american emergence myths air-spirit people anasazi bow priests cultural relativism ethnography hopi...

American Emergence MythsAir-Spirit PeopleAnasazibow priestscultural relativismethnographyHopi peoplemasks in ritualsNavajo peoplePandoraparatactic storytellingpetroglyphspowakasPueblo Indiansshape-changerssipapuniSpider GrandmotherSwallow PeopleTawa trickstersWater SpiderZuni people

Oral Myths and Enthography

Native American Oral Narrativehttp://college.hmco.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/colonial/native_nar.html

A living oral tradition

Emphasis on oral performance and ritual

Cultural relativism

Ethnographers:Harold Courlander (Hopi, 1971)Ruth Fulton Benedict (Zuni)Paul Zolbrod (Navajo)

Native American World View

Hozho = Navajo principle of harmony and order.Union with nature

The world not as a place of punishment but as a place for fulfillment of destiny

Zuni Harmony with the Cosmoshttp://www.cliftonunitarian.com/toddstalks/religionofzuni.htm

Native American Myths in Briefhttp://www.livingmyths.com/Nativesum.htm

Anasazi = Ancient People

Mesa Verde (Colorado)

= “Enemy Ancestors” in Navajo

a Pueblo people

Ancestors of Hopi and Zuni

The Zuni People

Zuni Emergence Myths

• Four Worlds (vertical orientation)

• Four Compass Directions (horizontal orientation)

• Four Treespinesprucesilver spruceaspen

Trees in Creation Stories

http://www.the-tree.org.uk/Sacred%20Grove/creationstories.htm

Tree of Life

Tree of Knowledge

World Treehttp://ascension2000.com/ConvergenceIII/c315.htm

Zuni

Zuni Genesis http://alexm.here.ru/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/063.html

Zuni Origin Mythhttp://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/beckman/western/zuni.htm

Zuni Harmony with the Cosmoshttp://www.cliftonunitarian.com/toddstalks/religionofzuni.htm

Zuni snake priest

Zuni Hero Twins

Ko'wituma (Elder Brother) leads the Younger Brother (Wats'usi)

Zuni Twinshttp://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/NAANTH/ZTWINGOD.HTM

Hero Twinshttp://www.angelfire.com/trek/archaeology/twins.html

Prayerstick

Huichol Prayerstick

Huichol

Bow Priests

Emblem of Bow Priest societyhttp://www.heard.org/rain/prints/bopriest.html

Corn

Zuni corn maiden fetishes made of antler)

Itsumawe =

“to increase by magic”

Twins as Creators

Metamorphosis of humans

originally insect-like

gradual evolution

loss of animal features (webbed fingers, tails and horns)

Water Spider as helper

MIGRATION

Finding the Middle (Halona)

Hopi Emergence Mythhttp://www.hopi.nsn.us/emergence.asp

The Fourth World of the Hopis (by Harold Courlander, 1971)http://www.bsu.edu/classes/magrath/205resources/hopi.html

Similarities to Zuni:

Spider Grandmother as helperInsect creatures evolveRitual of cornMigration of the peoples

Hopi Sipapuni

This spot is thought by some to be Sipapu, entrance to the Hopi Underworld. It is a sacred place of pilgrimage for the Hopi, at the bottom of the Canyon of the Little Colorado above its junction with the Colorado River. Copyright © 1974. The Arizona Board of Regents.

Myth and Ritual

A kiva at Mesa Verde with sipapuni.

Coyote: Another Hopi Helper

Daniel O Stope. Coyote Howling at the Moon

The Navajo Nation

Descendants of the Athapaskan, not the Anasazi

Navajo Termshozho = Overarching principle of harmony and order.K'e (prefix in spoken Navajo = universal harmony)

Diné:1) diyin kine'i = supernaturals, holy people; Creators of humans

2) nihokaa dine'e = earth surface people, naturals.Ana'i = non-Navajo. Various kinds of non-Navajo.

3. Diné bahané = Navajo creation story Navajo Creation Myth:Nílch'i dine'é = Air-Spirit PeopleSwallow People / Yellow Grasshopper PeopleKiis'áanii = People Who Live in Upright Houses (Pueblo communities?)Haashich'ééh dine'é = Holy PeopleTalking GodÁltsé hastiin = First Man / Áltsé asdz´q´q = First WomanBilagáana = White Man

FOUR WORLDS OF THE NAVAJO

First/Black World

Second/Blue World

Third/Yellow World

Fourth/ Black and White World

THE FOUR DIRECTIONS OF THE NAVAJO

East: This is the direction of the dawn and it is our thinking direction. We should first think before we do anything. When the sun comes up, we look to the...

South: This is our planning direction where we plan what we are going to do. The sun sets in the...

West: This is our life, and is where we do our living. Here is where we act out our plan and our thoughts of the east and south directions of our lives. The sun goes down in the. North:

North: This is the evaluation portion of our lives. This is where we get our satisfaction and we evaluate the outcome of what we first started in the east. Here is where we determine to change things to make it better, or to see we are on the right path and should continue the cycle.

Navajo Sacred Mountains

The Navajos belief is that their Creator placed them on the land between the following 4 mountains representing the 4 cardinal directions:

Mount Blanca (Tsisnaasjini' - Dawn or White Shell Mountain)Sacred Mountain of the East (near Alamosa in San Luis Valley, Colorado)

Mount Taylor (Tsoodzil - Blue Bead or Turquoise Mountain)Sacred Mountain of the South (north of Laguna, New Mexico)

San Francisco Peaks (Doko'oosliid - Abalone Shell Mountain)Sacred Mountain of the West (near Flagstaff, Arizona)

Mount Hesperus Dibé Nitsaa (Big Mountain Sheep) - Obsidian MountainSacred Mountain of the North (La Plata Mountains, Colorado)

http://www.lapahie.com/Sacred_Mts.cfm

Mount Blanca (East)

Mount Taylor (South)

San Francisco Peak (West)

Mount Hesperus (North)

Diné bahané

Similarities to Zuni and Hopi

Four worldsoriginal humans are insectsVertical movementsearch for sipapuni

Differences Air-spirit people fly rather than climb Air-spirit people are expelled for their sins

Need for Hozho

Navajo Creation Story by Joe Ben Jr

Kiis'áanii = People Who Live in Upright Houses

Creation of Humans

diyin kine'i = supernaturals, holy people

These supernaturals create humans from two ears of cornMale (white corn)Woman (yellow corn)(metamorphosis)

Note birth of TWINSAetiology of masks

Two supernatural holy peopleflank the sacred maize plant on this 19th Navajo ceremonial blanket.

American Emergence MythsAir-Spirit PeopleAnasazibow priestscultural relativismethnographyHopi peoplemasks in ritualsNavajo peopleparatactic storytellingPueblo IndianssipapuniSpider GrandmothertrickstersWater SpiderZuni people

Add:Harold CourlanderRuth Fulton BenedictPaul ZolbrodMesa VerdehozhoTwinsTreesitsumawe