sand painting

noun

the ceremonial practice among Navaho and Pueblo Indians of creating symbolic designs on a flat surface with varicolored sand.
the designs so made.

Origin of sand painting

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sand painting

Historical Examples of sand painting

Wolden especially mourned a Navajo sand-painting, which he compared to Goya.
Hunters Out of Space
Joseph Everidge Kelleam
When you mentioned the sand-painting and the cave, you evidently gave them just the clues they needed.
Dan Carter and the Great Carved Face
Mildred A. Wirt

British Dictionary definitions for sand painting

sand painting

noun

a type of painting done by American Indians, esp in the healing ceremonies of the Navaho, using fine coloured sand on a neutral ground

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012