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Don't urinate on a deerskin. You'll clog up. Pg. 84
Deer and elk, as also animals allied to them, are hunted for their hides and sinew, which figure largely in the manufacture of the costume and ceremonial appliances. Pg. 139
Deer and
rare game (dini') are symbolical of hunting power and methods-stalking, killing
and butchering, propitiation of the animal spirit, and restrictions. Though
hunting is almost extinct, having been supplanted by pastoral pursuits, it still
occupies a major position in the ritualistic pattern (Hill 1938, pp. 96ff.;
Goddard, p. 162; Matthews 1887, pp. 391-2; 1897,
pp. 70, 154; Newcomb 1940b, p. 59; Reichard, Shooting Chant ms.).
The Holy
Beings formed the dog, male and female. The male dog was dressed with the dawn
and he was white. He traveled to the East. The female dog was reddish or brownish
yellow and she was dressed with the twilight. On their ears sat the Little Breeze.
Their ears were made from the winds, and at the tip of the tail also there is
a breeze. So when a dog passes another dog he can tell from the mouth to the
tip of the tail. Burned food was put on their noses and they were black. A medicine
stick, ke et an'dotishe, was placed inside their stomachs, and they say that
is why a dog never gets enough to fill him. As he has the wind at the ears and
at the tip of the tail he never gets lost. He knows many things, for he was
sent to guard the doorways of the people. The male dog was sent east of the
Carrizos and the female dog to a place now known as Tohatchi. The white dog
was a welcome animal. The people were good hunters and they fed him and petted
him and he grew fat. But the female dog went to evil people who beat her and
threw sticks at her and she grew poor and skinny. The dogs were told to meet
at a place called Tse ha gaye. There are burning minerals under the ground there
and one sees smoke. 12 They met there as instructed, but when they met the male
jumped on the female and threw her on the ground. The male dog treated her badly.
They fought as dogs do now. Then they crossed. The dog said: "People were
good to me and fed me lots of meat." The bitch said: "People were
cruel to me. They starved me all the time." So they changed places; the
white dog went to the home of the yellow dog, and the female went to the home
of the male. And after a time they met again at the same place. This time the
white dog had gotten the worst of the treatment and was thin and poor, whereas
the bitch was fat. So the two got even with each other. Then the two dogs started
out for a place called Nat ege saka'te, where a lone currant bush grows on a
plain south of Fruitland. A little ledge of rock and the lone currant bush are
all that are there. When the dogs reached the ledge of rock they sat side by
side with their backs toward the people who had been cruel to them. The one
dog sent his bad wish with the gas from his stomach, and the other dog sent
her bad wish from her backbone to the wicked people. The two them returned to
the place where they were made. Later, the people who had been cruel to the
dogs sickened. Their stomachs bloated, and they were very ill indeed. The being
who was called Dontso, the All-Wise Fly, came and said: "The only person
to make medicine here is Hasjelti himself; but don't tell anyone what I have
said. Keep it a secret." Now up to this time they had used ceremonies over
the sick, but they could not cure them. When Hasjelti made the medicine the
people recovered. This is where the Dog Ceremony 13 begins. The chant is here.
12- Informant's note: This is a place near Newcomb's Trading Post.
13- Informant's note: The medicine used in the Dog Ceremony is for stomach ailments.
They are: Informant's name: tse gan il chee; Franciscan Fathers (1910, p. 187),
tsigha'jilchi, the dodder, Cuscuta unbellata. Informant's name: chil'dily ese;
Franciscan Fathers (1910, p.186), chil dilyisi, dodgeweed, Gutierezzia euthamiae.
Informant's name: da'e tinda; Franciscan Fathers (1912, p.77), da'hiqi'hi da',
hummingbird food, Scarlet Gilia, Gilia aggregata. These plants are boiled together
with native salts.
The dog (lechai), Khintqelgi dobidinshdidahi hashcheltqi bili dzilkae nat'ani, that fine young chief of the wide house, the inseparable companion and pet of the Talking God. Pg. 175
Dog (le'tca'i,
li'tca'i') (U) is an animal of bad luck that may spoil anything. The Navaho
ascribe to Dog the faults possessed by its relatives, Coyote and Wolf, and despise
him because 'he can't take care of himself.' The Mexican hairless seems to have
been better thought of. When Rainboy's sister prepared for her ascension, she
took with her a Mexican hairless dog.
A small watchdog, tied to a cliff opposite the canyon home of the gods, barked
sharply at the Stricken Twins.
Persons to whom dogs are unfriendly cannot foretell events. Those who divined
by listening put dog earwax, among other things, into their ears. A rite to
drive off the evil power of dogs was a part of the Night and Mountain chants
(Hill 1938, p. 75; 1935a, p. 66; Reichard 1944d, p. 155; Matthews 1902, pp.
103, 229; Newcomb 1938, p.47; Wyman-Kluckhohn, pp. 6, 27; Kluckhohn-Wyman, p.
188).
Horses are kept for breeding, riding, and driving purposes. They are rarely fed, being turned out at large after use. Even when at work little or no feed is provided, as the Navaho is indifferent to the needs of his horse. Yet they thrive where others of their kind might starve, and in addition give remarkable tests of endurance. Pg. 145
Horse racing with light betting is frequently indulged in. On festive occasions betting is very heavy, losses being sustained with as much indifference as gains are accepted with joy and laughter. The Navajo is as cheerful a loser as he is a winner, and often stakes his most treasured possessions on a single issue. A fleet horse is better cared for than the usual run of horses, and is often practiced and trained long before the race. Pg. 154
When the
Holy People first made the horse, it was a complete thing, but it would not
come to life. They tried to get it to rise up on its strong legs, but it would
not rise. Caterpillar was asked to help. "How can I help?" he asked.
"You know," one of the Holy People said, "where the sacred flints
are kept." "Yes, this is true. But I am slow getting around."
Then the Holy People prayed over Caterpillar and he became Butterfly. Swiftly
he flew to the Mountain Where Flint Is Kept, and gathering four flints, he returned
to the Holy People and put the flints into the hooves of the horse. The great
horse stirred, quivered, came to life. Then it surged, leaped into life, struck
the air with its hooves, and galloped off into the clouds. "Look,"
a Holy Person said,"the horse makes the marks of Butterfly when it dances
on its hooves." And it has been that way ever since. Pgs. 175, 176
Five Horses: The five horses of the Sun Father are a way of telling time, Navajo
style. White shell and pearl horses represent dawn, turquoise is noon, red shell
is sunset, and jet or coal is night.
The horses'
hoofs are hada huniye (agate), the banded male stone. The hair of the mane and
tail is called nltsa najin, little streaks of rain. The mane is called e alinth
chene. Horses' ears are the heat lightning, that which flashes in the night.
The big stars that sparkle are their eyes. The different growing plants are
their faces. The big bead, yo tso, is their lips. The white bead is the teeth.
Tliene delne' dil hilth, a black fluid, was put inside horses to make the whinny.
Pg. 13
Sandoval told Goddard that the horse's hoofs have stripes because they were
made of mirage (variegated stones) and because the rainbow went into the making
of its very gait. Its mane came from a small rain cloud, and its tail from black
rain, while its intestines came from water of all kinds. Some of nature's most
majestic forces and elements went into the composition of its head. Sandoval
related that "distant lightning composed its ears. A big spreading twinkling
star formed its eye and striped its face." The face itself was formed of
living plants, and the growing vegetation that made up its face illuminated
it at night. Large sacred beads composed its lips, and its teeth would not "wear
out quickly" because they were formed of the Navajo's treasured white shell.
Sandoval's mythical horse was indeed a forceful and beautiful creature when
it neighed, the sound really came from a black flute inside its mouth. Moreover,
Sandoval supplied Goddard with some additional information about the horse's
body, which is not included in the O'Bryan recording. It seems that red stone
was used to produce the horse's heart, sunrays its bridle, and that even the
dawn played a role in making up its belly, thus dividing it into two parts one
black and one white, which meant that it belonged to both day and night. Pg.
14
"Here they are, those with which in time to come (people) will live,"
he said .......... He opened a door toward the east, they say. The place was
so large that it extended as far as one could see .......... At the entrance,
white shell was prancing about, they say, white shell in the likeness of a horse
.......... Gracefully doing like this, lifting its foot continually, it was
prancing about, they say. All of different kinds, white shell horses extended
off in great numbers .......... A great amount of mist-like rain falling on
them continuously, they extended off in great numbers .......... Blue birds
fluttered over their heads, they say. The myth tells us that after showing Turquoise
Boy these holy white horses in the first enclosure, Mirage Man continued his
tour with a visit to another wing of the place, built just like the eastern
one, but facing the south this time. In this place, a great turquoise horse
tied with a handsome turquoise-blue rope was prancing about at the entrance,
and from him had sprung the many blue horses which stood behind as far as the
culture hero could see. The youth could also see that rainbows formed an arch
over the sky around the blue horses while blue swallows fluttered over them,
doubtless empowering the horses with the speed and endurance they contained
in their blue feathers. The birds also symbolized the happiness and the immortality
surrounding Sun's herd. Again, the horses were enveloped by a mist, which only
intensified their beauty. Now, there remained only two other enclosures a western
one and a northern one, and as before, Mirage Man showed the youth these places
too. Basically, they resembled the other two, except that the horses, roped,
and birds inside each one differed entirely in coloration. The western horses
and the things surrounding them were yellow, while the northern horses and the
things surrounding them were spotted. Pg. 21
The Navajo and Apache also have directional color associations for certain stones
and shells, which, because of the religious significance attached to them, play
important roles in their mythologies, ceremonies, customs, and beliefs. These
stones and shells are also commonly associated with the cardinal horses, as
the above myth illustrates in its references to the horses of white shell and
turquoise. A fine example of this association is supplied in some information
which the Navajo named Hatali Natloi gave Matthews. Hatali Natloi said that
the first white horse was made of white shell, the first iron-gray horse of
turquoise, the first black horse of cannel coal (jet), the first piebald horse
of haliotis shell, and the first red (sorrel) horse of red stone (carnelian).
Thus, horses, according to their colors, are called after the different substances
of which the Navajo believe the cardinal horses were made. For that reason,
the Navajo speak of turquoise or gray horses as dolizi lin, red stone or sorrel
horses as bastsili lin, cannel coal or black horses as baszini lin, and haliotis
or spotted horses as yolkai lin. Pg. 21
Navajo mythology expresses this same regard for the white horse and often describes
the sun and moon deities riding about on their elegant, milk-white steeds. In
the foregoing myth, it will be noted that the white horse occupies the east,
his most common cardinal position in Navajo mythology, for the Navajo frequently
associate white with the color of dawn or early morning light, which banishes
the shadows and mysteries of night. Because of this association, it is said
that a Navajo who owns a white horse feels himself fortunate and believes he
will have no bad luck when he rides it. Sun's dawn horse plays a prominent role
in a version of the myth concerning the Twin War Gods' visit to their father's
house, which Maud Oakes recorded from a famous Navajo scout and medicine man
named Jeff King. King told Oakes that at the beginning of time the Navajo's
first holy beings chose this white horse for the young sun deity to mount each
morning as he carried his burden of light into the sky. He told too of how the
Twins, at a much later time, saw this horse at the deity's home in the other
world and of how they met their previously unknown sister Sun's daughter who
helped their father catch his horse every day. "Each morning," she
would shake "a rattle to call the white horse for Sun to ride," he
explained. Implying a change of its color with a change of its cardinal position,
King also said that Sun's horse "moves around as it faces the four directions."
Pg. 22
Most versions of the Navajo myth concerning Sun's courtship of Changing Woman
( a goddess sometimes referred to as White Shell Woman ) say that when Sun first
appeared to woo her, he was dressed in white and chose to ride his splendid
white horse, which sported a bridle and a saddle of the same color. The deity's
choice of the white horse for this occasion signifies something else this time.
First of all, Sun and his horse are attired in white to complement the theme
of whiteness surrounding White Shell Woman. But more important is the purpose
of Sun's visit to the goddess, who was them but a girl out gathering seeds.
He wishes to instruct her as to how she might accomplish conception. The fact
that Sun insisted on white dress for both himself and his white steed at this
particular time "apparently differentiates," as Reichard says, "the
naturally sacred from the profane." Newcomb lends support to such an interpretation
by identifying white as "the color of purity and of the spirit" qualities
commonly associated with the goddess whom the Navajo picture as being almost
entirely above reproach. - Moon's horse is addressed third in a prayer to the
holy horses in the Navajo ceremony known as Flint Way; it is called "horse
of the moon, who puffs along the surface of the earth." Pg. 23
The Navajo, on the other hand, usually place their black horses at the north
rather than at the east. This northern cardinal horse represents the night sky
and is called Sun's "black jewel" horse in one Navajo myth .......
If a "horse has white stockings, he also sees by (means of) them."
Pg. 26, 27
Red Horse: Sometimes the Navajo use him as a substitute horse in their color
circuits and pair him with black to indicate such dangerous things as dark skies.
Accordingly, a Navajo tradition says that Sun mounts either his red horse or
his black horse "when the heavens are dark with storm." Pg. 27
The Cardinal Horse that Navajo mythology values most is the turquoise of blue
horse. Much of the association that the black cardinal horse has for the Apache,
the turquoise has for the Navajo; for this is the mythical horse the Navajo
think of as being Sun's favorite the one he rode all day. Undoubtedly, that
is why Mirage Man, as mentioned earlier in connection with the Navajo myth,
kept sun's turquoise horse behind the second door of the other world corral
the door which opened to the south. In the color circuit employed in this myth,
the blue to the south "signifies" to use Gladys Reichard's words "the
bright blue sky of day." Thus, it seems consistent to reason that the Navajo
would extend the association a step further and think of the sun as a deity
riding his blue horse across the sky all day. Pg. 27, 28
Two Navajo songs for good luck with horses picture for us their idea of the
mythical turquoise horse. One song says that as he moves along, he does not
raise dust; only glittering grains of mineral , of the sort the Navajo use in
religious ceremonies, fly behind his speedy hoofs. When he gallops, sacred pollen
surrounds him as dust would an ordinary horse. Through the pollen, he seems
enveloped by mist,........ The other song, which the elder of the Twins is said
to have sung for good luck in the Navajo version of the horse race around the
world, extols, in the youth's own words, the powers of the mighty blue stallion.
Here is the way part of it goes:
The turquoise horse prances with me.
From where we start the turquoise horse is seen.
The lightning flashes from the turquoise horse.
The turquoise horse is terrifying.
He stands on the upper circle of the rainbow.
The sunbeam is in his mouth for a bridle.
He circles around all the people of the earth
With their goods.
Today he is on my side
And I shall win with him.
Many intimate
glimpses of the sun with his favorite horse are given in Navajo mythology. First
of all, sun was ever mindful of the needs of his powerful turquoise stallion,
which was larger than an ordinary horse. 80 One of the deity's first remarks
after he had been created and put in the sky concerned the care of his majestic
blue horse. As he went on his initial trip across the heavens, Sun looked for
a nice place to pasture his mount at the noon hour. Approaching the center of
the sky, he discovered a likely spot and said: "The blue horse that I ride
will eat there."............ Apparently, though, the turquoise horse was
well pleased with the unusual kind of pasture Sun chose for him. The first of
the Navajo songs discussed above describes him "neighing joyously"
as he stands on precious hides of all kinds which are spread out across the
sky to symbolize clouds. There in that cloud pasture, he feeds on the tips of
lovely new flowers and drinks of four mingled waters from a stream which connects
with the four regions of the world.
80. Matthews, Navaho Legends, p. 233, n. 118. Another Navajo myth mentions Sun
showing the Twins a huge horse which he kept under "a trap door in the
center of the floor" of his house. Though the color of this horse was not
given, he was described as being "like a team horse with hoofs about a
foot in diameter." See Fishler, In the Beginning, p. 71. Pgs. 29, 30
The Navajo and all the Apache groups usually place the yellow mare at the western
cardinal station, since they commonly associate its coloration with the various
hues of yellow seen in a sunset or in early evening light. The "abalone
shell in the likeness of a horse," which the Navajo Mirage Man is said
to have kept behind the third door of the sun's corral, is the sacred shell
associated with this horse in myths and ceremonies by all the Southern Athapascan
people. Sometimes called ear shell, abalone is spiral shaped, lined with mother-of-pearl,
and perforated along its outer edges. The Navajo expression for abalone is "the-particular-one-that-is-iridescent,
the-one-whose-various-colors-scintillate." Oyster shell is also a common
substitute for this shell. The earthly models for this mythological horse are
a yellowish brown sorrel, a coyote dun, or a Palomino. Pg. 33
The last kind of horse found among the Navajo and Apache cardinal herds is the
horse of two colors the dappled, the spotted, or the pinto. Such animals frequently
appear at the north in color circuits of the ..... Navajo; The haliotis shell
of many-colored flecks, which resembles the abalone in texture, is often used
in myths and ceremonies to signify spotted horses. So is agate. Sometimes the
word "spotted" is substituted by the words "sparkling,"
"glittering," or "variegated" in Navajo and Apache myths
and tales about this horse. In ceremonies when such a color impression is intended,
either mixed jewels tiny fragments from all the sacred stones are used, or else
a type of stone called "mirage stone." Mirage stones are white, gray,
yellowish-striped stones, which are shiny when polished, causing a magnified
reflection of a number of colors. For instance, the Navajo refer to certain
types of quartz as "mirage rocks," and in one Navajo myth, some small
stone horse fetishes of different colors, called "Mirage Quartz Rock Horses,"
are shown the Twins by a supernatural being named Frog Man. Pg. 37
The Navajo Mirage Man, who was himself a combination of colors, expressed the
same sort of regard to Turquoise Boy when he was showing him around the sun's
corral. Implying the climactic nature of the fourth time, the Navajo myth states
that the old man showed Turquoise Boy the horses he valued most when he opened
the last door of the corral the door which led to the "spotted horses"
with "the white eyelashes." In a similar way, Frog Man, who in another
Navajo Myth was acknowledged by Sun as knowing as much about the breeding of
fine horses as anyone in the gods' world, treasured the "Mirage Quartz
Rock Horses" he kept in a ceremonial basket. It was said that Frog Man
"raised all kinds and colors of horses, sheep and goats," and that
he, like the sun's corral-keeper in the other myth, was formed also from a mirage
substance quartz rock, in this case. However, Navajo traditions say that their
horse-loving sun deity prized his paints, his dappled and his spotted horses
too so much, in fact, that he kept an entire cardinal herd of them. Those who
saw these beautiful horses must have had a rich experience, for one glimpse
at them in a Navajo myth is enough to convince us that they combined all the
colors Sun most enjoyed on the may good horses he rode in each of the quadrants.
According to the myth, "to the east were ones with white bodies with all
kinds of blue designs and spots. To the south was a blue one with white spots
and all kinds of designs. There were also horses with white finger marks with
a blue background. To the west was a yellow one with black and white spots,
while to the north was a black one with a yellow-reddish nose and white spots
all over it." Pg. 38
Fortunately, the things the goddess needed to create the first horses for mankind
were already at the new residence. Inside this palatial hogan were four horses
made of jewel substances, belonging to each of the directions, and in the center
of these stood a stately jet horse "at the root of a perfect cornstalk
. . . . . . On the cornstalk's top sat a black songbird." Like everything
else in her western home, the goddess's cornstalk was modeled after the one
Sun kept at his eastern home. A better idea of what it looked like and what
purpose it served can be had by examining the one belonging to Sun. According
to a description Goldtooth supplied Fishler, Sun's cornstalk grew in the center
of a basket which he kept on a shelf in the center of his house. Inside the
basket were also some pieces of turquoise, all types and colors of corn, and
four horse fetishes facing the cardinal directions and surrounding the cornstalk,
on which hung two ears of corn, most probably representing the male and female
sexes, since this is what they ordinarily symbolize in Navajo myths. The sacred
stone and shell horse fetishes "ate the corn pollen that fell from the
corn tassels," Goldtooth said. They were tied to four posts which also
stood inside the basket, facing the four directions. Sun and moon designs were
carved on each post and attached to each were eagle feathers and rattles of
precious stones and shells. "There were rattles made out of white bead
on the pole to the east, turquoise rattles to the south, oyster shell rattles
to the west, and jet rattles to the north." Perhaps the white rattles were
the ones that Sun's daughter used each morning to summon Sun's white horse,
a daily chore mentioned previously. Goldtooth said that when Sun himself shook
the rattles of white bead, the horse fetishes tied to the poles of the four
directions "would also begin to rattle and move just as if they were alive."
In fact, this was how the fetishes got their exercise, he noted, adding that
Sun also shook the rattles "to give pep and energy to all animals, plants,
bushes, trees and all things upon the earth." Pg. 57
A white shell basket stood there. In it was the water of a mare's afterbirth.
A turquoise basket stood there. It contained the water of the afterbirth. An
abalone basket full of eggs of various birds stood there. A jet basket with
eggs stood there. The baskets stand for quadrupeds, the eggs for birds. Now
as Changing Woman began to sing the Animals came up to taste. The horse tasted
twice; hence mares sometimes give birth to twins. One ran back without tasting.
Four times, he ran up and back again. The last time he said, "Sh!"
and did not taste. "She will not give birth. Long-ears (Mule) she will
be called," said Changing Woman. The others tasted the eggs from the different
places. Hence there are many feathered people. Because they tasted the eggs
in the abalone and jet baskets many are black.
O'Bryan's text, again more detailed and much clearer, supplies the missing links
of the Goddard version:
After the White Bead Woman's chanting, the four horses began to move, the white-bead
horse fetish, the turquoise horse fetish, the white-shell horse fetish and the
banded stone horse fetish. These four stone fetishes were made into living horses.
Life came into them and they whinnied. Then the White Bead Woman took the horses
from her home. She placed them on the white bead plain, on the turquoise plain,
on the white bead hill, and on the turquoise hill. Returning, she laid out four
baskets the white bead basket, the turquoise basket, the white shell basket,
and the black jet basket. In these she placed the medicine which would make
the horses drop their colts. The White Bead Woman then went outside and chanted,
and down came the horses from the hill; but instead of four there came a herd.
They circled the home, and they came to the baskets and licked up the medicine
with one lick. Now some of the horses licked twice around the baskets; so once
in a long while there are twin colts. But the horses that licked out of the
black jet basket licked more than once, and they have many colts. Then out of
the herd there came one with long ears. She snorted and jumped away; and the
second time she approached the basket she snorted and ran away. So she was not
to have young, either male or female. It was planned that the fetishes of the
horses were to be laid in the center of the earth, in a place called Sis na
dzil .... Pg. 61
A Navaho on foot was no menace to the Puebloans, but a Navajo or tribe of Navajos on horseback was a different equation. No longer were they a subservient race. They could strike, raid, and be away before the stone house dwellers could string their bows and shoot their arrows. The possession of horses brought a golden era of prosperity to the tribe. They stole sheep and goats from the Mexicans; from the Puebloans they stole corn and beans to plant in their own extensive fields, and wherever possible, they took women and children into slavery. The wealth of a clan was counted by the size of the flock of sheep, and for every man, woman, and child there was a horse to ride. Pg. xxiii
Since the horse was not indigenous to the western hemisphere, its arrival brought a wholly new way of life to most of the Indian tribes. It came to signify power and speed and wealth. Pg. 62
The acquisition of the horse had a profound effect upon Navajo culture. Not only did increased mobility enlarge the range and frequency of contact with non-Navajos, but also it altered the character of social relations within the tribe. It was now possible to visit more frequently and to attend ceremonial events from much greater distances. Thus, the audiences at ceremonials became larger, and this in turn may have led to the elaboration of the ceremonies themselves.
"The arrow of a human being, from where does it move out, My Cousin?" Rabbit said.
But Coyote said: "It moves out of his mouth!"
The Rabbit said: "No, it moves from over his shoulder."
"No, it does not. It moves out of his mouth!" he replied.
"No, My Cousin, I ought to know it very well, as he (the human hunter) carries it around me (where I hide). Therefore it moves out over his shoulder," he said.
At the
same moment he jumped up across his shoulder. You should have seen how he grabbed
any old way-but in vain! Then he took after him. Just when he was about to overtake
him he kicked a rotten stump of yucca against him. The Rabbit did this, just
when there was no place to escape. You should have seen Coyote roll over with
that rotten yucca stump! Meanwhile, it seems, he was running on over there,
and ran with all his speed towards a hole. When at the edge of a bluff he had
very nearly overtaken him, he ran into the hole.
In this way, it seems, by running too far, he (Coyote) plunged down over the
bluff and landed right at the base of it. "Hm!" he said, "that
surely was very unfortunate!" Then, it seems, he returned up above where
the Rabbit had run into the hole. He was looking into the hole when he could
see the white spot of his rear end close-up. "I must smoke you out!"
he said But the Rabbit asked:
"What with?"
"Oh, with dodgeweed," Coyote said.
"That I usually eat!"
"Then with cedar!"
"That I usually eat!"
"Then with pinon boughs!"
"That I usually eat!" the Rabbit said
"Then positively, with sagebrush!"
"That I usually eat," Rabbit said
"Pinon pitch it will be! I will smoke you out with that! That is settled," Coyote said.
"Ouch! This time I will surely die!" Rabbit said.
And so he looked for pitch and brought a great amount of it. Then, it seems,
he built a fire at his entrance with slim twigs. You should have seen that smoke
twist into the hole where he was and watch Coyote blow it. "It is getting
unbearable, My Cousin! Get closer and blow it (get it over with) I am in a dying
condition (and shorten my suffering)," said Rabbit. And thus when the pitch
which he had brought had caught fire, he (Rabbit) kicked it against him. You
should have seen it splash into his face! "There ought to be a splash when
(something soft) hits my face!" said Coyote. From his face (so treated)
he wiped all the hair (adhering to the pitch) "What do you think of that!"
Coyote said. Pgs. 38-39
Rabbits are hunted or trapped for their meat. Originally the fur was braided with yucca, and served as a rude covering or wrap. The fibula of the rabbit is still used in preparing a ceremonial whistle. Pg. 141
Well, what did you come for, the white sheep, perhaps?
No. Not the white sheep.
The black sheep? No.
The spotted sheep? No.
The red sheep? Not the red sheep.
The sheep with the thin bladed horns?
That was the sheep he cherished above all.
Winifred Kupper, The Golden Hoof, 19-21.
It may have been a relief to the Sun that the Twin War Gods asked an even loftier boon, for obviously he had the sheep ready for the People as soon as they were created. Pgs. 38-39
Cows, sheep and horses were originally obtained through raids upon the neighboring Pueblos and Mexicans, and later through rations issued by the Government. At present practically every family is possessed of a flock of sheep in addition to a band of cattle and horses, making their condition one of comparative affluence. Pg. 143
In the
last fifty years, well within the memory of man, the character of the Navajo
terrain had noticeably changed. Where formerly there had been broad smooth plains
covered with thick grass of which the best was grama or "buffalo"
grass, the plains were now gutted by sharp gullies, some small, others large
like the arroyo near which the sheepdip stood. Through them the water ran and
cut away the soil whenever it rained, making the crevices always larger. The
white people called this "soil erosion" and said it was due to overgrazing.
They explained that the large number of sheep owned by the Navajo and the goats
were even more harmful had eaten the grass so close that even the roots were
destroyed. So short and sparse had they become that they no longer held the
soil, and it became loose and easily washed or blown away. At first the Whites
had strongly urged the Navajo to diminish their herds, and this year had required
a pro-rated reduction, the number to be determined by the count taken at dipping
time. Pgs. 9-10
The rangers did not like goats. They said they ruined the range, but Dezba and
her people liked them because they lived on less and coarser forage than the
sheep, and because they were good leaders of the herd. The Whites despised the
meat, for they said it was strong and tough. The Navajo did not find it too
strong and thought one felt satisfied longer after a meal of tough meat. Although
it was hard to spin, Dezba liked to use mohair for weaving. It was stronger
for warp, and when used for weft, gave a soft outline to the pattern which was
unusually attractive. Pg. 13
Sheep and goats also had a major impact upon the Navajos and their way of life. The Navajo had begun to take sheep and goats during their raids on Spanish settlements in the early seventeenth century, but it was probably not until the end of this century that they began to herd these animals after intense contact with the Pueblos, who understood Spanish animal husbandry. In the late 1700s and early 1800s the Navajo population began increasing because these animals furnished such a dependable food supply. Sheep and goats and their products also provided a medium of exchange for European-produced goods. Navajos learned the art of weaving from the many Pueblos who lived among them following the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. Weaving quickly became a part of Navajo culture. By 1795, Navajo weaving had become so highly prized that one writer of that time described their weaving as "finer than that of the Spaniards."
Four Sacred Plants are assigned to the cardinal points, and amongst the Navajos Maize is the plant of the North, Beans of the east. This means that both are male and as both are grown for edible seeds, recognition of the physiological function of the male was probably involved in the selection. This is entirely possible since the convention could have been established only very late, after settlement in America. Squash, for the Navajos, is the plant of the South, which is fitting since its fruit is called "eight-sided" and the eight-sided earth (an alternative to the square earth, taking account of the diagonal directions) is female. Also the stalk is angled in sections, a feature deliberately exaggerated when the plant is depicted in sand paintings, and crooked things are female. Tobacco, which the Navajos put on the west, is female because it is used to make smoke which is blown out with the breath, and that is female. Below the Plants are white roots, the significance being that these plants still have their roots in the lower world.
First Man
called the people together. He brought forth the white corn which had been formed
with him. First Woman brought the yellow corn. They laid the perfect ears side
by side; then they asked one person from among the many to come and help them.
The Turkey stepped forward. They asked him where he had come from, and he said
that he had come from the Gray Mountain. He danced back and forth four times,
then he shook his feather coat and there dropped from his clothing four kernels
of corn, one gray, one blue, one black, and one red. Another person was asked
to help in the plan of the planting. The big snake came forward. He likewise
brought forth four seeds, the pumpkin, the watermelon, the cantaloupe, and the
muskmelon. His plants all crawl on the ground. Pg. 6
7- Informant's note: Rarely is much white or yellow corn planted at one time
because it is the most sacred. Pg. 103
Corn Boy, Corn Girl, Cornmeal Carrier: Corn is the most sacred of all Native American plants. Originally, it came from native grasses of Mexico and Guatemala and was brought to Turtle Island by Mexican Indians and Carib people. Standing straight and tall, corn resembles human beings standing in rows. White corn is thought, by the Navajo, to be male, yellow corn is female. Round-headed corn symbols are men, square-headed are female. Food made from corn especially cornmeal is symbolic of the goodness of Mother Earth and Father Sky. Corn Pollen is used in many blessing ceremonies, as is cornmeal. Strings of hardened corn kernels are made into necklaces. Corn, as Jay de Groat has put it, is "Mother Earth's workmanship." Pg. 191
Harry Walters explained that corn is a metaphor for human life because both of through the same stages of life. Both corn and humans reach a stage of fruition when they blossom: the corn bursts forth with pollen while humans also achieve a peak of development associated with sa'a naghai bik'e hozho. Harry Walters (personal communication, 1990) described this state of being: "Every time he talks, thinks, or acts, he does so in radiance, in a state of wisdom and perfect harmony." Just as the corn disseminates its pollen for the continuation of corn plants, so too humans have been entrusted with sacred responsibility to disseminate their knowledge for the benefit and continuation of future generations. Because both corn and humans need nurturance from the four directions (four cardinal light phenomena) in order to reach old age, both possess knowledge from the four directions; it is this knowledge that they take into their beings and then have a responsibility to return to those that come after them.
Corn, the symbol of food, fertility, and life itself, is of major importance. "Corn is more than human; it is divine; it (is) connected with the highest ethical ideals." Pgs. 375-76
The old
sunwise and other ceremonial ways of planting have almost disappeared, but most
Navahos still use the Indian method of planting corn in hills rather than in
rows. Planting dates are determined by various means at Navaho Mountain,
for instance, by the position of the Pleiades and simple folk rites continue
to be a basic part of agriculture. Pg. 30
Many ritual practices are an everyday adjunct of agriculture. Seeds are mixed
with ground "mirage stone" and treated in a variety of other ways.
To prevent early frosts, stones from the sweathouses are planted in the fields
or at the base of fruit trees. If the crop is being damaged by wind, the wind
is called by its secret name and asked to leave the corn alone. Cutworms are
placed on fragments of pottery, sprinkled with pollen, and given other "magical"
treatment. When the harvest is stored, a stalk of corn having two ears is placed
in the bottom of the storage pit to ensure a healthy crop for the next year.
At intervals while the corn is growing the farmer should go to his field, walk
around and through it in a special way, singing the appropriate song. Not every
Navaho farmer follows every one of these of the hundreds of other negative or
positive agricultural folk rites which could be mentioned, but the writers have
not known any Navaho families who do not observe some simple rituals. Pg. 143-144
From the Puebloans they gained their first knowledge of corn and soon learned to grind it and use the meal for food and for ceremonial purposes. In order to save the best corn for themselves the owners created a taboo that the Navajos must not touch any ears except the two small ones that grew at the very top of the cornstalk, and these were likely to be small nubbins. The other, larger ears were said to belong to the gods. Pg. XXII
A Navajo from Coalmine stated that "cased" squirrelskins were also sometimes used as containers for ceremonial materials. Bags of this type were made by both men and women and were used for storing sacred materials such as the seed corn to be planted ritually first in the center of the field.
Parched corn has been mentioned as an effective absorptive device. Cake [sweetened cornbread baked in a pit oven] is a treat of the Girl's Ceremony and the Flint Chant; in both it is an offering to Sun.
Farm songs belong to the entire tribe and are sung for the planting and maturation events rather than for a particular ceremony. The initial song refers to seed planting; it describes the place for planting, the seed, and offerings made to the seed [or perhaps to the earth]. The verbs are first in the form "I wish it to be...." and change later to 'It is becoming....' The second song repeats the sentiments of the first, but in the form 'It has become so.'
The songs of the second interval refer to the sprouting of the corn in terms corresponding with those of the first interval. Time is allowed for growth, then song indicates the appearance of tiny blades above the ground, another the fresh yellow-green appearance of the field; another celebrates the normal growth of the corn; a song states that the 'corn loves me' and is therefore doing well under my hand; another, that the leaves are large enough to touch one another when the wind blows; still another, that some plants are large and cast uniform shadows over the field, that red silk has appeared, that pollen has formed. Subsequent songs refer to the harvested ears, emphasizing the crackling sound made when the fully developed stalks are pulled. There are songs to describe the plucking of the ears and the piling of bundles gathered and dumped in the center of the field. The next song describes the extension of the piles of corn -'It increases by spreading'; another summarizes by describing the harvest as a whole. The pattern does not change for the husking, which is again described by sound--'now from my hands it gives forth a sound' - or for the drying, which completes the harvest.
Several
versions ascribe human beings to a supernatural transformation of corn which
existed primordially with First Man. Sun was said to be corn's father, Lightning
its mother. According to one version, the results of the transformation were
persons called First Man and First Woman, who are also referred to as `our ancestors.'
From this account we may conclude that First man and first woman not only had
corn in the early worlds but also were corn and came to symbolize transformation
into human form. One origin is attributed to the transformation of turquoise
and whiteshell images by deific ceremonial. Since, however, the jewels were
laid beside corn ears, the significance is in the association between corn and
precious stones rather than in the gems themselves. According to Navajo interpretation,
the two would be the `the same'.
However, in contrast to the numerous etiologies of corn, accounts of the origin
of particular plants are few. In some myths corn is considered primeval, for
First Man had some in the first world. Other myths account for it as the gift
of a god or a neighboring people. Whatever its origin, its value is constantly
emphasized. According to one myth, Talking God gave corn to Whiteshell Woman
and her sister, Turquoise Woman, saying, "There is no better thing than
this in the world, for it is the gift of life." Later, when he visited
them again and they told him they still had it, he said, "That is good,
for corn is your symbol of fertility and life."
The hunting animals carried packs of corn on their backs, for they had charge
of the corn-growing rite of the Fire Dance.
The complementation of corn by game is brought out by Talking God, who, in the
myth of the Night Chant, instructs the her: "Never give corn to eat of
its own substance. If you give it, corn will thereafter ever eat corn until
all the land is destroyed. Then men will starve and have to eat one another,
and thus destroy their own race. Give corn flesh to eat. For like reasons corn
must be fed to the masks in the ceremonies. Should meat be fed to them, men
would, thereafter, eat men." The masks of sacred buckskin represent game
animals. According to tradition punishment was inevitable if the injunction
was disobeyed.
Once, many years ago, when the ceremony of the corn was taking place and a young
virgin was grinding meat to feed the corn, a wicked woman went out from the
lodge and fed corn to the corn hanging on the poles of the drying frame. That
year the people starved and men ate the flesh of other men.
Corn (na'da'), in myth and ritual at least, is reaffirmed as belonging to the
Navaho from time immemorial and there is probably no rite or ceremony in which
corn does not function in some form or other. The feeling about corn is expressed:
"Corn is more than human, it is divine; it was connected with the highest
ethical ideals."
When Talking God gave corn to the lonely sisters of the Eagle Chant legend,
he directed that they should never give it away. "Because," he explained,
"there is no better thing in the world, for it is the gift of life."
Later, when through ritualistic instruction their lot had improved, he said
again, "Corn is your symbol of fertility and life."
Of the many representative references that might be given, a few follow: Hill
1938, pp. 20-95; Newcomb 1940b, pp.51, 71, 73, 76; Matthews 1897, pp. 137, 140,
183; 1902, pp.27, 29,106, 187-93; Haile 1938b, pp. 87, 191, 231; 1943a, pp.
162, 313, 174n; Reichard 1939, pp. 27, 30, 34, PI. IV-VII; 1944d, pp. 19, 81,
91, 113, 135; Shooting Chant ms.; Sapir-Hoijer, p. 31; Goddard, p. 174; Wheelwright
1942, p. 122, Set I, 1-4; II, 2; III, 1-4.
Corn meal (na'da'ka'n) is one of the commonest forms of corn in ceremony. It
is coarsely ground, white for a man, yellow for a woman, mixed if there is a
patient of each sex. Sometimes it must be ground by a virgin or at some particular
place or time in the ritual cycle. It is invariably used for the hogan blessing,
for sandpainting sprinkling, and as a drier after the bath in all the rites
I have seen, Evil as well as Holy. Often it serves as a substitute for pollen,
since corn meal is plentiful and pollen is scarce. It usually denotes the same
thing, life and success along the road, exemplified by footprints laid in corn
meal.
With Big Fly's help, people overcome by Spider Man heaped corn pollen and white
corn meal on Spider Man until he could no longer move. Big Fly took some of
these substances for future rituals.
The corn-meal drier of the Night Chant bath was said to stand for the patient's
body and blood (Haile 1938b, pp. 180-3; Sapir-Hoijer, p. 251).
Corn smut (da 'a' tca'n, 'corn excrement') was the paint for the black hail
spots of the Shooting Chant figure painting.
Hill describes cooked corn smut as a food. The eater applied some to his feet
with the formula, "We are going to have much rain and large crops, but
hail will not ruin the crops."
Corn smut was a part of the Feather Chant blackening.
Cornsmut Man was one of the Eagle Chant characters; he blackened himself with
corn smut before starting to catch eagles (Hill 1938, p. 46; Newcomb 1940b,
pp. 63, 65).
Weaving has been carried to a high degree of perfection by the Navaho. The art as it exists among them today is not an invention of their own, as nothing similar is found among any other tribe of the Athapascan stock. It is pretty safe to say that the Navaho learned the art of weaving from the Pueblos. Their own legends, however, account for it in their own way. The hanelnaeheke hani', or moving upward chant legend, records that the art of weaving was taught by the Spider Man and Spider Woman in the following manner. "The Spider Man drew some cotton (ndaka') from his side and instructed the Navaho to make a loom. The cotton-warp was made of spider-web (nashjei bitlol). The upper cross-pole was called yabitlol (sky or upper cord), the lower cross-pole ni'bitlol (earth or lower cord). The warp-sticks were made of shabitlol (sun rays), the upper strings, fastening the warp to the pole, of atsinltlish (lightning), the lower strings of shabitlajilchi (sun halo), the heald was a tsaghadindini isenil (rock crystal heald), the cord-heald stick was made of atsolaghal (sheet lightning), and was secured to the warp strands by means of nltsatlol billdestlo' (rain ray cords)." "The batten-stick was also made of shabitlajilchi (sun halo), while the beidzoi (comb) was of yolgai (white shell). Four spindles or distaffs were added to this, the disks of which were of cannel-coal, turquoise, abalone and white bead, respectively, and the spindle-sticks of atsinltlish (zigzag lightning), hajilgish (flash lightning), atsolaghal (sheet lightning), and nltsatlol (rain ray), respectively." "The dark, blue, yellow and white winds quickened the spindles (beedizi) according to their color, and enabled them to travel around the world."
Presumably, this legend accounts for the now vanishing tradition that weaving should be done with proper moderation. Overdone weaving (akeitlo) is ameliorated by a sacrifice offered to the spindle (beedizi). Its prayerstick (bik'et'an) consists of yucca, precious stones, bird and turkey feathers, tassels of grass (tlo'zol) and pollen, and forms part of the blessing rite (hozhoji). The hach'eyatqei, or ch'aeyatqei (prayer to the gods), is recited with the sacrifice. The custom withholding maidens from weaving before marriage, which was formerly observed, is also explained by the fear of overdoing weaving. Little or no attention, however, is paid to this tradition today. Pgs. 221, 223
For references to steps in weaving, coloring and dyeing of wool, setting up of loom, weaving, Implements, use of loom, designs and knitting refer to below Pgs. 223-256
Take, for instance, the famous art of Navajo weaving. If you ask a member of the tribe today when weaving was learned, she - for Navajo weavers are women - will tell you that they were taught by Spider Woman, "in the beginning." Yet the Navajo weaving technique, point for point, exactly duplicates that of the Pueblos, who have been weaving since A.D. 600. It is a complicated art, and Navajo girls today need years to learn it from a female relative, practicing every day. It is difficult to believe that the Navajos had worked out the loom, the spindle, and all the other equipment before this era of "learning by marriage." A blanket got in trade, a loom glimpsed on a visit to some pueblo would never have given them enough information. Then there is the problem of sex etiquette, for most Pueblo weavers today are men. Indian proprieties would surely forbid a Navajo woman to receive daily instruction from a strange man. But if she married him! It is possible to imagine the skilled weaver working in a Navajo home, trying to teach his sons who were still wedded to the life of hunting and fighting and, finally, imparting the art to his daughters. That this did not happen too early in Navajo history can be gathered from the fact that all known specimens of Navajo weaving are in wool. Therefore they were made after the Spaniards had come and after the Navajos had sheep. And sheep did not come to the Navajos in any quantity until after the Pueblo revolt. Pgs. 46-47
Even such everyday tasks as weaving must be done only in moderation. Many women will not weave more than about two hours at a stretch; in the old days unmarried girls were not allowed to weave for fear they would overdo, and there is a folk rite for curing the results of excess in this activity. Closely related is the fear of completely finishing anything: as a "spirit outlet," the weaver leaves a small slit between the threads. Pgs. 225-226
The Navajos believe in the Greek maxim "Nothing to excess " believing that overdoing a thing brings bad luck as an offense to the spirits. For the same reason nothing must be too perfect. A rug or basket design with a solid border must have a break in it or flaw to let the spirit of the maker, who has spent so much time and energy, escape. It is natural that things which bring one a livelihood should also have some restrictions. Many commercially minded weavers and other craftsmen have begun to ignore the taboos of their trades as being too restrictive. The large number of taboos relating to pottery making have been given credit for the decline of that craft, and none are listed here.
Don 't hit anyone with weaving tools - crack the tools.
They will be paralyzed in the future.
Don't spank your children with weaving tools.
They'll get sick.
Don't have a weaving comb with six points.
Your baby might have six fingers.
Don't go between the poles of the loom when a woman is weaving.
You won't grow - cause evil - won't get much for the rug.
Don't have the loom of the weaving stand too long.
It will tire and hurt you.
Don't eat or drink while you prepare the loom for the rug.
You'll get poor - won't get much for the rug.
Don't eat while you are weaving.
It will go slow - won't be any good.
Don't weave a Yei figure with one eye smaller or one leg shorter.
It will affect you that way in later life - affect your baby.
Don't leave a Yei figure in a rug unfinished.
The Yeis will get angry - bring bad luck.
This is interesting as a compromise taboo. Yeis are Holy People and as such are supposed to be represented only in the sandpaintings which are used and destroyed before sundown but never done in any permanent form. The famous hermaphroditic medicine man Hosteen Clah was one of the first to weave rug versions of the sandpaintings. In the Shiprock area Yei rugs and other pictorial tapestries became increasingly popular after WWII.
Don't be stubborn while weaving a rug.
It won't be worth much.
Don't throw weaving tools.
You 'II never finish the weaving.
Don't burn weaving tools.
The "Yeis" will get angry - bad luck.
Don't weave if you don't know a weaving song.
It won't be any good.
Don't leave tools in the loom when they are not in use.
You won't finish right away.
Don't weave when it is raining.
It will cause the loom to fall.
Don't stand by the loom when it is raining.
Lightning will strike you.
Don't pass things through the loom.
Anything you pass through will be lost -food, yarn, beads.
Don't bump into or move around a loom you are preparing for a rug.
It will be crooked - you won't be able to get it straight.
Don't leave carded wool too long.
When you start weaving it won't like it and you'll have trouble.
Don't make fun of your weaving.
It will get worse - you'll be poor.
Don't leave a loom outside.
It will collect bad things.
Don't cut off a loom once it is made.
You will have a short life.
Don't steal a rug - wool - weaving tools.
You'll never be lucky - always have bad luck.
Don't weave immoral things in a rug.
You'll be sterile.
Don't weave any taboo animal into a rug.
You will have all the bad luck associated with that animal.
Don 't hang rugs out in the sun.
The sun will take it as an insult.
Don't weave at all (boys).
It will affect the reproductive organs.
Don't weave on the north side of the hogan.
The rug won't be worth anything.
Don't drag your rugs on the ground.
Causes poverty.
Don't leave an unfinished rug outside at night.
It might be witched - you won't be able to finish it or sell it.
Don't put a rug over your horse's face.
It will go blind.
Pgs. 179-183
The principal occupation of the present-day Navajo is raising sheep, goats, and a few cattle. And yet four hundred years ago he had seen no sheep or horses. Under the treaty of 1886, each Navajo was given two sheep - about twelve thousand sheep altogether, since not more than sic thousand Navajos survived Bosque Redondo. Now a million sheep graze on the Navajo land. Since the introduction of sheep to this country by Coronado's men, Navajo women have been weaving rugs on crude hand looms - an art which was not entirely new to them, since they already wove with yucca and other vegetable fibers. Pg. 167
There is a saying that a rug is not good unless a weaver puts her "soul" in it. Like Changing Woman, the Holy Person whom the Navajo woman personifies, the weaver is an eternal creator who weaves both an individual product of her own mind and a more universal product from the mind of the tribe. Pgs. 10-11
