May 2009
Monthly Archive
Similarly, the emergence of First Man and First Woman in the Navajo is more tied to magic: After the insect people are instructed to cleanse themselves in corn meal, they are visited again by the holy people, or Haashch’ééh dine’é, who then prepare a ritual by placing a buckskin on the ground. On top of the buckskin, they place two ears of corn, one yellow and one white, both covered with grain on the end, and their heads pointing toward the East. The ears are then covered with a second buckskin. They place the appropriate colored feather under each ear and invite the wind to blow upon this pile. The Holy People walk around the pile as the wind blows and at the end of their ritual, remove the top buckskin to reveal a man and a woman: (more…)