Navajo Myths

The Huichol Indians are an indigenous group that lives “in the Sierra Madre Mountains of northwestern Mexico” (Woolcott). The Huichol religion is an animistic religion. According to Dr. Pamela Lindell, animistic religions are “religions that believe that all of nature – humans, animals, plants, rocks, the ocean, etc. - is animated by spirits and souls” (“Professor’s Notes 2” 3). To better understand the Huichol Indians and their religion, this paper examines Huichol myth, symbolism, rituals, religious specialists, and deities from various anthropological perspectives.

The belief system of the Choctaws was shared beliefs of the tribes of the south-eastern regions of North America. They believed that they emerged from the earth through a mound called Nanih Waiya. The major deity was the sun, a spiritual being whose earthly representative was fire. Another belief of the Choctaws had to do with death. It was their custom to clean the bones of the dead before depositing them in boxes or baskets in the bone-houses, the work being performed by "certain old gentlemen with very long nails," who allowed their nails to grow long for this purpose. The people of this tribe also followed the custom of setting up poles around the new graves, on which they hung hoops, wreaths, etc. As their name seems to imply, they practiced artificial head flattening. They believed this process would aid the spirit in its ascent.

According to the history of the Navajo Tribe, the Holy People lived in the underworld and helped by guiding the First Man and First Woman to earth (McCoy 1988). The Holy People are said to be attracted to songs, dances, and chants during the ceremony along with the creation of Sandpainting. The Sandpainting is used in the healing process of the ceremony to draw a picture that tells a story of the Holy People. The Navajo culture have amazed so many people to how beautifully constructed the rituals are performed.

The Plains Indians religious beliefs were quite similar and interesting. The Plains Indians believed in Animism. Animism is the belief that everything possesses a spirit. Besides Animism, the Plains Indians only worshiped one other “god.” That was the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit was the mother of all things. They would perform ceremonies for her. Sacred items were also important to the people of the Plains. They would have items that they believed had spiritual or talismanic powers. The items would be located in a pouch at the person’s side. The Medicine Man would also carry around multiple pouches with different talisman. This could come in the form of a peace pipe or a calumet or something that they

The most phenomenal thing about each individual culture though they may be similar in some ways they vary in the most impeccable manner that makes that group of people unique such as the Navajo Tribe. “The Navajo are natives of the Four Corners region (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado). The Navajo people are still living in their traditional territory today. The Navajos live on a reservation, which is land that belongs to them and is under their control. The Navajo Nation has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Navajos are also US citizens and must obey American law.) Redish, L., & Lewis, O. (2011). Every belief or tradition are what make the very aspect

lack of food at Bosque Redondo was caused in part by the inability of the ...

The Navajo believe there are two classes of beings, The Holy people and the Earth people. The Earth people of the Navajo must do everything they can to maintain the peace and harmony of Mother Earth since they are an integral part of the universe. According to Discover Navajo, “it is believed that centuries ago the Holy People taught the Navajo how to live the right way and to conduct their many acts of everyday life“ (Navajo culture, 2008). The Navajo people were taught to live one with animals, insects, man, and plants. Mt. Blanca to the east, Mt. Taylor to the south, San Francisco Peak to the west and Mr. Hesperus to the North near Durango, Colorado, were put in place by the holy people in the four different directions. Jet Black, Turquoise, White Shell, and Yellow Abalone represent the four directions. The Navajo culture uses the number four to symbolize many other different things. For example, there are four seasons and four distinct directions.

The Navajo people used ancestor's land to find ways of wind. They bathed and dried themselves with cornmeal. After bathing themselves, they had gods come and put different colored cornmeal down. the winds blew and they knew which way the winds blew when their ancestors were around. After doing so the wind would die down and the Navajo people believed they would also

Prior to researching about the Navajo Native American art forms, I was unaware of all the various forms of art seen in their culture. Most people think of the paintings and drawings when they think of art, but there are other forms of art and ways to be expressive without painting and drawing. Upon researching this fascinating culture, I learned so much more about their lives and the forms of art that they create. Throughout this paper I will be talking about the different art forms the Navajo culture possesses. The Navajo art forms consist of jewelry, blankets, rugs, pottery and baskets.

All humans are interested in their origins and trying to account for their existence through creation stories. Native Americans tribes are no different from the rest of humanity. The tribes’ stories explain how people came into existence, how they came to be live on the lands they do and the how people interact with nature and each other. These trends can be seen in the legends of three tribes hailing from New England to the Great Lakes Region.

Some ways came in a form of symbols, art, and religion. Native Americans used symbols to express themselves by using totem poles, teepees, peace pipes, and dream catchers. The totem pole was “a large, tall wooden carving of various animals, each representing a family member of a loved one who had passed away” ( "Native American Culture" ). The teepee symbolized a sacred place for the people or peoples who lived within them. The peace pipe was mainly used in spiritual ceremonies. During the ceremony the piped would be passed around and smoked followed by a prayer. The smoke from the pipe was believed to carry prayers up to the heavens. Dream catchers were a little different they would let the good dreams slip through the center and slide down the feathers and onto the person sleeping below, while the bad dreams would get caught in the web and be destroyed by the first rays of morning sunshine. These symbols were beautiful and a few are still around today. Their artwork became a way of communication and language within itself. The natural beauty and appreciation for nature lies in their pottery, painting, baskets, leather works,, sand paintings, and wood work. Although the natives had symbols and art it was their “religion” that brought their uniqueness together. Native Americans religion is hard to explain because it all depended on the tribe, but many were similar in the major aspects. Their

Throughout history, and all over the world, mythology has been developed as a way of explaining the unknown and coping with one’s existence. Why does the sun shine? Well, seemingly, to generations past, something is controlling the universe, so there must be a god in charge of the sun and many other natural phenomenon. During the creation of Native American myths, “there was much in the way of free-range food, but hunting wasn't as easy as getting up in the morning, taking a stroll and shooting a few passing bison with your bow” (Godchecker). Times were tough, “even Plains societies who lived off the prolific buffalo fell under the threat of starvation at times” (Godchecker). Finally, “when herds were found, the people were grateful and

In the Southwest plain of North America, Europeans came in contact with ancient peoples and gave them the name, “Pueblo Indians.” Their successors that arrived between 1200 and 1500 are the Navajo peoples. The Navajo borrowed many different characteristics of “Pueblo Indians’,” culture. Sand painting was one feature the Navajo borrowed from the “Pueblo Indians.” Applied to a flat blanket and using two fingers to create, sand painting is a ritual art form that uses representations of gods for prayers, chants, and healing ceremonies. During the ceremony the person in need of prayers or healing sits in the center of the painting to absorb the powers of gods. Many of the artists who would perform these ceremonies were often religious leaders, medicine

The themes and typical subjects in the stories from the American frontier during the early eighteen hundreds are rather close to my heart. Stories told around the campfire about historical events, however, embellished and enhanced with a purpose to educate and entertain the audience. Besides tales, myths and legends are spoken as well. These themes remind me of crisp autumn nights when through the frightening tales ghouls and ghost come alive. Luckily those cannot harm you while you are snug and warm around the fire. It is also described in our study material that these stories are comparable to the Native American storytelling where an individual is educated about the history of the society through storytelling. This is also the time when

To start off, they believed in “The Creating Power” who was like their God. “There was a world before this one, but the people in it did not know how to behave themselves or how to act human”(Sioux). The actions of the people displeased the Creating Power, so he decided to make a new one. The Creating Power sang four songs, stomped on the earth four times, and the earth began to flood. All of the people and the animals were drowned by the flood. Meanwhile, there was one crow that survived and kept asking for the creating power to make a place, for it so it could land. The creating had a pipe bag that he contained all manner of animals and birds who could stay underwater for a long period time. The creating power demand several animals from the pipe bag to dive to the bottom and bring up a lump of mud, but they all failed. The creating sang a fourth song and lifted the turtle out of the bag. The turtle dived and stayed