THE
STORY OF NAVAJO CREATION It is said that the Creator
had a thought that was Light in the East. The thought went South and created Water,
West and created Air, then North and created Pollen from emptiness. Pollen became
the Earth.  Light,
air, water, and earth is part of everything in nature which is interconnected
and equal. When all of the elements mixed together, the first thing created were
the Holy People. The Holy People were responsible for teaching what is right and
wrong. When the Holy people were given the original laws, they created the earth
and human beings.
The Creator and the Holy People created
the Natural World including humans, birds, and all animals. This Natural World
was put in Hozjo (BALANCE). Hozjo (harmony, balance, and peace) only occurs when
there is interconnectedness. All members of the Natural World depend on each other.
The people and all forms of life originated in the underworld
and were brought to the surface by supernatural beings. The place of emergence
was Xajiinai, a hole in the La Plata mountains of SW Colorado. The Holy People
have the power to hurt or help, and centuries ago taught Dine (The People) how
to live in harmony with Mother Earth, Father Sky and the other elements: man,
animals, plants, insects. The Dine believe that when the ceremonies cease the
world will cease. NAVAJO NATIONNavajo
Nation refers to a sovereign Native American Nation established by Dine. Dine
means "The People". The Navajo Indian Reservation
covers about 27,000 square miles of land, occupying all of northeastern Arizona,
and extending into Utah and New Mexico. It is the largest land area assigned primarily
to a Native American jurisdiction within the United States. 
In
2000, there were 298,215 Navajos living in the United States; 173,987 living in
the Navajo Nation. Members of the nation are often known as
Navajo, also spelled Navaho. Navajo call themselves Diné, a term from the
Navajo language that means "The People". The Navajo are closely related
to the Apache, and the Navajo language along with other Apache languages make
up the Southern Athabaskan language family. The US Congress
established a Hopi reservation within the Navajo Nation's reservation at a site
where where Hopi history predates that of Diné. NAVAJO
NATION GEOGRAPHY
The
Navajo Nation stretches from the Four Corners Monument landmark across the Colorado
Plateau into Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. Located within the Navajo Nation are
Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Monument Valley, Rainbow Bridge National Monument,
the Hopi Indian Reservation, and the Shiprock landmark. The seat of government
is located at the town of Window Rock, Arizona. FOURThe
number four is sacred to many Native Americans. There are four sacred mountains,
four directions, four colors, four worlds, four sacred plants, and four times
of day. Time and space are defined by the four cardinal light
phenomena: Dawn (white, east); Midday (blue, south); Evening Twilight (yellow,
west), and Night (black, north). The four cardinal light phenomena
are results of the sun's apparent daily motion. These phenomena are a composite
of the four directions, the four times of day, and the four sacred colors linked
with them. A Navajo thinks of the east, Dawn, and the white
color of the sky at the beginning of the day. This is the thinking direction. At
midday, the association is with the south which is usually "horizon blue"
or "blue haze" in reference to the band of relatively darker blue that
lies on the horizon at midday. This is the planning direction.  Evening
twilight is associated with the west and "around the area becomes yellow".
This is the evaluation direction.
Darkness is associated with
the north and with the blackness of the night sky. This is the direction of change. THE
FOUR WORLDS OF THE NAVAJOFirst/Black World:
The beginning of time. In the First World,
there lived various spiritual beings. They were given Navajo names describing
certain insects and animals. Altse Hastiin (First Man) and Altse Asdzaa (First
Woman) were created. The beings couldn't get along with one another so they decided
to leave through an opening in the east into the Second World. Second/Blue
World: This world was already occupied
by the Blue Birds, animals and other beings who were in disagreement and couldn't
get along with one another. There was severe hardship so they decided to leave
this world. First Man made a want of white shell, turquoise, abalone, and jet.
This wand carried everyone through an opening in the south into the Third World.
Third/Yellow World: This
world was entered first by Bluebird, First Man, First Woman, Coyote, and other
beings. This land had great rivers crossing from east to west and north to south.
One day, Coyote stole Water Baby from the river, causing a great flood. First
Man ordered everyone to climb into the reed to escape the rising waters. As the
beings climbed out of the reed into the Fourth World, the people discovered Coyote
was the one who had stole Water Baby. Coyote took the Water Baby back to its mother
and the flooded waters began to recede. Fourth/White
World: Locust was the first to enter the
fourth world. He saw water everywhere and other beings living there. The beings
in the Fourth World would not let the beings from the Third World to enter unless
the Locust passed certain tests. Locust passed all the tests and the people entered
into the Fourth World. Later, First Man and First Woman formed the four sacred
mountains. The sacred dirt was brought from the First World to form these mountains.
NAVAJO LIFE
Navajo
legend says that Dine had to pass through three different worlds before emerging
into the present world - the Fourth World or Glittering World. So, the Holy People
put four sacred mountains in four different directions. Mt. Blanca in the east.
Mt. Taylor in the south, San Francisco Peaks in the west, and Mt. Hesperus in
the north, thus creating the boundaries of Navajoland.  The
Navajo (Diné) and Apache tribal groups of the American Southwest speak
dialects of the language family referred to as Athabaskan. The Navajo people are
very dynamic and creative people who strongly believe in the power of the mind
to think and create; finding expression in the myriad symbolic creations of the
Navajo language, art and ritual ceremonies.
Aside
from being the mother tongue of the Navajo Nation, the Navajo language also has
played a highly significant role in helping the entire nation. During World War
II, the Navajo language was used as a code to confuse the enemy. Navajo bravery
and patriotism is unequaled. Navajos were inducted and trained in the U.S. Marine
Corps to become "code talkers" on the front-line. Shrouded in secrecy
at the time, these men are known today as the famed Navajo Code Talkers, proved
to be the only code that could not be broken during World War II. Family
is very important to the Navajos. There is the immediate family, and the extended
family. The extended family is broken up into clans, which were created by the
Holy Ones. The four original clans are 'Towering House', 'Bitterwater', 'Big Water'
and' One-who-walks-around'. Today there are about 130 clans.
When one Navajo meets another for the first time they tell each other what clan
they are from. A Navaho house is called a "hogan"
and is made of logs, brush, and earth. Summer houses are also utilized and made
of brush with a windbreak. Each symbol has specific meaning
with its own story. Pueblo
Indians
Zuni Indians
Hopi Indians | 
