kʼé
The Navajo word for the art of kinship is kʼé.
kʼé refers to the quality of being kinship-based or the practice of maintaining harmonious family relationships.
Did you know?
- A breach of kʼé is often seen as a cause of physical illness, requiring traditional healing ceremonies to restore the broken kinship bond.
- The principles of kʼé extend beyond blood relatives to include 'clan relatives', meaning someone from a distant village is treated as a sibling if they share a clan.
- The phrase kʼé is often taught to children not through definitions, but through the practice of referring to others by their kinship titles instead of their names.
Example conversation
Kyle and Michelle are talking about family values.
- KyleKʼé tʼáá ákótʼé.Kinship is very important.
- MichelleÁáʼtʼé, kʼé hwiidááʼ.That is true, kinship is cherished.
- KyleKʼé hódóóshááʼ.He is teaching the practice of kinship.
- MichelleShił hózhǫ́.I am happy about that.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry kʼé, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
