Sacred-Texts Native American Navajo Index Previous Next
Something was spread over it. It moved and became alive. It whimpered. Woman-who-changes began to sing:—
| Changing Woman I am, I hear. In the center of my house behind the fire, I hear. Sitting on jewels spread wide, I hear. In a jet basket, in a jet house, there now it lies. Vegetation with its dew in it, it lies. Over there, It increases, not hurting the house now with it it lies, inside it lies. |
Its feet were made of mirage. They say that because a horse’s feet have stripes. Its gait was a rainbow, its bridle of sun strings. Its heart was made of red stone. Its intestines were made of water of all kinds, its tail of black rain. Its mane was a cloud with a little rain. Distant lightning composed its ears. A big spreading twinkling star formed its eye and striped its face. Its lower legs were white. At night it gives light in front because its face was made of vegetation. Large beads formed its lips; white shell, its teeth, so they would not wear out quickly. A black flute was put into its mouth for a trumpet. Its belly was made of dawn, one side white, one side black. That is why it is called “half white.”
A white-shell basket stood there. In it was the water of a mare’s afterbirth. A turquoise basket stood there. It contained the water of the afterbirth. An abalone basket full of the eggs of various birds stood there. A jet basket with eggs stood there. The baskets stand for quadrupeds, the eggs for birds. Now as Changing-woman began to sing the animals came up to taste. The horse tasted twice; hence mares sometimes give birth to twins. One ran back without tasting. Four times, he ran up and back again. The last time he said, “Sh!” and did not taste. “She will not give birth. Long-ears (Mule) she will be called,” said Changing-Woman. The others tasted the eggs from the different places. Hence there are many feathered people. Because they tasted the eggs in the abalone and jet baskets many are black.