Navajo 'Yei' Naja with detachable bale and shepherd's hook on back (allows naja to be hooked onto bead chains), by Mary Cayatineto' SOLD! #2356a

SOLD!  We forgot to put the quarter in the photo (again!) for scale, but this Yei Naja is a medium-large size at 2 and 3/8th's-inches across and 2.25-inches tall—not counting the bale.  Ms. Cayatineto' employed a rather ingenious design here, in that the well-made, deeply hand-stamped 5/8th's-inch inside-diameter bale can be detached—revealing a shepherd's hook on the back.  The Naja can they be hooked onto multi-layered bead chains, or various other necklaces that can't otherwise fit through a bale.  Pretty nifty.  Yei is short for Yeibichai—meaning "Holy People."  It's said the Yei mediates between humans and the Great Spirit.  Long ago, Yei figures were only depicted in sand paintings done on the ground during sacred ceremonies and wiped-away afterward.  Later, when the Yei began appearing in hand-woven Navajo rugs—and eventually in jewelry—the elders were concerned about the symbol moving from sacred ritual to commercialization.  But alas, the Yei 'was out of the box' forever.  Ms. Cayatineto' created a very detailed mold and she casts her Naja's in Sterling, of course.  Weight of the Naja is 38.5-grams, or 1.36-ounces.  Hallmarked "MC."  Complimentary USPS tracked Priority shipping within the U.S.