NAVAJO MYTHOLOGY

'Navajo religion:'
The Navajo are a tribe of Native Americans who live in the southwestern United States. They speak the Navajo language, and many are members of the Navajo Nation, an independent government structure which manages the Navajo reservation in the Four Corners area of the United States. The size of their Nation is roughly that of the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts combined.

Creation story

The Navajo creation story centers on the area known as the Dinetah, the traditional homeland of the Navajo people.
The basic outline of the Navajo creation story is as follows:
Holy Supreme Wind being created the mists of lights arose through the darkness to animate and bring purpose to the myriad Holy People, supernatural and sacred in the different three lower worlds.
All these things were spiritually created in the time before the earth existed and the physical aspect of man did not exist yet, but the spiritual did. In the first world the insect people started fighting with one another and were instructed by the Holy People to depart.
They journeyed to the second world and lived for a time in peace, but eventually they fought with each other and were instructed to depart.
In the third world the same thing happens again and they are forced to journey to the fourth world.
In the fourth world, they found the Hopi living there and succeeded in not fighting with one another or their neighbors, and their bodies were transformed from the insect forms to human forms. Eventually however, they fought with each other again, and again were instructed to depart.
First man and First woman physically appear here formed from ears of white and yellow corn, but they were also created back in the beginning. There is a separation of male and female humans because each did not appreciate the contributions of the other, and this laid the groundwork for the appearance of the Monsters that would start to kill off the people in the next world.
Coyote also appears and steals the baby of water monster, who brings a great flood in the third world which primarily forces the humans as well as Holy People to journey to the surface of the fifth world through a hollow reed. Some things are left behind and some things are brought to help the people re-create the world each time they entered a new one. Death and the Monsters are born into this world as is Changing Woman who gives birth to the Hero Twins, called "Monster Slayer" and "Child of the Waters" who had many adventures in which they helped to rid the world of much evil. Earth Surface People, mortals, were created in the fourth world, and the gods gave them ceremonies which are still practiced today.
This origin myth forms the basis for the traditional Navajo way of life.
(Bloomfield New Mexico all the way!)

Deities

The meanings embodied by the named deities below are described individually, but these belong within an overall belief system. A useful way of understanding this belief system is via the concept of "iinaa ji" (Life Way or Beauty Way), i.e. the correct progress through life. In ''iinaa ji'' the goal is to live a long life in happiness. To attain this goal, man is given resources in the form of family, social, cultural, religious, educational and political teachings to shape a person into a dignified human being. Woman receives help from the family in giving birth and taking care of the infant. The child needs discipline, guidance and teaching. In adolescence there are teachings and ceremonies showing how people should interact with one another, and which (e.g.) initiate a girl into womanhood. In old age, the person will be cared for within family and society in accordance with religious teachings. By continually striving to live life in beauty and harmony, the individual having lived their life according to the tenets of ''iinaa ji'', will have "lived a long life into old age in beautiful happiness" not only for themselves but for others around them. The ceremonial knowledge embodied by the deities are intended to be used to promote the positive aspects of ''iinaa ji''.
The mythical beings discussed here are representations of the opposing forces of creation and destruction. They are neither good or evil because within creation both disparate representations must work in harmonious balance in order for the world to function. This idea of balance and the maintenance of it is central to Navajo religion.

Díyín diné’é (hooded People)

The Díyín diné’é (Holy People) are the whole corpus of supernatural beings that reside within the myriad outward expressions of creation, "one who lies [lays] within it," and they have varying degrees of supernatural powers Haile, Berard. "Soul Concepts of the Navajo." Annali Lateranense, Vol. VII. Citta del Vaticano, 1943. They outwardly express themselves to interact with human beings by taking on human forms or through representations in the context of animating forces that reside inside of the natural forces found in nature, plants, animals, prophets, and cultural heroes through the ceremonies. The díyín diné were animated and given their purpose in creation by "Supreme Sacred Wind" who first express itself out of the darkness.McNeley, James K. ''Holy Wind in Navajo Philosophy''. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1981.

Áłtsé hastiin (First Man)

★ Áłtsé hastiin (First Man) - Created by the Holy People and given the dual creative and destructive powers of creation to create and bring about the world as it exists today. He works in conjunction with First Woman and is considered part of the díyín diné’é.

Áłtsé asdząąn (First Woman)

★ Áłtsé asdząąn (First Woman) - Created by the Holy People and given the dual creataive destructive powers of creation to create and bring about the world as it exists today. She worked in conjunction with First Man and is considered part of the díyín diné’é.

Áłtsé hashké (First Scolder) or Mą'ii (Roamer / Coyote)

★ Áłtsé hashké (First Scolder) or Mą'ii (Roamer / Coyote) - Generally regarded as the trickster, but who hangs around First Man and First Woman and through his foolish actions reveals the limitations of the spiritual and material realities and the consequences of transgressing them. He is the unwitting agent of First Man's and First Woman's creation designs and yet coyote is considered as a very dangerous entity because of his irresponsible and foolish application of his acquired and limited knowledge of the dual creative and destructive powers of creation, for his own personal egotistical gain. The consequences of his lack of foresight in the wielding these powers also applies to actions started at the material level of creation. Considered a Díyín diné’é.

Jóhonaa’éí (Sun Bearer)

★ Jóhonaa’éí (Sun Bearer) could be considered a solar deity who carries the sun across the sky on his back and stores it in the west side of his house during the night. It can also be considered as the force that gives and represents the sun's purpose in creation, ie. moving it through and across the sky. The object sun "so'" is not johona'ai, but johona'ai is the force, animating principle and purpose that resides within the sun and also gives life to all creation on the surface of the earth. Supreme Sacred Wind indirectly created so' through the interaction of other created phenomena, as well as Johona'ai.

Yoołgai asdząąn (White-shell Woman)

★ Yoołgai asdząąn (White-shell Woman) can be considered a lunar deity associated with the seasons. She can be considered the sister of Changing Woman, but the two are also considered as being one and the same. Her name comes from her creation, since she was made from abalone shell. She is associated with the ocean, the sunrise, fire, and maize.

Asdząąn nádleehé (Changing Woman)

★ Asdząąn nádleehé (Changing Woman) - She can be viewed as the sister of White-shell Woman, or the very same as White-shell Woman. She was a sky goddess who was very respected among the Navajo. She was also a goddess of change, particularly the maturation of women. She grows with the days and seasons cyclically from a young maiden to an adult woman to an old crone, endlessly without dying. She helped in creating humans and now rules over the powers of creation, given in the underworld to First Man and First Woman, who in turn passed them on to Changing Woman for the maintenance of this world. She was raised by First Man and First woman after they saw a black cloud on a mountain for four days, and upon investigating it discovered the infant Changing Woman, who grew from infant to an adult woman in eighteen days. Later she gave birth to the Twin warrior gods who slew the monsters who were killing the Diné. After departing to live in her home towards the western ocean, she increased the number of humans by creating more people out of small pieces of her skin because she was lonely and wanted companions.

Aspects of creation

Below are a few of the many aspects (representations) of creation that formulate a traditional Navajo way of life.

★ Haashch’ééłti’í "Speechless Talking One, Talking God"

★ Haashch’éoghan "House God, Calling God, Growling God."

★ Ahsonnutli

★ Hasteoltoi

★ Bikeh Hozho "His/their beautiful voice?"

★ To' nenili ("water sprinkler")

Practises

Hogans

Navajo dwellings, called hogans, are sacred and constructed to symbolize their land: the four posts represent the sacred mountains, the floor is mother earth, and the dome-like roof is father sky.

Four Sacred Mountains

The Navajo religion is distinct in that is must be practiced in a particular geographical area, known as the Dinetah (the traditional Navajo homeland). Navajo people believe that the creator instructed them never to leave the land between four sacred mountains located in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
To the south is Mount Taylor; to the west are the San Francisco Peaks; to the east is Blanca Peak, and to the north is Hesperus Peak. There is a sacred object and a color representing each of the four cardinal directions. To the east is the white morning sky; its precious stone is white shell. To the south is blue and turquoise. To the west is yellow, and the corresponding stone is yellow abalone. To the north is black and jet.^[1]

References

1. Robert S. McPherson, ''Sacred Land, Sacred View: Navajo perceptions of the Four Corners Region'', Brigham Young University, ISBN 1-56085-008-6.

★ Salmonson, Jessica Amanda.(1991) ''The Encyclopedia of Amazons''. Paragon House. Page 255. ISBN 1-55778-420-5

★ Zolbrod, Paul G. Diné bahané: The Navajo Creation Story. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984.

External Links

★ Holy Wind & Natural Law

★ Internet Sacred Text Archive: Navajo index

★ Navajo Religion

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

psst.. try this: add to faves

	Golf Holidays International
	Green Parrot Beach Houses Resort
	Century 21 Beltair Associates
	Dancing Moon Travel

	MC Voyages
	Authentik Canada
	Sears Travel
	Entrance Travel
	Century 21 Beltair Associates
	Vision 2000 Travel Group, Vancouver
	Hotel Valley Ho (Cafe ZuZu, VH Spa)
	Scottsdale CVB
	Travelonly - Dave Corless
	Heavenly Paradise Getaways