[Illustration: _Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani_ - Navaho]
_Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani_ - Navaho
_From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis_
Two of the most important characters in Navaho mythology are twin
miracle-performing sons of White-Shell Woman, Yolkai Estsan, chief
goddess. This plate pictures the leader of the two--the first conceived and
the first-born, whose father is the sun. His name means "Slayer of Alien
Gods," from _ana_, alien; _ye_, gods; _agani_, to kill. By him, with the
assistance of Tobadzischi{~COMBINING BREVE~}ni, his twin brother, were killed numerous bird,
animal, rock, and human monsters, typifying evils, who wantonly destroyed
human life.
When the Spirit People came upon this earth from below they made six
sacred mountains, four on the distant horizon at the cardinal points and
two in the centre, Choili and Tzilhnuhodiihli. On the eastern slope of
Choili, brought forth as the daughter of Earth and Sky, was born Yolkai
Estsan, White-Shell Woman. First Man took her to his home near
Tzilhnuhodihli, where she matured in twelve days into a beautiful woman
with supernatural powers. Later she lived in a home of her own at the foot
of this mountain. It was while there that she gave birth to twin boys who
became saviours of their people, slaying alien gods who were fast
depopulating the earth.
Yolkai Estsan would often lie on the eastern slope of the mountain as the
sun rose through the morning, and when the day grew warm would seek the
shade of jutting rocks from which trickled shining drops of water. Quite
unknown to herself she had conceived one day from the sunbeams and the
dripping water. When she became aware that she was to become a mother
Yolkai Estsan was made very happy, for she did not enjoy living alone.
Soon she found herself the proud possessor of twin boys. The first-born
and the stronger came to be known in his youth as Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani, Slayer of
Alien Gods; the other was always known as Tobadzischi{~COMBINING BREVE~}ni, Born From Water.
Their prenatal life covered a period of only twelve days, and maturity was
attained in thirty-two days after passing through eight changes, one of
which came every four days.
At that time the earth was infested with great giants, foreign gods, who
were rapidly destroying the people. Of these, Yeitso, Big God, as large as
a mountain, was the only one in human form. The others were Man-eating
Bird, Rolling Stone, that crushed all in its path, Tracking Bear, and
Antelope, who killed without mercy. Fearing lest some of these monsters
learn of the presence of her boys, Yolkai Estsan kept them hidden away on
the mountain side, but they chafed under confinement, so she made them
bows and arrows and let them play about, but admonished them not to stray
far from home. The boys promised to obey, but not long afterward, because
in reply to their questions their mother told them she did not know who
their father was, they became sulky and broke their promise, going off
toward the east. They would go and search for someone who knew. When on a
small knoll a long way from home they heard a whispered "Sh-h."
"Are you afraid, my younger brother?" asked Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani.
"No!" was the quick response.
Four times they heard the whisper, and then two of the Wind People
appeared. "We saw you travelling eastward," said they, "and came to
caution you. The land is cursed with alien gods who kill for pleasure;
beware of them! Why do you journey thus alone without your father?"
"Our father! Alas, we know nothing of him and are now starting on a search
to learn. Do you know who he is?" asked the boys.
"Yes, the Sun is your father; but if you think to find him you will have
to travel far eastward and cross the wide, wide waters."
Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani turned to his younger brother and said, "Sitsili, let us go."
The Sun was then overhead. Being in fact of a holy nature, the boys
covered distance rapidly and by mid-afternoon had passed well beyond the
limits of their homeland. There they came upon an old woman sitting beside
a ladder projecting from a hole. She asked them who they were and whither
they were going. They told her to the Sun, whose sons they were, but whom
they had never seen.
[Illustration: _Tobadzischi{~COMBINING BREVE~}ni_ - Navaho]
_Tobadzischi{~COMBINING BREVE~}ni_ - Navaho
_From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis_
This is Born From Water, the second of the twin miracle-performing sons of
Yolkai Estsan, the White-Shell Woman. His brother is Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani.
"I pity you, my grandchildren," said the old woman; "come in here and rest
a moment before going on." She started down the ladder and the boys
followed. Twelve ladders were descended before her home was reached. The
old woman was Spider Woman, the little grandmother who belonged to the
Holy Ones. Her home was well kept, clean and comfortable, and the boys
were glad to rest. Said she, "My grandchildren, your journey is long and
many trials will beset you before you reach the end. Take these life
feathers; they will help you; if difficulties befall you, use them," and
she gave to each two feathers plucked from a living eagle.
The boys took the feathers, thanked her, and resumed their journey. After
travelling a long way they came to a ridge of loose, yellow sand. It
afforded poor footing for an ascent, but the boys struggled to the top,
only to have the whole side of the ridge slide and carry them back. Three
times the bank gave way as they were about to reach its crest; on the
fourth trial they bethought themselves of the sacred feathers, and putting
them on their feet marched readily over.
They travelled unimpeded then for quite a long distance, in time coming to
four rows of tall, thorny reeds with spiked branches. The reeds grew far
enough apart to permit travellers to pass into them, but closed whenever
the unwary allowed himself to be caught, and he never escaped. The boys
marched boldly up to the reeds and started in, then darted back quickly.
The reeds closed instantly, but did not catch them. Then they put the life
feathers on their feet again and jumped over all four rows.
The next obstacle was a deep canon with precipitous walls. This, however,
was not a serious impediment, for the life feathers, as before, helped
them to cross it in one bound. By nightfall the boys had arrived at a
broad, beautiful meadow where lived the Wosakidi, or Grasshopper People,
who received them kindly, giving them food and beds for the night. On
being asked whither they were bound, the boys replied that they were
journeying to the home of the Sun, their father, whom they had never seen.
The Wosakidi cautioned the boys of dangers ahead, and as they were about
to depart in the morning gave them little balls of yellow sputum to put in
their mouths to prevent poisoning, should they find it necessary to eat or
smoke among hostile people, and two sacred wands of turquoise and white
shell. Two of the Wosakidi also accompanied them for a time as guides.
They had not been long on their way when they came to a place where the
trail ran between two high, smooth-faced bowlders. "These," said their
Wosakidi companions, "are the Bumping Rocks. If you step into that narrow
passageway between them they will crash together and kill you." The boys
started as if to enter, but fell back. The huge rocks came violently
together, but did no harm. The feint was made three times, and each time
the rocks crashed together and bounded back. The fourth time the boys
entered they placed their sacred wands of turquoise and white shell across
the gap above their heads and passed through, for these held the bowlders
apart. As they emerged on the opposite side they saw the Sun rising from
his eastern home and he was yet far away.
Soon a wide stretch of water was encountered; so far as they could see
there was nothing but water. Here again they used their life feathers and
were carried safely over. Four successive stretches of water and land were
crossed, and still a fifth sheet of water lay before them. Along its
shores paddled many varieties of animals. The boys looked out across the
deep and could discern away out in the centre a house of turquoise and
white shell, its roof glistening in the sunlight. Certain that it must be
the home of their father, they readjusted their life feathers to start
across, but found that they had lost control over them. They tried them
several times in different places, but to no avail. The thought of not
reaching their father's house when so near filled their hearts with bitter
disappointment. Seemingly there was naught that they could do, but they
sat and pondered.
[Illustration: _Hasche{~COMBINING BREVE~}zhini_ - Navaho]
_Hasche{~COMBINING BREVE~}zhini_ - Navaho
_From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis_
Black God, the God of Fire. An important deity of the Navaho, but
appearing infrequently in their mythology and ceremonies.
As they sat there in silence, Snipe Man, a little old fellow, came to them
and asked, "Where do you go, my grandchildren?"
"To the home of the Sun," the boys replied.
"Do you know anyone there?"
"Yes," said they, "the Sun is our father." Thereupon Snipe Man placed a
rainbow bridge across the water and told them to pass on, first warning
them against two large Bears, the Lightning, Snakes, and Wind, who guarded
the home of the Sun. They crossed over the rainbow bridge, which took them
almost to the door of the house, and there they were met by the Bears with
bristling coats. Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani spoke to them, saying, "I am the child of
Yolkai Estsan." They let him pass. Tobadzischi{~COMBINING BREVE~}ni uttered the same words
and passed on also. The same words took the boys past the Lightning, the
Snakes, and the Wind, and they entered the house, going through four
doorways before coming to the living-rooms in the interior.
There they found an elderly woman, radiantly beautiful, with two handsome
boys and girls, the like of whom they had never seen. They stood
transfixed as if in a dream until the voice of the beautiful woman, who
was the wife of the Sun, startled them, demanding to know how they dared
to enter a sacred place forbidden to all save the Digi{~COMBINING BREVE~}n.
Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani replied, saying, "This is the end of our journey. We came to
see our father, the Sun and this we are told is his home."
The wife raged with anger, making dire threats against her husband if what
the boys asserted were true, which she did not doubt since they had found
it possible to gain entrance to her home. Could it be that he was the
father of many of whom she knew nothing? She would find out. Surely he
must have smiled upon most ugly creatures if these two boys were his sons!
It was about time for the Sun to return. As his wife thought of what he
might do to the boys, her anger turned to compassion, and she bade them
wrap themselves in the clouds that hung on the wall, and hide. Ere long a
great rattle was heard outside, and a moment later the Sun came striding
in and hung up his glistening shield. "What strangers are here?" he asked.
There was no answer. Again he asked the question, repeating it a third
time and a fourth, waxing angry. Then his wife began to scold. She told
him that two boys of his, the ugliest creatures she had ever looked upon,
had come to see their father, and demanded to know what it meant. "Where
are they?" asked the Sun; but his wife did not reply to the question;
instead she kept on scolding. The Sun looked about, and noting a change in
the clouds that hung upon the western wall, took them down and unfolded
them, until he discovered Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani and Tobadzischi{~COMBINING BREVE~}ni.
The Sun became angrier than ever and determined to have done with the
trouble at once by killing the boys. From the eastern wall of the room
projected numerous sharp spikes of white shell. There were turquoise
spikes in the southern, abalone in the western, and jet in the northern
walls. The boys were each hurled against the first of these, but dropped
to the floor unharmed; then against the second, the third, and the fourth,
with a like result. On the floor near the walls sat four large mortars
with heavy pestles in them. The boys were placed in each of these
successively and pounded, as their father thought, into fragments, but out
of this also they came unharmed.
The Sun then waved them to a seat and brought forth four large pipes, two
of abalone and two of lignite. He handed two of each to the boys, saying,
"I wish you to have a good smoke."
"Beware!" whispered the Wind. "His tobacco is poisoned!"
The boys deftly sought the little balls they had received from the
Wosakidi, slipped them into their mouths, and began puffing. When the
first pipefuls were finished they laid the pipes on the floor and picked
up the other two, showing no sign of distress.
Seeing that the poison tobacco was having no effect on the youthful
strangers, the Sun sent for Haschogan and Hasche{~COMBINING BREVE~}zhini, the House God and
the Fire God, to come and build a sweat-house and heat large stones as hot
as they could be made, so that they might burst into fragments and fill
the sweat-lodge with scalding steam when water was poured upon them. By
the time the boys had finished their second pipes, which proved as
harmless as the others, the little house and heated stones were ready.
Haschogan made the lodge of stone and covered it with earth, erecting
double walls on the northern side with a space between, into which he
provided an entrance from the inside, concealed with a flat stone slab.
[Illustration: _Ga__n__ askidi_ - Navaho]
_Ga__n__askidi_ - Navaho
_From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis_
This is the personation of the Navaho God of Harvest. The name signifies
"Hunchback." He is represented always in a stooping posture, carrying a
staff to aid him in supporting a burden of corn, bean, pumpkin, and other
seeds which he carries upon his back. The personation is conventional,
rather than literal, in intent.
The Sun looked into the lodge, saw that it was tight, and told the boys to
enter. As they passed in Haschogan whispered, "Get behind the stone slab
on the north!" Then Hasche{~COMBINING BREVE~}zhini rolled in several red-hot bowlders and
closed the entrance tightly with heavy cloud blankets. White, blue,
yellow, and black water was then thrown in, and there followed the sounds
of the sizzling steam and bursting stones; fragments could be heard
striking the walls on all sides. After a short while the boys heard the
voice of their father call out from the east, "Are you warm?" They gave no
response. He called again from the south, but received no answer; then
from the west; all was silence. "Surely I am rid of them at last," thought
he. He called once again from the north, and to his great surprise
received a reply. The sweat-house had cooled enough to permit the boys to
emerge from their hiding-place, so their cheerful voices came from near
the doorway.
"These must be my sons," thought the Sun, and throwing back the blankets
from the door he embraced them. "My children, whence came you and how did
you get here?"
The story of their home at Tzilhnuhodihli, of their long journey across
land and water, and of the many obstacles encountered, was soon told. Then
the Sun directed his wife and daughters to remould the boys and make them
as handsome as themselves. When that was done all entered the house, where
on the walls hung many beautiful strings of turquoise, abalone,
white-shell, and jet beads, and plates of armor. These were offered to the
boys, but they refused them, saying they cared not for jewels, preferring
instead to have lightning arrows, strong bows, and heavy knives with which
to battle with the giant alien gods who were destroying people in all
parts of the earth. The Sun gave them the weapons desired, and when it
came time to resume his journey across the sky he took his newfound sons
with him.
Near Tsotzilh, the sacred mountain of the south, lived Yeitso, the Big
God. The boys wished to try their skill on him first, so their father let
them down from the sky upon that mountain. The giant was drinking from a
lake and saw the reflection of his new enemies as they dropped upon the
mountain. He straightened up quickly and sent an arrow aimed for the body
of Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani, but the boy dodged quickly and responded with a bolt of
lightning which stripped the armor from Yeitso's feet. Three more shafts
of lightning struck the armor from the hips, body, and head of this
fiercest of giants, exposing his vitals to the attack of the boys, who
filled him with arrows, killing him instantly. The Big God's blood began
to flow down a canon. Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani drew a line across its path with his
stone knife, and the blood ceased flowing onward, rising in a wall across
the canon's head, over which now plunges a beautiful waterfall.
The brothers then set off for home, taking the heart of their slain enemy
with them. Arriving at Tzilhnuhodihli they found their mother in tears,
for she was certain that her boys had been killed and devoured by
monsters. Though unchanged in size, so altered were they in appearance
that Yolkai Estsan could not believe them to be her own boys whom she was
mourning as dead, but the story of their adventures from the time they had
left home was soon told, and all rejoiced.
In the days following, Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani and Tobadzischi{~COMBINING BREVE~}ni made incursions
into the lands of the alien gods, killing them all and freeing the earth
from the dread and curse of these man-killing monsters. The first to meet
destruction at their hands when they took up their deliberate search for
giants was Deilget, Giant Antelope, who had great blue horns upon which he
tossed people to death. The next accosted was Tse Nahali, the preying
Mountain Eagle, and soon after they sought and killed Tsetahidzilhtuhli,
Among The Rocks He Kicks Them Down The Mountain. Then Binayeagani, Who
Kills With His Eyes, met death, followed shortly after by Tse{~COMBINING BREVE~}agai,
Rolling Bowlder, and Sush Nalkai, Tracking Bear, the last to lose their
lives at the hands of the youthful warriors, Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nezgani and
Tobadzischini, who have since remained the War Gods of the Navaho.