1 Navajo Creation Story

Brief summary

Emergence: Navajo Creation

The Navajo creation story is a beautiful tale that is not well known outside the Navajo Nation. Itdetails the emergence of the Navajo people into their homeland.

The First or Dark World

Niʼ Hodiłhił

According to the Navajo creation story, the first world was small and pitch black. There were four seas and in the middle an island with a single pine tree existed. Ants, dragonflies, locusts and beetles lived there and made up the Air-Spirit People of the first world. Each of the four seas was ruled by one supernatural being, the Big Water Creature, the Blue Heron, the Frog and White Thunder. Above the sea there was a black cloud, a white cloud, a blue cloud and a yellow cloud. The female spirit of life lived in the black cloud while the male spirit of dawn lived in the white. When the blue and yellow clouds came together, the First Woman, while the black and white came together to form the First Man. The First Woman saw the light of the First Man's fire and tried to reach him three times before she finally found his home. He asked her to live with him and the First Woman agreed. The Great Coyote was formed in water and came to the First Man and First woman, telling them he was hatched from an egg and knew all the secrets of the water and the skies. Shortly after, second coyote appeared named First Angry, who brought witchcraft into the world. The next part of the Navajo creation story involves the First Man, First Women, First Angry and the coyote born in the water climbing into the second world, followed by all other creatures.

Second or Blue World

Niʼ Hodootłʼizh

The second world was inhabited by various blue-gray furred mammals and various birds, including blue swallows. The beings from the First World offended Swallow Chief, and they were asked to leave. First Man created a wand of jet and other materials to allow the people to walk upon it. This allowed them to walk up into the next world through an opening in the south, traveling to the third world.

Third or Yellow World

Niʼ Hałtsooí

The third world is called the Yellow World and was home to six mountains, where the holy people lived. These holy people were immortal and traveled by following rainbows. There was the Talking God, Black God, Water Sprinkler and House God. In the this world First Woman gave birth to a set of twins, who were neither male nor female. Four days later, a second set of twins were born, a male and female and after 20 days, five pairs of twins had been born. The mountain gods each took a set of twins, teaching them how to pray and wear masks before returning them to their parents. Over the next eight winters, the twins found mates and brought many people into being

Fourth or White WorldNiʼ Hodisxǫs

When the people arrived it was covered in water and there were monsters already living here. The Sacred Mountains were re-formed from soil taken from the original mountains in the Second World. First Man, and the Holy People created the sun, moon, seasons, and stars. It was here that true death came into existence via Coyote tossing a stone into a lake and declaring that if it sank then the dead would go back to the previous world.

Multiple batches of modern humans were created a number of times in the Fourth World and the Holy Ones gave them ceremonies which are still practiced today.