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Sam D. Gill, Sacred words: A study of Navajo religion and prayer. (Contributions in Intercultural and Comparative Studies, No. 4.) Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1981. Pp. xxvi + 257.

Sacred words is the first comprehensive treatment of Navajo prayer since the work of Gladys Reichard in 1944, which took as its central task the formal analysis of Navajo prayer texts. Gill acknowledges the influence of Reichard's study but points out that his own work diverges greatly from that earlier work, particularly because of recent developments in the general study of religion, in which he has been trained. An example of change in perspective is the contrast between Reichard's description of prayer as "the compulsive word" embodying magical control, and Gill's discussion of Navajo prayer as an instrument by which reciprocal relationships between humans and deities are maintained. Prayer is seen as serving to reestablish these relationships when suffering and illness occur because the individual is no longer in harmony with the physical and spiritual environment. This reciprocal aspect of prayer is further emphasized in Gill's definition of prayer as a speech act between a human being and a deity in which the responsibilities of each party are outlined; hence his designation, "prayer act." Prayer acts, in their ceremonial context, are described by the author as mediating events which have the potential to engender power. Gill's book, along with Gary Witherspoon's Language and art in the Navajo universe (1977), exemplifies a recent deepening of understanding in the study of Navajo language and culture. Although Gill emphasizes the importance of analyzing prayer acts within the context of their performance, his construction of a composite picture of Navajo religion, within which he establishes prayer as a specific genre, relies heavily on the records of Navajo ritual activities compiled by other scholars, including Haile, Kluckhohn, Lamphere, Leighton, Reichard, Spencer, Toelken, Vogt, Witherspoon, and Wyman, to supplement his own fieldwork and background in religious studies. Gill recognizes the limitations of such an approach and attempts to surmount them: