Chapter III: Introduction: Prefatory Remarks (2)

65. Phratries.--The gentes of the Navahoes are divided into a number of groups, each of which may be called a phratry. Authorities in the tribe differ as to the number of the phratries, and as to the gentes that compose them. Some make but eight phratries. Captain Bourke[294] has obtained a list of eleven, with three independent gentes. Some of the Navahoes say there are twelve phratries, and suggest that they have some relation to the twelve tribes who dwelt in the first world. But the Navaho phratry seems not to be a homogeneous organization. A case is mentioned in the Legend where a gens has changed its phratral affinities (par. 451). Inquiry, too, has revealed that there are sub-groups. There may be closer bonds of alliance among some gentes in a group than there are among others in the same group. Authorities, then, may differ without invalidating each other's testimony.

66. These groups are indicated in the Legend when it says that one gens has become closely related or affiliated with another (pars. 385, 399, 403 et al.), or when it says that two gentes cannot intermarry (pars. 393, 401, 406). If the Navahoes have a term equivalent to "phratry," it has not been discovered. They have no special names for the different phratries; they often, but not always, speak of a phratry by the name of the most important gens in it.

67. If the Legend is to be taken as evidence, phratries have developed among the Navahoes both by segmentation of gentes and by the addition of new gentes from without; not by either method exclusively. But legendary evidence is not needed to show that gentes which bear to-day the names of alien tribes have been additions to the phratry.

68. Forbidden Degrees of Kindred.--A Navaho belongs to the gens of his mother and takes the name of that gens. Cases have been noted where a Navaho has been known by his gentile name and not by any other. No man may marry one of his own gens; neither may he marry one of his own phratry, though some exceptions seem to be made in the latter case where the limits of the phratry are not well defined. Where this descent in the female line exists among other tribes, it is held by some ethnographers that the man does not regard his father or his father's people as his relations, and may contract a marriage with a woman of his father's gens. Such is certainly not the case among the Navahoes. The gens and the phratry of the father are as much forbidden kindred as those of the mother.

RELIGION.

69. Sources of Information.--That the Navahoes have a religion--an elaborate pagan cult--has already been intimated. There is little to be gained by asking a Navaho direct questions about this. Learned controversialists and theologians, capable of analyzing and discussing their faith, have not arisen among them, or, if they have, they cannot easily communicate their philosophy to us. But the civilized scholar has abundant material from which to study their religion, and he must do the analyzing himself. In the great dry-paintings shown on the floors of the medicine-lodges, during their long ceremonies, may be seen pictures of many of the gods, with their hieratic belongings. In the ceremonies, or so-called dances, men are masked to represent gods. In the myths the acts and deeds of the divine ones are described, and we learn their thoughts and feelings,--kind, like Indians, to their kindred; usually cruel, yet often merciful and magnanimous, to their foes. In the countless songs of the rites may be found the poetic side of the divine characters, and in the long prayers we may learn their potency, and discover how man hopes to commune with them and gain their favor.

70. No Supreme God.--The religion of this people reflects their social condition. Their government is democratic. There is no highest chief of the tribe, and all their chiefs are men of temporary and ill-defined authority, whose power depends largely on their personal influence, their oratory, and their reputation for wisdom. It is difficult for such a people to conceive of a Supreme God. Their gods, like their men, stand much on a level of equality.

71. Sun God.--In the version of the Origin Legend here given, the Sun God would seem to have some precedence over the others, but in the beginning he was only one of the people; he never figures conspicuously as a Creator, and is far from omnipotent. Other gods, less potent or less respected, lived before the time of man, and were powerful before the sun was made.

72. Creation.--The Legend begins with an already created world; there is no original creation and no Creator of all. If the Navahoes have a story of the beginning of all things, the author has not learned it. To a god called Békotsidi[78] is given the credit of having made all animals whose creation is not otherwise accounted for in the myths, especially domestic animals. Some of the Indians who have heard vaguely of our Creator are of the opinion that Békotsidi is the God of the Americans.

73. Estsánatlehi.--But it is generally acknowledged by the Navahoes that their most revered deity is Estsánatlehi,[95] the Woman Who Changes (or rejuvenates herself). Much is said of her in the legends, but something more is to be obtained by conversation with the shamans. The name Estsánatlehi is derived by syncopation from estsán, woman, and natéhi, to change or transform. She is so called because, it is supposed, she never remains in one condition, but that she grows to be an old woman, and in the course of time becomes a young girl again, and so passes through an endless course of lives, changing but never dying. It is probable that she is an apotheosis of Nature, or of the changing year.

74. The deity of fruitful Nature is properly a female and a beneficent goddess. She is properly, too, as the legends tell us, the wife of the Sun, to whom Nature owes her fertility. Her home is said to be in the west, probably for the reason that in the Navaho country, which lies mostly on the Pacific slope, the rain comes usually from the west, and from that direction, too, come the thawing breezes in the spring.

75. Yolkaí Estsán.--A divinity called Yolkaí Estsán,[96] or White Shell Woman, created (or found, as some versions say) at the same time as Estsánatlehi, is called the younger sister of the latter. The two goddesses are associated in the myths, but White Shell Woman always acts the subordinate part, and to-day is honored with a less degree of worship than her sister. Estsánatlehi, made of an earthly jewel, turquoise, is related to the land. Yolkaí Estsán, made of white shell from the ocean, is related to the waters.

76. War Gods.--Next in importance to Estsánatlehi, the sacred brethren, Nayénezgani (or Nagénezgani) and To`badzistsíni,[127] seem to stand. The writer designates these as the War Gods, but the Navahoes do not call them thus. According to the version of the Origin Legend here given, one of these was the child of Estsánatlehi and the Sun; the other the child of Yolkaí Estsán and the Water, and this is the version most consistent in all respects. Other versions make both the brothers children of Estsánatlehi. Some say they were born twins. Accepting any of these versions, they would properly be called brothers, according to the Indian system of relationship, and such they are called in the legends. Their chief mission was to destroy the alien gods; but they still help the warriors in battle, and aid the sick who suffer from witchcraft. The longest chapter in the Origin Legend is devoted to recounting their genesis and history. In reading the chapter, it will be apparent to the comparative mythologist that these characters have their counterparts, which need not now be mentioned, in the myths of many races in both hemispheres. From their mythic associations it would appear that Nayénezgani is a god of light, with its associated heat, while To`badzistsíni is a god of darkness, with its associated moisture; yet, apparently in contradiction to this, the representative of the former is painted black and wears a black mask in the ceremonies (plate IV.), while the representative of the latter is painted red and wears a red mask (plate VII.).

77. Nayénezgani, whose name signifies Slayer of the Alien Gods,[127] is spoken of as the elder brother in the legends and always plays the more important part. To`badzistsíni, or Child of the Water,[127] is called the younger brother and always appears as a subordinate character. In the ceremonies, the masquerader who personates Nayénezgani always walks in front, while he who personates To`badzistsíni comes behind. The two gods are always associated in prayer and sacrifice, but here, again, Nayénezgani takes precedence. In all the sacred songs where they are mentioned, the superiority of Nayénezgani is indicated. Antithesis, as has been said, is a favorite figure with the Navaho poets, and they often employ it when speaking of these gods. The "Song of the Approach" of the War Gods in the ceremony of klédzi hatál will serve, as well as many other compositions, to show how they treat this subject. It may be freely translated thus:--

He advances! He advances!
Now Slayer of the Alien Gods advances,
Above, among the mountain peaks, he advances,
In danger he advances.

He advances! He advances!
Now Child of the Water advances
Below, among the foothills, he advances,
In danger he advances.

Thus both the gods come to the aid of the supplicant; but while the elder strides proudly on the summits of the mountains, the younger walks humbly among the foothills.

78. Yéi.--There are a number of divinities in the Navaho pantheon known as yéi (in compound words often pronounced ye or ge), which is translated "god" or "genius." What distinction exists between the yéi and other gods is not easy to determine definitely. The Zuñians have a class of gods called by the same name, or, more correctly, "yéyi," as Mr. Cushing pronounces it. Certain chiefs or important personages among these gods are called by names which begin with the syllables hastsé--as Hastséyalti[73] (Talking God), Hastséhogan[74] (House God). It is believed that this, if spelled etymologically, would appear as hastyé, but it is not so pronounced, Hast is a prefix denoting age, especially venerable age. We have it in the word hastín, which means a worthy or respected old man. Hastyé would mean a venerable yéi or god. The yéi seem to be deities of minor importance to those previously mentioned and to be more numerous. Thus, while there is but one Estsánatlehi, but one Nayénezgani, and but one To`badzistsíni there are several Hastséhogan and several Hastséyalti, who are chiefs of the yéi. The yéi are supposed to abide in certain localities, and in prayers in their honor the home is mentioned of the yéi to whom appeal is specially made. A place called Tsé`natsi, or Red Horizontal Rock, somewhere north of the San Juan River, Tse`gíhi, another place north of the San Juan, and the White House (fig. 22), in the Chelly Canyon, are important homes of the yéi.[265] Each of the sacred mountains has its group of yéi. In the myths of klédzi hatál, more than a score of places are named where yéi dwell. There are some reasons for believing that the cult of the yéi is derived from the Cliff-dwellers, or from the Pueblos; but there are arguments, too, against this theory. The subject will not be further considered here. The yéi are supposed to be married and have families. The males are called yébaka; the females, yébaad.[200] Hastsézini,[212] the god of fire, and Hastséoltoi,[206] the divine huntress, or goddess of the chase, belong, as their names indicate, to the yéi; while Gánaskidi,[207] the harvest god, and Tó`nenili[98] Water Sprinkler, are associated with them in the legends.

79. Digíni.--Digi'n means sacred, divine, mysterious, or holy. It is not quite synonymous with the Dakota wakán or the Hidatsa hopá. It is not applied to the treatment of disease; it is not applied in a general way to religious ceremonial; it has not been heard applied to the anáye, or other things of evil: for this reason it is often translated "holy." Digíni, derived from digi'n, means holy people, gods, divinities. It is a name applied to the highest and lowest divinities, including the yéi (see notes 92 and 93).

80. Alien Gods.--Such are the gods that are friendly to the human race; but man has his enemies, too, among the mysterious powers. Chief among the latter are the anáye,[7] the alien gods or inimical genii. These, being analogous to the giants and ogres of European folk-lore, are sometimes called giants in this work. They are usually represented as creatures of great size. Many of them are described in the Origin Legend. The worst have been slain, as the story relates; but others, being not unmixed evils, still remain to torment man. The legend, in accounting for their continued existence, shows the philosophic endeavor of our race to reconcile itself to the unwelcome inevitable.

81. Water God.--The position of Tiéholtsodi,[8] the water monster, is one of transferred allegiance. He was once the enemy of our race, but now has become friendly to it in certain ways, though it is probable that he is still thought to be responsible for cases of drowning. Other gods, who were once inimical to man but are now his friends, are mentioned in the legends (par. 354). But we are not without evidence that the Navaho fears to offend his most beneficent gods lest the latter may directly punish him, or at least withhold their succor in his hour of need.

82. Devils.--Besides the alien gods, there are evil spirits haunting the earth which men dread; these are the tsi'ndi, whose name cannot be better translated than by calling them devils. The Navahoes frequently speak of the tsi'ndi (Englished, chindee), and they often use the term as an angry exclamation, just as the profane among ourselves say, "Oh the Devil!" or "You devil!" (see pars. 257, 260), yet they dislike to discuss its character or appearance. They believe there is a devil associated with every corpse, and that it has something of the appearance of a partly decayed corpse. The spirit of the dead man goes to the lower world, which was the former home of the race, yet a demon remains with the dead body. Other Indians believe in a similar corpse spirit, yet the author has never known any who have such dread as the Navahoes of human mortuary remains. (See par. 188 and note 91.)

83. Zoölatry.--The legend tells us that there is a First Man and a First Woman (see pars. 160-165), who came into being in the fourth world as the result of a special act of creation: but they have not died like Adam and Eve; they still live in some form; they are potent; they are immortal; they are divine. But it is not man only that has his divine ancestral prototype: every animal on the face of the earth has its also, and many, if not all, of these are objects of worship. A share of reverence, too, in some cases, as in that of the bear, is bestowed on their mortal descendants. In the rite of the mountain chant[314] many of the sacrifices are sacred to the animals of the mountains. In short, zoölatry is an important element in Navaho worship.

84. Local Gods.--Some of the gods mentioned are also local divinities; thus the War Gods are local divinities at To`ye'tli (par. 374), and the yéi are local divinities at Tsé`natsi. But, in addition to these, there are other gods of places so numerous that a complete list of them will probably never be obtained. In the Origin Legend it is shown that each of the sacred mountains of the Navaho land (seven in number according to Tall Chanter) has its divine pair of indwelling guardians, and these seem to receive more honor than any others which are gods of places only; but the genii of other mountains and of different rocks and canyons have their prayers and sacrifices in some of the rites.

85. Fanciful legends of places are common in all lands and among all races, but no people are more ingenious in composing such tales than our American Indians. The Navaho has unusual sources of inspiration in this direction, and he fails not to profit by them. His land abounds in wonderful geologic formations, in rocks strangely sculptured by rain and by Nature's sand-blast, in vast volcanic peaks and fields of lava; and it abounds also, as might be expected, in myths accounting for these features, and in the genii which belong to the myths. A few of these myths are incorporated in the tales told in this work, but they are very few compared with the total of such legendary lore.

86. The strength of their belief in these local divinities may be illustrated by the following incident: The writer once made a journey, accompanied by two Navahoes, to Tsúskai[9] (Chusca Knoll), which is supposed to be the home of the Tsiké Sas Nátlehi, or Maidens who Become Bears. When the party got to the top of the ridge from which the knoll rises, and about three hundred yards from the base of the knoll, the Indians refused to go farther, saying they feared the divine ones who dwelt in the knoll. The writer proceeded alone, and had much difficulty in riding up the pathless hill, among loose rocks and fallen trees. On the summit he found a little hollow among the rocks full of sand, and, scraping into this, he discovered a number of hand-wrought stone and shell beads, which had been put there as sacrifices. When he descended from the knoll, he found the Indians awaiting him where he had left them, and all set out together to retrace the rough mountain trail down to Red Lake. In a little while, his horse becoming very lame, the writer was obliged to dismount. "What has made your horse lame?" asked the Indians. "He must have struck his leg against some of the fallen trees when he was climbing the knoll," was the answer. "Think not thus, foolish American," they said. "It was not the fallen trees that wounded your horse. The digíni of the mountain have stricken him because you went where you had no right to go. You are lucky if nothing worse happens to you." Of course Indians had been up to the top of the knoll, or the beads could not have been put there; but they went only after preparatory prayer and only to deposit sacrifices.

87. Demonolatry.--There are writers who say that the Indians "worship the Devil" and other malevolent powers; but it is not only learned authors who speak thus. Jesus Alviso, a Mexican captive reared among the Navahoes, said to the author in 1880: "Los Indios hacen figuras de todos sus diablos, señor" ("The Indians make figures of all their devils, sir"), and it was this hint which led to the discovery of their dry-paintings. He called them devils; in this work they are called gods. Perhaps other tribes worship personifications of evil, but certainly the Navahoes do not. The gods who are supposed to love and help men the most receive the greatest honor. The evil spirits are not worshipped except, rumor says, by the witches. It would appear, moreover, from the Origin Legend, that the worst of evil powers--the alien gods--were long ago destroyed, and that only demons of minor influence remain. The chief of witches, Estsán Natán, or Woman Chief, has her home beneath the earth, in one of the lower worlds.

CEREMONIES.

88. A great number of ceremonies are practised by the Navaho priests. Many of these are of nine days' duration; there are others that last but a single day or a few hours. To learn one of the great rites so as to become its hatáli (chanter, singer),[16] or priest, is the work of many years, and no one knows more than one such rite perfectly. The older priests know something of other rites, may assist at them and sing songs at them, but are not competent to conduct them. A priest of a great rite may know some of the lesser rites.

89. All the great ceremonies which the writer has witnessed among the Navahoes are primarily for the healing of the sick; but the occasion is always used to ask the gods for various temporal blessings, not only for the sick person but for all,--the shaman, the relations of the sick, and for the people in general. The invalid, for whose benefit the rite is performed, defrays all the expenses of the ceremony, which often amount in value to the sum of two hundred or three hundred dollars. The Navahoes being a scattered and to some extent a wandering people who do not build towns, they lack the organization to have rites of a more public character, such as the village Indians have.[184] Hence these healing ceremonies, in which the sick man and his relations become hosts, are used as occasions for prayer for the common weal, and as occasions in which large numbers may assemble to witness interesting exhibitions and have the social enjoyments which attend the gathering of a crowd.

90. Minor Ceremonies.--Among the minor ceremonies, besides those for healing the sick, are those of planting, harvesting, building, war, nubility, marriage, travel, and many other occasions in life. In addition to these, there are ceremonies for special occasions, as for bringing rain. During an unusually dry season a number of Navahoes may subscribe together and raise a good fee for a priest to sing, pray, sacrifice, and conduct a ceremony to bring rain.

91. Origin of Ceremonies.--The late Mr. A. M. Stephen of Arizona, who for many years studied the rites and myths of both Mokis and Navahoes, has often called the attention of the writer to the many resemblances between the cults of these two tribes, who differ so much in other respects, and he has suggested that the Navahoes may have borrowed from the Mokis. This may be the case, for the Navahoes have, probably, people of Moki descent among them, and they have had intercourse with the Mokis, both peaceful and warlike, for a long time. But, throughout all the Navaho legends so far collected, it is strongly indicated that the Navaho cultus, where borrowed, came from cliff-dwellers, from inhabitants of pueblos now deserted, and from wild tribes. The Mokis figure but little in the Navaho rite-myths. The author is inclined to believe that the Navahoes have not borrowed much directly from the Mokis, but that both tribes have taken inspiration from common sources. In radical points of symbolism, such as the sacred colors and the ceremonial circuit, the Navaho and Moki rites differ widely.

92. Elements of Ceremonies.--In the ceremonies there are numerous minor acts of such diverse character that they cannot be classified and are not described in this work. They can be discussed better in connection with the rites to which they belong. There are other acts of minor importance, such as the ceremonial bath[10] [82] and the administration of pollen,[11] which are considered in the notes. But there are six elements of the worship which constitute such important parts in all the great rites that brief descriptions of them are presented in this introduction. These six are: Sacrifice, painting, masquerade, dance, prayer, and song. The last has been already discussed (par. 41 et seq.).

93. Sacrifices.--The sacrifices of the Navahoes are innocent and bloodless. Their kindly gods are easily propitiated. Like their worshippers, they are all fond of tobacco, and they prize a few feathers and beads. Even the chief war god demands no smoking hearts or blood of captives; a little painted cigarette is all he asks in return for his favors. An extensive chapter might be written about the sacrificial cigarettes and sticks which the Navahoes call ketán (Englished, kethawn), but a short description of them must suffice here. (See note 12.)

94. Cigarettes.--The cigarettes are usually made of the hollow joints of the common reed (Phragmites communis), but other plants are sometimes used. To form a cigarette, a piece of the reed is cut off with a stone knife, the node being excluded; it is rubbed with sandstone, so that the paint may adhere; it is painted with some symbolical device; a wad of feathers is inserted into it to keep the tobacco from falling out; it is filled with some kind of native tobacco,[223] usually the Nicotiana attenuata, or dsi'lnato of the Navahoes; it is sealed with moistened pollen and symbolically lighted with a rock crystal, which is held up to the sky and touched to the tip of the cigarette. After it has been prayed over it is taken out and left for--i.e., sacrificed to--the god for whom it is intended. The god, they say, recognizes it by its symbolic painting and by the place where it is sacrificed. He picks it up, smells and examines it. If he is satisfied that it is properly made and that it is for him, he takes it and bestows on the supplicant the favors asked.

95. Sacrificial Sticks.--Besides the cigarettes, small sticks are used as sacrifices to the gods. These are made from a variety of woods,--different gods and different occasions requiring woods of different sorts,--and they are painted in a variety of ways for the same reasons. They are usually made in pairs, one for the male and the other for the female. Celibacy is not practised by the Navaho gods; every deity has its mate, and she must be propitiated as well as he. The female is distinguished in some way from the male, and this is usually done by cutting a small facet at the tip end of the female stick (see fig. 23), to represent the square mask worn by one who masquerades as a goddess in the ceremonies. He who appears as a god wears a round cap-like mask (fig. 27), and the round cut end of the stick sufficiently represents this.

96. Often the feathers of different kinds of birds are sacrificed with the kethawns, either attached to the latter or separate; also beads of stone or shell and various kinds of powdered vegetable and mineral substances, including pollen,[11] which is the most sacred substance employed by the Navaho priests.

97. Disposal of Kethawns.--The different ways in which kethawns are deposited or sacrificed are as numerous as are their forms, materials, and decorations, and each way has its special symbolism. Some are laid in the branches of a tree, others among rocks, others at the base of a cliff, others, again, at the root of a tree, and others on level ground; a few are thrown away almost at random, but most of them are laid down with care and with rigorous ceremonial form. All that are laid with care are placed with their tips away from the lodge, and each is destined to go toward some particular point of the compass. When the bearer of the sacrifice leaves the lodge, he proceeds in the direction of the place selected for the sacrifice; when he has deposited it he turns to the right and takes a sunwise direction in returning. He does not cross his outgoing trail; he must not walk through an ant-hill; he must run both going and coming.[12]

98. Ceremonial Pictures.--The pictures accompanying the Navaho rites are among the most transitory in the history of art. In previous essays the author has called them dry-paintings. Similar works have been observed among other tribes, both nomadic and sedentary, and the observers have designated them as "sand-paintings," "sand-altars," etc. They are drawn in all the great rites, and even in some of the lesser rites--those of only one day's duration--small but handsome dry-paintings are sometimes made. They vary in size from four to twelve feet in diameter. Sometimes the fire in the centre of the medicine-lodge must be removed in order to accommodate them. The groundwork is sand, which is conveyed in blankets into the medicine-lodge, and spread out over the floor to the depth of about three inches. It is smoothed with the broad oaken battens used in weaving.

99. Before the sand is brought in, the pigments are ground to powder and put on broad pieces of pine bark, which serve as trays--or palettes, shall we say? The pigments are five in number,--white, red, yellow, black, and gray. The white, red, and yellow are made of sandstone. The black is made of powdered charcoal, with which a little sandstone is mixed to facilitate the grinding and give weight to the powder. The gray, made of black and white mixed in suitable proportions, is intended to represent blue, is called blue by the Navahoes, and, combined with the other colors, has the effect of blue in the paintings. It will be spoken of as blue in the subsequent descriptions. The Navahoes use indigo and a native bluish mineral pigment to paint masks, kethawns, and other small objects; but for the dry-paintings such a large quantity is needed that these would be too expensive. To apply the colored powder, a pinch of it is taken up between the thumb and first two fingers and allowed to fall slowly on the sand, while the thumb is moved over the fingers.

100. To paint one of these large pictures may require the labor of several men--a dozen sometimes--working from early morning till late in the afternoon. The picture must be finished before dark, for it is impracticable to work on it with such artificial lights as the Indians can command. While the work is in progress the priest who conducts the ceremonies does little more than direct and criticise. The operators have received a certain initiation. They have seen the picture painted before and are familiar with its details. If an error is made the faulty part is not erased; sand is spread on it to obliterate it, and the corrected drawing is made on the new deposit of sand. The pictures are drawn according to exact and established rules. Some parts are measured by palms and spans, and not a line of the sacred designs may be varied in them. In drawing straight lines the colored powder is poured over a tightened cord. But in a few cases the artist is allowed to indulge his fancy, thus, in drawing the embroidered pouches which the gods wear suspended at the waist (plate I.), the limner may, within certain limits, give his god as handsome a pouch as he wishes and embroider it to suit his notion. The naked forms of the mythical characters are drawn first and then the clothing and ornaments are laid on.

101. When the picture is finished a number of ceremonies (differing somewhat in different rites) are performed over it. Pollen or corn-meal may be placed on certain parts of the sacred figures, and one of these substances may be scattered over it. Water or medicinal infusions may be applied to it. At length the patient is brought in and placed sitting on the picture. Moistening his palms, the shaman or an assistant takes the colored dust from various parts of the divine figures and applies it to similar parts of the subject's body. Medicine is then usually administered in four draughts. When the patient leaves, others in the lodge who are ill, or fancy themselves ill, take dust on their palms from the picture and apply it to their own persons. He who has headache takes dust from the head in the picture and applies it to his own head. He who has sore feet takes dust from the pictured feet. When all are done the picture is badly marred; it is then totally obliterated,--the method and ceremony of obliteration differing in different rites,--and the sand on which it was drawn is taken out of the lodge and thrown away. The floor on the lodge is swept, and the uninitiated, entering a moment later, has no evidence of what has taken place.

102. Plate I. shows pictures of five different gods as they appear separately in the dry-paintings. Figure 29 represents, in black, a complete painting (the original of which was done in five different colors) from the rite of the klédzi hatál, or the night chant. It will be observed that some of the gods or yéi of plate I. are to be seen in fig. 29.

103. The medicine-men declare that these pictures have been transmitted from teacher to pupil, unchanged in all the years since they were revealed to the prophets of the rites. There are good reasons for believing that this is not strictly true: the majority of the great ceremonies may be performed only during the coldest part of the year,--the months when the snakes are dormant. No permanent copies of the pictures were ever preserved until the author painted them; they were carried from season to season in the memories of men, and there was no final authority in the tribe to settle questions of correctness. But it is probable that changes, if they occurred, were unintentional and wrought slowly. After the writer made copies of these pictures, and it became known to the medicine-men that he had copies in his possession, it was not uncommon for the shamans, pending the performance of a ceremony, to bring young men who were to assist in the lodge, ask to see the paintings, and lecture on them to their pupils, pointing out the various important points, and thus, no doubt, saving mistakes and corrections in the medicine-lodge. The water-color copies were always (as the shamans knew) kept hidden at the forbidden season, and never shown to the uninitiated of the tribe.

104. Masquerade.--In the rites, men appear representing gods or other mythic characters. Sometimes such representations are effected by means of paint and equipment only, as in the case of the akáninili, or messenger of the mountain chant,[314] who is dressed to represent the prophet Dsi'lyi Neyáni as he appeared after the Butterfly Goddess had transformed him; but on other occasions masks are added to the dress, as in the rites of the night chant. In this there are twenty-one masks,[267] made of sacred buckskin,[13] for representatives of the gods to wear, besides a mask of yucca leaves[14] trimmed with spruce twigs (fig. 26), which the patient wears on one occasion. The buckskin masks, without plumes or collars, are kept in a sack by the shaman, and he carries them on horseback to the place where the rites are to be performed; there they are freshly painted, and the collars and plumes are added just before they are to be used in the ceremony.

105. Plates IV. and VII. show the masks as they are actually worn, and exhibit men as they are dressed and painted to represent the War Gods. In plate I. we get representations of these masks as they are depicted in the dry-paintings. Fig. 27 shows the mask of Hastséyalti, the Talking God, as it appears when all is ready for the dance, with plume and collar of fresh spruce twigs applied. Fig. 28 depicts the mask of a yébaad, or female yéi. The female masks cover only the face, leaving the hair free. The male masks (fig. 27) cover the entire head, concealing the hair.

106. When a man is dressed in his godly costume he does not speak; he only makes motions and utters a peculiar cry,--each god has his own special cry,--and he may perform acts on the patient with his special weapon or talisman. The masquerader, they say, is, for the time being, no longer a Navaho, but a god, and a prayer to him is a prayer to a god. When he enters the lodge and sits down before the sick man, the latter hands him his sacrifice and prays to him devoutly, well knowing that it may be his own uncle or cousin, disguised in the panoply of divinity, who receives the sacrifice.

107. Dance.--It has been customary with travellers to speak of Indian ceremonials as dances. This is chiefly for the reason that the dance most attracts the attention of white men, and the other portions of the work are likely to pass unheeded. Dancing is rarely the most important element of an Indian ceremonial, and among the Navahoes it is always a minor element. In some of the lesser rites it does not occur at all. In the nine days' ceremony of the mountain chant it occurs only on the last night, and then forms but a part of the show,--rude dramatic performances and feats of legerdemain (see fig. 30) occupying about an equal time until the entertainment ends, soon after dawn. In the nine days' ceremony of the night chant, dancing as a part of the ceremony is confined to the last night, although undress rehearsals of the dance take place after sunset for a few days before.

108. These dances of the Navaho, although accompanied with religious symbolism, and performed often by men wearing sacred costumes, are undoubtedly intended largely to entertain the spectators. While but a few people may be present during the first eight or nine days of a great ceremony, a large crowd always gathers to witness the performances of the last night, and many people stay up all night to do this. On the last night of the mountain chant the dances are picturesque and various. Many of them are borrowed from other rites. They have been described by the author in a previous work. On the last night of the night chant the dance and song vary but little, and to the ordinary observer may seem not to vary at all. Yet the spectators who come to the mountain chant are not more wakeful and watchful than those who come to the night chant. The dancing is always rhythmical and well-timed. Figures are often introduced like those of our quadrilles; but no round dances, like our waltz or polka, have been observed--the rough ground is not suited for such. The dancers and the drummers practise long in private before coming to the public exhibition.

109. Prayer.--In a paper entitled "The Prayer of a Navaho Shaman,"[315] the author has published a long composition, called a prayer by the man from whom he received it, which is a simple narrative and does not contain a word of supplication. This is the only prayer of such character obtained from a Navaho. Many other long prayers have been recorded, all of which are formed on a common plan. The name of a god is mentioned, and some flattering attributes are given to him. If it is a god such as Hastséyalti, of which there are more than one of the same name, his residence is mentioned. He is informed that sacrifices have been prepared for him. He is asked to remove the spell of disease. Immediately he is assured that it is removed. Then he is asked to bestow various blessings on the supplicant and all his kindred and people. The prayer is given out, one sentence at a time, by the shaman, and the patient repeats it after him, sentence by sentence.

110. These prayers, repeated by two voices, sound much like litanies, and all end with an expression (hozóna hastlé) analogous to the amen of Christian prayers, four times repeated; yet the Navaho prayers show in their spirit no indication of the influence of Christian teaching. They are purely pagan compositions. The only evidence of any modern influence they present is the occasional inclusion of a request for increase of wealth in the shape of horses and sheep. A typical Navaho prayer from the rites of klédzi hatál is given in note 288.

111. Besides these long prayers, repeated by two persons, the shamans have many monologue prayers; there are prayers silent and vocal, formulated and extempore, used by both priest and layman; and there are short devotional sayings which may be classed as benedictions and ejaculations.

THE LEGENDS.

112. Of the many lengthy myths and legends obtained by the author from the Navahoes, three have been selected for publication in this volume. The first is the Origin Legend of the tribe; the other two are incomplete rite-myths, i.e., rite-myths told by men who were not priests of the associated rites.

113. Versions.--As might be expected among an unlettered people, thinly scattered over a wide territory, the legends of the Navahoes have many variants. No two men will tell the same tale exactly alike, and each story-teller will probably maintain that his own version is the only reliable one. Variations of the Origin Legend, which is the property of the tribe at large, and, unlike the rite-myths, is not in the keeping of any especial order or priesthood, are particularly numerous; but even in the rite-myths, as told by priests of the rites, versions may be found. Notwithstanding these varieties, the tale-tellers agree substantially in the more important matters. Of the two rite-myths given in this work, only one version of each was procured; but several versions of the Origin Legend, complete or partial, were recorded. The one here published was selected as being the most complete, extensive, and consistent of all. Other versions often supplement it. The narrators sometimes acknowledged that they had forgotten episodes which others had remembered and detailed. The learned old shaman, Hatáli Nez, forgot to tell how the stars were made; while a younger and less erudite person, Jake the silversmith, related a fair version of this episode, which came also from other sources to the writer. Jake's version of the Legend, which has already been published, is designated in the notes as Version B;[306] that of old Torlino, a priest of the hozóni hatál, is designated as Version A. Other versions are alluded to, but not designated by letter or number. Some fragmentary versions by other authors[291] [300] have been published, but these are not quoted in the notes.

114. Origin Legend.--The Origin Legend divides itself into four very distinct parts or chapters, which are named: I. The Story of the Emergence; II. Early Events in the Fifth World; III. The War Gods; IV. The Growth of the Navaho Nation. The name of the first part is that given to it by the Navaho story-tellers. The names of the other parts are supplied by the author. The first part, The Story of the Emergence, ends when it is related that the people came out from the fourth world to the surface of this, the fifth world.[15]

115. Rite-myths.--By a rite-myth is meant a myth which accounts for the work of a ceremony, for its origin, for its introduction among the Navahoes, or for all these things combined. The Navahoes celebrate long and costly ceremonies, many of which are of nine days' duration. Each ceremony has connected with it one or more myths, or legends which may not be altogether mythical.

116. When a rite-myth is told by a priest of the rite to which the myth belongs, minute and often tedious particulars concerning the rite, its work, symbolism, and sacrifices are introduced into the tale. When such a myth is told by one who is not a priest of the rite (although he may be a priest of some other rite), these esoteric parts are altogether omitted, or only briefly alluded to. To the latter class belong the two rite-myths given in this book. They are here published because they are among the most interesting and ingenious that have been collected among the Navahoes. The attention of the reader is directed, in the notes, to a few places where esoteric or ceremonial matters are thought to be referred to. Tales containing ceremonial allusions in full are reserved for future publication, along with a description of the rites to which they pertain, as such is considered the more appropriate place for their publication.

117. In one version of the Origin Legend (Version A) a portion of this story is used as a rite-myth. It is embellished with prayers and songs, and interspersed with allusions to ceremonial work which the version of Hatáli Nez does not contain; but in other respects it is inferior to the latter. Thus embellished it contributes a share to the myth of the ceremony of hozóni hatál, or chant of terrestrial beauty. Even in the version of Hatáli Nez, the songs seem introduced from some rite-myth, and scarcely to belong to the original story.

118. Whenever an opportunity has occurred of studying a rite with its associated myth, it has been found that the myth never explains all the symbolism of the rite, although it may account for all the more important acts. A primitive and underlying symbolism, which probably existed previous to the establishment of the rite, remains unexplained by the myth, as though its existence were taken as a matter of course, and required no explanation. Some explanation of this foundation symbolism may be found in the Origin Legend, or in other early legends of the tribe; but something remains which even these do not explain.

119. Myths of the Whirling Logs.--In the ceremony of klédzi hatál there is drawn upon the floor of the medicine-lodge a large dry-painting which is very imperfectly represented in fig. 29. The original was wrought in five colors and was about 12 feet in diameter. It depicts a vision of the prophet Bélahatini, who established the rites of klédzi hatál. On one occasion, says the tale, he was led, in the San Juan valley, to a lake on the borders of which grew four stalks of sacred corn, each of a different color. In the centre of the lake lay two logs crossing one another at right angles. Near both ends of each log sat a pair of yéi, or genii, male and female, making eight in all. On the shore of the lake stood four more yéi, three of whom had staves, by means of which they kept the crossed logs away from the shore and whirling in the waters. The rainbow goddess, the anthropomorphic rainbow of the Navahoes, surrounded the lake. All the circumstances of this strange scene are duly symbolized in the painting.

120. It was in his efforts to get a further explanation of this extraordinary picture that the author came upon the story of Nati'nesthani. It is not the story that explains the picture, although certain passages in it (pars. 481, 488) might seem to explain it. The story to which the picture belongs is that of Bélahatini, which may some day be published in connection with a description of the ceremony of klédzi hatál, or the night chant. The prophet Bélahatini, according to the tale, floated down the San Juan River in a hollow log, until he came to the whirling lake, where he saw the vision depicted in the dry-painting. But when the shaman had finished telling the story of Bélahatini he said: "There is another story of a man who floated down the San Juan River in a hollow log. It is a story belonging to a different rite, the atsósidze hatál. Would you like to hear it?" It was thus that the story of Nati'nesthani came to be told. The narrator of the two tales was a priest of the klédzi hatál, but not of the atsósidze hatál; hence one tale is crowded with allusions to acts in the ceremony, while the other, as here published, has few such allusions.

121. The Great Shell of Kintyél.--The story of the Great Shell of Kintyél, as here given, is a fragment of a rite-myth,--the myth of the yóidze hatál, or yói hatál[250] (bead chant), a nine days' healing ceremony. It conveys a moral often found in Navaho tales, which is, that we must not despise the poor and humble. They may be favored by the gods and prove themselves, to-morrow, more potent than those who yesterday despised and mocked them. It also signalizes the triumph of a poor Navaho over wealthy Pueblos.

122. Translation of Legends.--In rendering the Navaho tales into English, the author has not confined himself to a close literal translation. Such translation would often be difficult to understand, and, more often still, be uninteresting reading. He has believed it to be his duty to make a readable translation, giving the spirit of the original rather than the exact words. The tales were told in fluent Navaho, easy of comprehension, and of such literary perfection as to hold the hearer's attention. They should be translated into English of a similar character, even if words have to be added to make the sense clear. Such privileges are taken by the translators of the Bible and of the classic authors. Still the writer has taken pains never to exceed the metaphor or descriptive force of the original, and never to add a single thought of his own. If he has erred in rendering the spirit of the savage authors, it has been by diminishing rather than by exaggerating. He has erred on the side of safety. He has endeavored to "tune the sitar" rather low than high.15a Again, the original was often embellished with pantomime and vocal modulation which expressed more than the mere words, and which the writer is unable to represent, and it contained extemporized onomatopes which no letters can express.

123. Texts.--The men who narrated to the author the tales contained in this book were not men of unlimited leisure, as many suppose the Indians to be; they were popular shamans, or medicine-men, who had numerous engagements to conduct ceremonies during the summer months, and it was only during the winter months that they permitted themselves to tell the tales. It was usually with difficulty that arrangements were made with one of these shamans to devote a period of two or three weeks to the service of the author. Then, too, they had farms and stock which demanded their care. Neither was the author a man of unbounded leisure. Rarely could he devote more than two or three hours out of twenty-four to the work of ethnography. It has happened more than once that he has been obliged to break an engagement made with a shaman, at a cost of considerable trouble and money, in order to go on detached service away from his proper station. For these reasons it was not practicable to record the original Indian texts of all the stories. The author had to choose between copious texts and copious tales. He chose the latter. But some texts have been recorded. In order that the reader may judge how closely the liberal translation here offered follows the original, the Navaho text of the opening passages--ten paragraphs--of the Origin Legend, with interlinear translations, are given in the notes. The texts of songs, prayers, and interesting passages may also be found in the notes.

ALPHABET USED.

124. Ever since the present alphabet of the Bureau of Ethnology was established (in 1880), it has been the author's custom to use it in spelling Indian words. But heretofore he has written mostly for the scientific world, for ethnologists and philologists who either were familiar with the alphabet, or were willing to constantly refer to it in reading. As the present work is designed to reach a wider circle of readers, the propriety of using the alphabet of the Bureau becomes doubtful. Many of the author's friends have begged him not to use it in this collection of tales, believing that its unusual characters would embarrass the average reader and detract from the interest of the work. Another system has, therefore, been devised, according to which consonants printed in Roman letters have the ordinary English sounds, while those printed in Italics have sounds analogous to the English but not identical with them. The vowels, when unmarked, have the continental sounds. When these sounds are modified, diacritical marks are added in accordance with the latest edition of Webster's Dictionary. The sound of English a in what is indicated by a. The only diphthong is ai, which has the sound of English i in pine. One mark not employed in Webster's orthoepy is used in this book, viz., the inverted comma after a vowel to show that it is aspirated.

125. According to this arrangement, the casual reader will find the Indian words easily legible. If he takes the trouble to consult this and the preceding paragraph he may pronounce the words almost exactly as a Navaho would; if not he may, at least, pronounce them in a way that few Navahoes would fail to comprehend. At all events, to the majority of readers, a perfect pronunciation of the Indian words is immaterial. Many white men, living within the borders of the Navaho land, converse with these Indians in a jargon or debased language which might be spelled in English characters with their ordinary English values. For example, let us take the word for hut or house. This is properly pronounced hogán; but the whites in New Mexico generally call it hogán, and the Navahoes never fail to understand the word as thus pronounced. In this form it is an adopted English word in the Southwest. The following are the values of the consonants when printed in Italics:--

d has the sound of English th in this.

g has a sound unknown in English, gh imperfectly represents it. It is the g of the Dakota, or the Arabic ghain.