Originally sand paintings were a magical or religious gesture by the American Indians and the Tibetan Lamas, which accompanied a ceremony.

These sand pictures were made on the ground either directly on the earth or on hide.

 

In North America the Navajos used these Œprayer mats¹ in healing rituals after which they were methodically destroyed, whereupon the person who would be cured takes away with him some of the sand containing the healing properties.