an Effort to Reform Federal Indian Programs". Indigenous Policy Journal. 29 (2). ISSN 2158-4168.