Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo IndiansStevenson, James
Religion
Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo Indians
Stevenson, James
Navajo Indians -- Rites and ceremonies
Upon inquiring of their mothers how they came into existence, and being
informed, they said, "Well, let our number be increased; we can not get
along with only two of us." The woman placed more yellow and white corn on
the mountain and children were conceived as before. A sufficient number
were born so that two brothers were placed on each of the four mountains,
and to these genii of the mountains the clouds come first. All the
brothers consulted together as to what they should live upon and they
concluded to make game, and so all game was created.
Navajo prayers for rain and snow are addressed to Hasjelti and Hostjoghon.
These gods stand upon the mountain tops and call the clouds to gather
around them. Hasjelti is the mediator between the Navajo and the sun. He
prays to the sun, "Father, give me the light of your mind, that my mind
may be strong; give me some of your strength, that my arm may be strong,
and give me your rays that corn and other vegetation may grow." It is to
this deity that the most important prayers of the Navajo are addressed.
The lesser deities have shorter prayers and less valuable offerings made
to them. Hasjelti communicates with the Navajo through the feathered
kingdom, and for this reason the choicest feathers and plumes are placed
in the cigarettes and attached to the prayer sticks offered to him.
THE FLOATING LOGS.
A man sat thinking, "Let me see; my songs are too short; I want more
songs; where shall I go to find them?" Hasjelti appeared and, perceiving
his thoughts, said, "I know where you can go to get more songs." "Well, I
much want to get more, and I will follow you." When they reached a certain
point in a box canyon in the Big Colorado River they found four gods (the
Hostjobokon) at work hewing logs of cottonwood. Hasjelti said, "This will
not do; cottonwood becomes water-soaked; you must use pine instead of
cottonwood." The Hostjobokon then began boring the pine with flint, when
Hasjelti said, "That is slow work," and he commanded the whirlwind to
hollow the log. A Jerusalem cross was formed with one solid log and a
hollow one. The song-hunter entered the hollow log and Hasjelti closed the
end with a cloud, that the water of the river might not enter when the
logs were launched upon the great waters. The Hostjobokon, accompanied by
their wives, rode upon the logs, a couple sitting on the end of each cross
arm. These were accompanied by Hasjelti, Hostjoghon, and two Naaskiddi,
who walked on the banks to ward the logs off from the shore. Hasjelti
carried a squirrel skin filled with tobacco from which to supply the gods
on their journey. Hostjoghon carried a staff ornamented with eagle and
turkey plumes and a gaming ring with two humming birds tied to it with
white cotton cord. The two Naaskiddi carried staffs of lightning.(7) After
floating a long distance down the river they came to waters that had a
shore on one side only, and they landed. Here they found people like
themselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account