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sand painting

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

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for sand painting

sand painting

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