...Navajo Creation Myth (Gray Group): The repetition of the word “all” in reference to the spirit beings and the mention of them being “one person” indicates a higher message of unity or togetherness; however, this is accompanied by undertones of a need for participation and for everyone to fulfill their role. The text indicates that the only way the spirit beings can be “all together” is if they exist in such a way that serves their set purpose, no matter how trivial it may be. Another higher message is that of balance, that is to say that good is the opposite of evil and light of darkness. The last section of the gray world has a yin and yang feel to it with the baskets of holy jewels placed alongside the evil diseases, and the First Man and his Companions beings evil but the others not. Looking at the story as a whole, it feels like a realm of separation: there is the divide between male and female, the perception of items or services as valuable or invaluable, and the manifestation of triumph, defeat, absolution, and vengeance. The existence of the creatures is governed by opposite conditions, even within themselves, especially the coyote, who is simultaneously good and evil and cunning yet foolish. Opposites clash but ultimately exist in harmony....
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...The first beings grew tired of this and decided to leave the First World. At the center of the First World, Begochiddy planted an enormous seed which grew into a tall, hollow reed. He then gathered all his creations and crawled inside. The reed grew out of the First World and into the Second. The second world was light and blue. When the first beings emerged from the reed they found a nicer place to live, but already occupied by the Cat People. The First Beings and the Cat People fought for years and years. But in the end they couldn’t overcome their differences. Again Begochiddy collected his Beings and returned to the hollow reed. The reed grew on and on into the Third World. The Third World was yellow; beautiful and full of light. The First Beings rejoiced and built camps and had many children. Begochiddy created rivers and lakes and mountains and all kinds of animals and birds. The First Men and Women lived there happily. One day as Coyote was walking along the river he found a baby, the child of the Water Monster of the Third World. Coyote stole the baby and hid him under his blanket. When the Water Monster discovered his son was missing, he was furious. He sent vast rainstorms from all directions and flooded the Third World. Begochiddy and his creations ran back to the hollow reed to escape, and forced Coyote to give back the baby. But it was too late. The Third World was entirely flooded. Finally the waters rose to the base of the Fourth World. Locust...
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...Navajo Culture The Navajos came into the Southwest sometime around the 16th century, they were a small group of hunting and gathering people. We know them as Navajo but they would call themselves Diné, which stood for “The People”. “The Navajo are Athapaskan speakers whose language is similar to that of the Apache” (Arizona Board of Regents). They have a broad culture and were known for the ability to survive and adapt really well, especially to local cultures. There primary mode of subsistence is Pastoralists, they utilize farming as a key mode for living. Looking ahead we will gain in depth more knowledge and understanding about the Navajo culture; what were their beliefs, kinship, social organization and more. The word Navajo comes from the phrase Tewa Navahu, meaning highly cultivated lands (Navajo Indians 2013). In the 1500s they originally started up their tribe and are considered to be one of the largest tribe of all the Native American Indians. There is two areas that are highly populated with the Navajo, New Mexico and Arizona. Navajo are very simple when it comes to their way of living which is much different than other cultures. Their homes are made of sticks, mud and tree bark, it’s much like a shelter rather than a home. These homes were known as hogans, and their doors faced the east to be sure the sun would shine in (Navajo Indians 2013). In order to get things such as meat and different forms of materials for making weapons and tools they would trade...
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...Research Paper Navajo ways of Knowing by Herbert John Benally Dominique Davenport College of New Rochelle Professor Davis Herbert John Benally lived in Sweetwater, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. While many members of his family have sought to preserve native traditions by following the path of medicine man, he has attempting to achieve the same goal through teaching and curriculum reform. Currently, he teaches courses in Navajo history, culture, and philosophy. In this essay Benally discusses the intimate connection between spirituality and knowledge in Navajo thinking. He describes four types of knowledge found in traditional Navajo thinking, “That which gives direction to life,” “sustenance,” “the gathering of family,” and “rest, contentment and respect for creation”. He explained why each of these types of sacred knowledge was associated with each part of the day. Benally argues that to achieve a harmonious life, we must focus on these four areas of knowledge and maintain a balance among them. In doing so, we will not only achieve harmony within the family and the human community, but we will also attain harmony between the human and the natural world. On other hand, failure to recognize the importance of each type of knowledge or to maintain a balance between them will produce dire consequences. As Benally says, “When we are not taught in this way, drawing on all four areas of knowledge, we become spiritually, emotionally, socially, and environmentally impoverished...
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...The Navajo of the American Southwest Timothy Barker The Navajo of the American Southwest “The one called farm is your mother. Those that are called your livestock are your mother. Those called sheep are your mother. Sheep are life.” Begishe and Werner (as cited in Whitherspoon, 1970) The Navajo of the American Southwest are the largest recognized tribe in the United States. The Diné (meaning “the People”), as they prefer to be called, were originally nomadic hunter and gathers. They migrated from the pacific northwest of North America about 700 years ago. After encountering the Spanish in the 16th century, who introduced the Navajo to sheep, they soon became pastoral and started growing small crops. In the following, their social organization, kinship system, beliefs, and healing practices will be briefly examined to gain a better insight into their unique culture. To the Navajo all society and culture in inexorable tied to its world of mythology. In the mind of the Navajo there are of the Fourth World of creation. In the Fourth World, First Man and First Woman took a turquoise figure of a baby girl and laid it between two perfect buckskin blankets. While they sand the sacred songs, Wind entered between the buckskins. Afterwards First Man removed the top buckskin revealing a baby girl who was to be called Changing Woman. She was called this because she reached puberty in 12 days. From the union of Changing Woman and the Sun are all the Earth Surface People, the Navajo...
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...Enhancing the Awareness of Navajo Indians Michele Amoroso, Holly Bulian, and Tara Smallidge Loyola University Enhancing the Awareness of Navajo Indians Native Americans are composed of numerous, distant tribes, bands and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact, sovereign nations. Once a self-governing, self-sufficient people, America Indians were forced to give up their homes and their land, and to subordinate themselves to an alien culture. From the origin of their tribes in the 1500’s to the early nineteenth century, American Indians have experienced oppression. Today, American Indians are more numerous than they have been for several centuries (Andersen & Collins, 2012). Today, Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States. Since the late 1960’s, political participation has led to an expansion of efforts to teach and preserve Indigenous languages for younger generations and to establish a greater cultural infrastructure. This paper will discuss the specific tribe of the Navajo Indians to create awareness of their history, oppression, and current state in today’s world. The word Navajo comes from the phrase “Tewa Navahu”, meaning highly cultivated lands. The Indians largely reside in New Mexico and Arizona. The Navajo Indians originally began their tribes in the 1500’s. They traded maize, or corn crops, and woven cotton items such as blankets for things such as bison meat, and various materials, which were made for tools and weapons. Homes...
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...This article was downloaded by: [University of Texas El Paso] On: 09 August 2011, At: 13:50 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Bilingual Research Journal Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ubrj20 Language Learning in the American Southwestern Borderlands: Navajo Speakers and Their Transition to Academic English Literacy Gloria Dyc a a University of New Mexico-Gallup Available online: 22 Nov 2010 To cite this article: Gloria Dyc (2002): Language Learning in the American Southwestern Borderlands: Navajo Speakers and Their Transition to Academic English Literacy, Bilingual Research Journal, 26:3, 611-630 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2002.10162581 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently...
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...Daniel Hutton Ashford University ANT: 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Professor Chad Goings According to the history of the Navajo Tribe, the Holy People lived in the underworld and helped by guiding the First Man and First Woman to earth (McCoy 1988). The Holy People are said to be attracted to songs, dances, and chants during the ceremony along with the creation of Sand painting. The Sand painting is used in the healing process of the ceremony to draw a picture that tells a story of the Holy People. The Navajo culture have amazed so many people to how beautifully constructed the rituals are performed. Although, the ritual has been passed on from generation to generation, how the Navajo rituals are ways of communication has been questioned by so many. Many believe that it way for the patient to come into “…harmony… ” with the universe (Klukhohn and Leighton 1962). The hypothesis for the question was presented based on exploration of the culture done by researchers; concluding that, the Navajo rituals are a way of communication to their ancestors/the Holy People, who are worshiped in return of good lucks for the Navajo Community. It is believed that through this ceremony, people are cleansed from bad spirit and good luck is brought upon the family. For example, the rituals are performed on pregnant women, young men going to the army, and sick people. Naturally speaking, the most intriguing part of their belief is the ceremonial concepts of healing people...
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...Draft on Navajo Culture David Cable ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Prof. Justine Lemos July 19, 2012 I) Introduction: The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American group in America today, and is the biggest Indian reservation in the United States. Situated in the northeastern part of Arizona and in the northwestern part of New Mexico, it is comprised of nearly ten million acres, or roughly fifteen thousand square miles. In this research paper the author will discuss at least three aspects of the Navajo culture that will include the kinship that the Navajo have with each other, the social structure within Navajo society, the economic organization that sustains the culture and their beliefs and values that these people share, including some of their rituals and ceremonies. In addition, the author will conclude with some facts about life on the reservation today and how tourism has become part of the Navajo culture. II) Body: The Navajo (or Dine People) as they prefer to be called, are a pastoral, semi-nomadic people who live in one of the most arid and barren lands of the Great American Deserts in the Southwest. A) Kinship: The Navajo people have a kinship that follows the lineage of women, and unlike most Pastoral societies which are patrilineal / patrilocal, the Navajo are one of a handful of societies that are matrilineal / matrilocal. This is because the central symbol of their social organization is motherhood, in which the Navajo find a...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Kelly Holliday University of Phoenix HUM/105 Cecelia Weber November 5, 2013 Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures The Inca and Navajo myths represent a world on earth. On earth the elements of sun, moon, water, fire, trees, and animals are all represented within the Inca and Navajo worlds. The creator for the Navajo world is the sun as were the Incan world creator is a derivative of the sun. Each creator provides a world for its people. This is the main concept for each creator, but this process is done in very different ways. The creators are perceived to be male in both worlds. It does not appear women play an important role unless given leadership from the creator. The Incan creator, named Pachacamac, created humans as to where the Navajo creation myth already had the first beings in the world. The Navajo world consisted of the first beings, which they named the first men, first women, salt women, fire god, coyote, and Begochiddy. Navajo’s Begochiddy, who is also the Child of the Sun, is the creator of all elements and other worlds for the first beings. Pachacamac, the creator for the Incas, was lonely at night so he created stars, planets, and the moon. Pachacamac created such a beautiful moon, he then falls in love and marries his moon. The significance of gender is the ability to the produce life to other beings and elements. He goes on to create mankind out of stone. The mankind he creates is pitiful and unable to care for...
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...Taressa Toto October 3, 2016 Ela III - Period 4 Origin Myths Essay “When Grizzlies Walked Upright” and “The Navajo Origin Legend” show similarities, but also many differences throughout their stories. Both tell you their different aspects as to what they believe happened at the time of the creation. The symbol of wind also plays a big part when telling about the main ideas. What the two find important in culture and humanity is their biggest difference. “When Grizzlies Walked Upright” and “The Navajo Origin Legend” are able to be compared because they are all about the first creation of humans. In “When Grizzlies Walked Upright,” on page 25 you read the quote “When she became a young woman, her and the oldest grizzly bear were married. In...
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...The poems in Luci Tapahonso's A Radiant Curve inhabit a world defined by a fusion of the history of colonization with traditional Navajo stories of creation. The poem “In 1864” remembers the Long Walk in the course of a car trip that apparently retraces part of the ancestors’ journey into exile. Published in 1993 with Tapahonso's collection Sáanii Dahataat: The Women Are Singing, the poem claims a terrible piece of Navajo history in order to remember and mourn the people’s suffering. “In 1864” continues and responds to the oral tradition, and does so in ways that are both structurally and thematicly advances the decolonization imperitive. By retelling the story to a new generation, it confirms Navajo continuance and thus constitutes as an...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Carolyn Scott HUM/105 April 28, 2014 Kerry Jones Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures For the assignment this week, I’ve chosen the Hawaiian creation myth and the Navajo creation myth. In the Hawaiian myth, there was only endless darkness with 2 beings, Kumulipo and Po’ele, they created the creatures that live in the pure darkness. They also gave birth to 2 new beings, who created the almost darkness creatures. They gave birth to two more beings who gave birth to two more until the final 5th couple was born. As each couple created animals and plants, the world began to lighten slowly. Soon the first man and first woman were created and they gave birth to more humans. As they were created right before dawn, their skin was very dark. As they had more generations of children, the children became lighter and lighter until they became the color they are now ("The Hawaiian Creation", 2015). In the Navajo myth, there are 4 worlds. There were 6 beings that lived in this dark and small place. As they grew tired of the darkness, they left that world and went to the 2nd world. They lived peacefully in the 2nd world until they were banished and left for the 3rd world. This was the place where the Dine were born and learned how to pray and were taught many rituals. They finally made it to the 4th world where First Man and First Woman built the first hogan and the Wind God carried their people all over. While both creation myths have a higher...
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...cultures cosmic creation 105 6/29/2015 Dr. AMBRONITA DOUZART The myths within different cultures cosmic creation With the stories of the myths creations, they have told to generation-to-generation. To give a clear understand, of the world how it started. Also created to what it has become now. It explains the reasons of how the human being created, in came to function on in the world. With these myths different cultures, have their stories to tell of myths as such. The two creations myths that I will be discussing is the Navajo. The Inca, they are signifying as the world that is on the earth with the moon. The sun elements of animals, fire, trees, water all symbolize the world Navajo also the Inca. With the Incan, believe the sun created the world, also who created the world. For the Navajo the sun, just like it created for the Inca. With both of these creators, they all made worlds for the people within their society the main, reason with both the Inca Navajo creators. For the creators of both of these societies, they have different methods of making the world. Also within Both the Inca and the Navajo, the creators gender is a man, not women. For the reason, women were not the symbol, of power and valued, as men would be in these cultures as creators. With the Navajo society world The Pachacamer is the Inca maker, of the maker of people. Although the myths of the Navajo maker has already started creating people, in the world as the Navajo myths describe...
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...told about the development of that particular culture. For example how beings first got on earth, how they were created, how the earth and sky were created and even how the animals were created. The Navajo culture resides over the areas of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The Egyptian culture resides in Egypt which is located in northeastern Africa. The Navajo and Egyptian creation myths share some similarities and also some differences. Both of these creation myths go into to extensive detail about the cycle of creation. The creator for the Egyptian Atum was neither male nor female. The significance of his gender was that he could join himself to produce his own children. Atum joined with his shadow to give birth to his son Shu whom he had spit up and made the god of air. Atum also gave birth to a daughter Tefnut whom he had vomited up and made god of mist and moisture. While the Egyptian creation myth goes into detail about how the creator Atum created his children the Navajo creation myth does not. It is told that when the Navajos came out of the first world they consisted of six beings. Begochiddy child of the sun was the creator of all things and his beings were first man, first woman, salt woman, fire god, and coyote. The development of these two cultures differs because they Navajo went through many different underworlds before finding stability while the Egyptian did not. Atums children Shu and Tefnut produced Geb the earth and nut the sky. Geb and Nut were joined together...
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