Unless it is cultivated, it cannot survive. We went Corn is, first of all, diyinii Corn is, of course, mirage and earth rising haze. NCC Press. Therefore, one may gage the healthiness and wealth of any given unit of Dine by the appearance of their sheep. The Navajo. When Changing Woman placed an ear of One of the most important occurrences is when both the bride and groom eat corn mush (or meal) from the wedding basket, thereby signifying that they are joined together. in Witherspoon 1975: 17).7 Navajo Kinship and Marriage. Witherspoon says, "the common interest in, and use of, the sheep herd is thus a major factor in uniting and integrating the attitudes and behavior of the individual members of the unit" (1975: 89). Hunahpu. Language and Art in the Navajo Universe. singing that night. Combining their sheep into one herd is the "most important cooperative enterprise of the unit" (72). Therefore, the Sun originally tried to deny and denounce his children, but after they made him proud by withstanding his inhuman trials, he gave them assistance. Aronilth, Wilson, 1991. "We have started out Dine bahane'. The alkaan's removal from the pit is symbolic of many things: birth, the growth of vegetation, and the emergence of the Holy People into the present world (Lincoln 1981:32). None of these variations seems to influence the real substance of the story dramatically. her hands and then) on the white shell, the turquoise, There are two types of hogans: a female hogan with a round top, used for living and ceremonies, and a male hogan with a forked top, which is used for a sweat house (Beck 1992: 287). abalone, and jet (jewels) while they followed her 2 For a classification of ceremonies, consult Reichard 1950: 314-337. She again rubbed skin from her breast, this time the right one, with her left hand. Return to The Sacred Mountains as a Hogan. White Shell Women did the same thing in a shallow pool, letting the water flow around her. and corn pollen are also the food of diyinni, and these Lincoln asserts, "[The cake] contains the sun and earth; male and female; the Holy People, first of all beings; corn, and by extension vegetation; the cardinal points; zenith and nadar" (32). on them "will be called amniotic fluid,"but her hands and then) on the white shell, the turquoise, It is important to remember that no one is forced to include his or her sheep in the flock--it is done on an independent voluntary basis, which reinforces the significance of the inclusion. The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy. Furthermore, First Man's "medicine" began in the underworld and provided for the genesis upwards into the different worlds (69). said First Man. H-zho, the state of being in beauty and balance, exists among related things; it is impossible to have h-zh- between "unrelated entities" (Witherspoon 1977: 88). The guests and betrothed sit in prescribed places in the hogan, and a number of rituals are performed. University of Chicago Press. Woman and her Blessingway gave it to us. Cornmeal and pollen are prominently Even after this incident, however, the Sun could never really be close to his children. (our father). Navajo People Culture and History University of New Mexico Press. This relationship is partially defined by the father's distance from and assistance to his children, considerations manifested first in the Sun's first encounters with his children, the twins. The rite, Kluckhohn, Clyde and Dorothea Leighton, 1974. Gill, Sam D. By tracing the Kinaald, the Navajo wedding ceremony, and the birth of a new baby, a larger picture will emerge of exactly what shim in Navajo implies. After the singing, the cake is unearthed and a first piece removed from the east direction. First Man's bundle is also said to contain soil from each of the four sacred mountains ringing the reservation. One myth of Changing Woman's infancy insists that she was fed corn pollen to have the "power of regeneration" (17). We went K'e terms, referring to "forms of social harmony and order that are based upon affective action," are used in Dine society to address everyone (88). by which they had life in them, which regulated the This relationship is partially defined by the father's distance from and assistance to his children, considerations manifested first in the Sun's first encounters with his children, the twins. As such, it is used to animate all "natural phenomena," such as the seasons and the rain (80). While on one hand it similarly widens the circle of a Dine's obligations, that individual will be able to call upon the same relatives when needed. Family and friends and wise mentors must lead any warrior down the good path toward victory. The same language used to characterize her is used to describe other relationships and objects as well, such as the sacred mountain bundle. Therefore, the Navajo social structure is modeled on this view of the cosmos. In some myths, Changing Woman is said to be born of the bundle (Farella 1984: 87). (our father). Haile provides one myth in which First Man is dismayed at his forgetfulness when he leaves his medicine in a lower world: University of Chicago Press. Changing Woman created the original clans by rubbing off pieces of her epidermis in a symbolic manner. A05 Listening Woman (02-13) p. 218, A06 People of Darkness (03-06) p. 54 If the flock is well-fed and cared for, then the social dynamics of the unit will similarly be harmonious and productive. used throughout, and drypaintings of these materials and pulverized flower blossoms are sometimes prepared Earth is My Mother, Sky Is My Father;: Space, Time, and Astronomy in Navajo Sandpainting. He denied any paternity and put the twins through a rigorous cycle of tests. Changing Woman's twin sons had been born for the purpose of ridding the earth of the Monsters who were killing all the people. What now? Dine children address their father as an in-law, or shaadaani. The Savage Mind. The Kinaald, or girl's puberty ceremony, is performed when a girl experiences her first menstruation, and culminates in a second gathering after her second period.5 Mythically, the Kinaald is modeled after Changing Woman's own puberty rite, which has been already described. Changing Woman represents a synthesis of sa'ah naaghaii, which translates to "the capacity of all life and living things to achieve immortality through reproduction," and bik'eh h-zh-, which "represents the peace and harmony essential to the perpetuation of all living species" (Witherspoon 1977:18). She walked slowly towards them, leaning on her cane. When the twins Monster Slayer and Born for Water needed help to say the monsters, they approached the Sun, their father, and asked for his aid. Witherspoon, Gary, 1975. Therefore, one may gage the healthiness and wealth of any given unit of Dine by the appearance of their sheep. In this section their symbolic implications will be explored in the larger framework of Dine subsistence and economics. To an individual it is his "medicine," the source Contained in the bundle are objects of value on the Earth's surface. In earlier days, clans also provided social control, but Kluckhohn and Leighton report that this has changed with the imposition of Anglo "law and order" (112). Witherspoon asserts that the mother-child bond is the closest in Navajo kinship: "Mother and child are bound together by the most intense, the most diffuse, and the most enduring solidarity to be found in Navajo culture" (1975: 15). Sun's presence is implied, since he is believed to The Kinaald puts the Navajo girl on the path to adulthood, which culminates in the wedding ceremony. The Sacred Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life. None of these variations seems to influence the real substance of the story dramatically. The clan system is vital to Dine kinship and social system; it not only mandates marriage possibilities, but also extends the circle of a Dine individual to include kin from several different approaches. He says that the bundle, which began with First Man before emergence, provides "temporal and spatial continuity for the Navajo" (Farella 1984: 69). Therefore, the Sun originally tried to deny and denounce his children, but after they made him proud by withstanding his inhuman trials, he gave them assistance. Farella asserts the following about corn's importance: The man owns what his family gives him, and what he had saved for himself. Witherspoon says, "at best, a father is a helpful friend, a good teacher, and a strong disciplinarian; at worst, he is a potential enemy, an undependable friend, or an unreliable ally" (1975: 34). Now on the top of Gobernador Knob, I am here. rest periodically on mountain tops, which figure with their eyes whenever she moved her hands 1). Witherspoon says, "at best, a father is a helpful friend, a good teacher, and a strong disciplinarian; at worst, he is a potential enemy, an undependable friend, or an unreliable ally" (1975: 34). 7 Please see Witherspoon's chart on color in Appendix A. Griffin-Pierce, Trudy, 1992. After the bundle is retrieved from the watery world, First Man reveals the items to the other diyinii: "When he opened it to show them there was a perfectly kernelled white shell corn ear, a perfectly kernelled turquoise ear of corn, a perfectly kernelled abalone ear of corn, and a perfectly kernelled jet ear of corn" (Wyman qtd. Man, of course, on the mountain where the fogs meet, 'the corn On the mountainside, Changing Woman and her sister were lonely and felt strange attractions toward different things. "It is in the corporate enterprise of the sheep herd that the Navajo child learns the meaning, necessity, and nature of group or communal life, and it is this experience, more than any other, that forms his social personality" (1975:73). In Dine culture, sharing food is a symbol of solidarity between relations and friends (Witherspoon 1975: 88). According to Zolbrod, she made the heads of the original six clans. NCC Press. The corn-husk cross on top of the cake is significant as well, for it provides "sacred orientation." has the dignity of great simplicity. Hogans are characterized by a rich tradition of symbolism. According to Zolbrod, she made the heads of the original six clans. In Dine culture, sharing food is a symbol of solidarity between relations and friends (Witherspoon 1975: 88). The Blessingway ceremony performed after the child's birth is also performed on several other occasions, such as the departure or return of family members after leaving the reservation for an extended amount of time, during a girl's Kinaald and a woman's wedding (Kluckhohn 1946: 212). After the bundle is retrieved from the watery world, First Man reveals the items to the other diyinii: "When he opened it to show them there was a perfectly kernelled white shell corn ear, a perfectly kernelled turquoise ear of corn, a perfectly kernelled abalone ear of corn, and a perfectly kernelled jet ear of corn" (Wyman qtd. There are over sixty clans today (Kluckhohn 1946: 111). Changing Woman is considered to have made the first sheep: Kluckhohn and Leighton report that there are "exceedingly few violations of these prohibitions," for "Navahos treat incest of this sort and witchcraft as the most repulsive of crimes" (1946:112). This reveals that she is beyond the sphere of maternal influence, and permeates disparate realms of the Dine culture. At the metaphysical level, Changing Woman is the alleged product of the union between Sa'ah Naaghaii (First Boy) who represents thought, and Bik'eh H-zh- (First Girl) who represents speech (Witherspoon 1977: 17). God, the yellow corn giving birth to another deity.' This solidarity is formed from the mother's role as provider and sustainer for her child. We went The majority of the ceremony takes place in the hogan belonging to the girl's family, which through the course of mythically significant chanting comes to symbolize the First Hogan of First Man and First Woman and the guests who attend the ceremony become the Holy People.6 Following this, the initiate is dressed in ceremonial garb resembling that which Changing Woman allegedly wore: a "special sash" and jewelry of turquoise and white shell. After dancing on the tops of these mountains, she sits down and rubs an "outer layer of skin from under her left arm with her right hand" (Zolbrod 1984: 313). Child-of-the-water is the parent of all the waters. Later he visits them, and upon learning that they retained his gift, he says, "That is good, for corn is your symbol of fertility and life" (Reichard 1950: 23). (Reichard 1950: 29) For example, Changing Woman gives protection from evil beings; human mothers provide affection and nurturing; mountain soil bundles give protection from danger; sheep herding metaphorically gives security from starvation and poverty, and the corn field stands for the fecundity of motherhood (1977:94). away without the thing, which had made things firm, A01 People of Darkness (03-06) p. 126. She is at the top of the Dine pantheon as the deity most likely to help individuals in need. their meanings provide the major conceptual framework The traditional Navajo dwelling is called a hogan, which means "home" (Beck 1992: 284). Another point in Lincoln's text explains Changing Woman's conflation with corn and reproduction: "She called the people of the clans her children and promised them corn of all colors and plant seed; so now when corn doesn't grow and ripen, women, too, will not give birth, for all seeds and corn originate with White Shell Woman" (Lincoln 1981: 25), Metaphorical Implications: Earth is My Mother, Sky Is My Father;: Space, Time, and Astronomy in Navajo Sandpainting. Combining their sheep into one herd is the "most important cooperative enterprise of the unit" (72). Her Kinaald, or puberty ceremony, is common for young girls to emulate upon their first menses, and her gentle benevolence is held to be the example for all women to strive towards. Return to The Sacred Mountains as a Hogan in Witherspoon 1975: 17).7 University of New Mexico Press. Sa'ah naaghaii, which translates to "the capacity of all life and living things to achieve immortality through reproduction," and bik'eh h-zh-, which "represents the peace and harmony essential to the perpetuation of all living species" (Witherspoon 1977:18) are at the heart of Dine ideology and Changing Woman is the deific substantiation of this ideology, which gets renewed with every season and every birth. Mortals, called Earth Surface People, emerged, and First Man and First Woman were formed from the ears of white and yellow corn. University of Chicago Press. When Changing Woman placed an ear of On the reservation, certain places are open to everyone, like timber or watering areas. the amniotic fluidsoaked into the soil right there. Throughout all these myths, Changing Woman is identified with both creation and protection. University of Michigan Press. 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