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p. 165

WANDERINGS OF THE NAVAJO

 yołgaiesdzan asked Mirage xactc’εłti and Mirage xactc’εoγan to go back toward the east and investigate. They started back and came in turn to White Shell Mountain, Turquoise Mountain, Abalone Mountain and to Jet Mountain. When they came to the top xactc’εłti began sing. As they came to the top of White Shell Mountain they called greetings to the distant mountains.

 They came with a rainbow to the summit of one mountain which was lying there. Next they came to the summit of Turquoise Mountain. A beautiful mountain stood there, it projected beautifully. Now it stood up beautifully. They came to Abalone Mountain. Now its head could be seen. Behold, it is that one. Very holy it sticks up. Now being holy with you it stands up.

 Here they come. Jet mountain on its top they arrived. Look we are going to that one. That is the one.

 They passed around the bases of these four mountains and as they passed under it (he sang):—

 “How is it over there?” “It is beautiful.” “Now, it is beautiful, my children,” yołgaiesdzan said. “Flowers are spread everywhere. Strong springs of water flow up out of the earth. My children shall live by use of them.”

 Here where the mountain lies, soft goods mountain, rain mountain, jewels mountain, pollen mountain, the one that is so named will lie. There will be many Navajo living on either side of it.

 Now, this white shell mountain lies. Inside of it is spotted wind. In young eagle’s mouth thunder will first sound. Vegetation will come to life. Spotted wind will move it with itself. The vegetation will be spotted toward it. Blue wind will make it move inside of Turquoise Mountain. Blue vegetation will appear.

 Black wind is inside of Abalone Mountain. The vegetation will came to life. Black vegetation will appear.

 Yellow wind is in the mountain of jet. It will stir with life. The flowers will wake up. Some of them will be red, some white, some blue. Flowers of all kinds will be seen. It will thunder there four times. First it will thunder as our bear will wake up. He travels with the aid of his p. 168 belly. He will stretch himself. He will bring back the news that tc’act’εzε is springing up. “Now they are all coming,” he will say. Then those that fly, blue bird, Say’s phoebe, buzzard, dove, crane, all will come. She ground up white shell mixed with corn of all colors. She rubbed her breast in this manner. A piece so large (match stick) fell down. She rolled this up in a black cloud. She stepped over it four times (singing).1

 The two got up looking just like persons. “Go toward the south, grandchildren,” she said. “I have some grandchildren living there.” She was referring to the twelve persons. There, by the shore of the ocean was a hogan. Children who played on the seashore came to her there. They played with the shells which the waves left. yołgaiesdzan sent word to the twelve persons and when they came she told them that she did not like to have the children play with these shells for they were her food. When the twelve returned they said: “Your grandmother sends word to you that she likes the white shells, that they are her food. She says you are not to pick them up. You will live over yonder by Black Mountain.”

 There they moved to a mountain named darkness. There according to their grandmother’s plan they picked up a bear so large. It became their pet. At a mountain which will be named yellow mountain they found a panther. By the will of their grandmother the bear and panther grew up by magic. Both were males. They grew in four days, which became four years.

 She summoned the twelve persons and told them that she had not made her grandchildren to live in that place. The messengers came back and said, “Your grandmother asks that the men named ba’ni’, baiłnikǫsε, banatinł and gicdo should come to her.” They went and then she said to them, “I did not make my grandchildren to live in this country. Go to the Navajo country. The Navajo country is where rain mountain lies. You go beyond where the mountain named White Shell Mountain lies, beyond where the mountain called Turquoise Mountain lies, beyond where the mountain called Abalone Mountain lies, beyond where the mountain called Jet Mountain lies. It will take you four days to go there. Then there will be a mountain sticking up in the distance. It is called White Face Mountain. You go on past that toward the north. When you have climbed one mountain just a little can be seen of a mountain there which is called crescent. Right under it you will cross a stream. Right across that lies a mountain which is called Black. At one end of this mountain is a flat and on it stands a mountain called balok’ai. p. 169 You go across that. On the other side, in this direction, a mountain stands, below which you should go. Over this way will be a mountain called Brushy Mountain. You will pass on the south side of that. There some Navajo are living. You will live there by Rain Mountain.” When she had said this she went back and picked up a string with four shells which she had lying in water. Then she went this way (south) into a room and came back in the same way with a string. Then she went west and brought back a string on which were four (beads). Next she went north and the same way brought back a string. She went again into a room at the east and came back with a cane of white shells. She went into a room to the south and brought out a turquoise cane. She went into the west room and brought a cane of abalone shell. She went next to the north room and came back with a cane of jet.

 “When you are about to die of thirst set one of these in the ground and rotate it sunwise and water will flow out.” She repeated these directions for each of the four canes, using the same words. Then she gave them the four bags in each of which was a string. “You are not to open these until after four days when you will have passed beyond the four mountains and then you may untie them,” she said. (You shall not hear the songs with which they were to be opened.)

 They started out and spent the night just beyond the mountain of white shell. Beyond the mountain of turquoise they slept the second night. The bags they were carrying became heavy, but they went on. They slept the third night beyond the mountain of abalone. Those beads became very heavy. They went on beyond the mountain of jet. The bags which they were carrying on their backs were very heavy. They camped there. The chief named ba’ni’ said, “Now, you may open the bags.” They opened them and the beads had increased and there were very many of them. He distributed them among the people and then the load each carried was very light.

 When it was day, they did not know which way to go. They sat down on a hill and discussed the matter. “That mountain sticking up there may be White Face Mountain. We should go that way.” They started away toward the north. They saw where someone had walked along. “My pet, it seems someone has been walking here,” the chief said to the bear. The bear looked at the place and stretched himself. “We will see who it is, my pet,” he said and they stopped where there was a cliff. The sun was setting. “What shall we drink?” baiłnikǫsε asked. ba’ni’ replied, “ ‘You shall use this when thirst overcomes you,’ p. 170 she told us.” He took up the white shell cane and turned it sunwise. Water sprang up, they drank, and spent the night there.

 ba’ni’ the chief said, “We may see someone today. There are tracks here.” As they were going down they saw there was much corn growing in the cañon bottom. The corn was in tassel. They camped there. One of the men looked about. There was no one to be seen, but a hogan stood there. Two persons went inside and then stood in the doorway. Behind them two others came, one was a man and one was a woman. The hogan was full. They discovered that Arrow People lived there and they greeted them as relatives. “Where are you from?” they asked the travelers. “We are from our grandmother’s shore. We are going to the Navajo country,” they replied. “Stay here and we will get acquainted with each other,” the Arrow People said. “You may eat the food which has ripened here.” Two of the messengers came back. “Camp here,” they said to us, “and eat what has ripened.” “All right,” he replied. Some of them went among them and came back with corn. It grew dark and the single men and single women found partners and lay with them. The people of that place gave corn and the travelers gave beads as marriage gifts.

 They remained there exchanging hospitality. They joined in rabbit hunts by surrounding them. They also hunted mountain sheep. They removed the hair from the skins which they softened and made into sacks. Others made shirts for themselves.

 Their pet panther lay on the piled up loads eating like a cat. The bear sat in a low place where he was fed. “We shall soon. move on, my pet,” ba’ni’ said to the bear. When it was dark ba’ni’ made a speech, “Tomorrow you will get ready to go on. Grind the corn they have given you and prepare provisions for the journey.”

 The Arrow people built a fire in their sweathouse. “Come to the sweathouse, come to the sweathouse, come to the sweathouse,” they called. The four chiefs, ba’ni’, baiłnikǫsε, banatinł, and gicdo went there and went into the sweathouse. The curtain was lowered. “Yes,” said ba’ni’, “My sons-in-law and my daughters-in-law seem to like each other. We are starting off. We are going where Rain Mountain lies, as we were told to do by our grandmother. We shall go in two days. Tomorrow we shall spend preparing the corn you gave us.” The Arrow People said nothing. They said to each other, “Our sons-in-law, our daughters-in-law did not become friends for just one day.” The Arrow People went out of the sweathouse, put dust on themselves, dressed and went home. The others too went home. Nothing was heard from the p. 171 hogan for two days. Afterwards they found out the Arrow People had said, “They are traveling with good women and many beads. We will kill all the men and the women will be ours.” Then the travelers started on leaving behind the men who had married their women and also the women who had married their men. They camped and passed the night. When it was dark the second night the bear went toward the south, pulled up young spruce trees and put them across each other. He sat down on top of them. ba’ni’ said, “n n n sos sos sos. I guess my pet is giving us a message about things which are happening behind us that we do not know about.” After a little while the bear began singing bear songs.

 Singing thus, his songs were made. He sang ten songs there. Just as it was becoming light a little they again heard some songs:—

 When he had sung two songs like this he got up, putting up his hand, he threw himself over backward and ran away.

 They found Arrow People had circled around them in order to kill them. The bear had run around them four times and had chased them to a hill which stood there. ba’ni’ spoke, saying, “My pet, come here.” One of the Arrow People spoke, saying, “We were sorry and were coming after you.” “No, no,” ba’ni’ replied. “You would have killed us if my pet had not run around you four times. If you were sorry for us why did you come at night. Why didn’t you come in the daytime? You had better go back before you get torn up.” “Well, some time I will come after you,” the Arrowmen said. “Well, come in the daytime so we will recognize you,” ba’ni’ said. It was for this reason they had taken the bear.

p. 172

 They started off and traveled, I do not know how many days.

 After a short day’s travel they camped for the night. The provisions they had been carrying were all gone. Hunger was killing them. They built a brush shelter and piled up the loads they had carried. Panther was lying on top of them. “Do something for us, my pet. There is nothing here for us to eat.” Panther stepped down, stretched, gaped, curled up his tongue, and started away. He went away and soon came back and lay down again on the loads. He kicked his feet and then his lips were red. “My pet has killed something,” he said. They followed his tracks back and found a young antelope lying dead. He had been gashed open along his side. He brought this meat back. They ate it and were saved. They then started on. Then panther went off by himself. He soon came back and his front paw was bloody. Two men followed his tracks back and found he had killed two antelopes. They prepared food for themselves and traveled on. They camped again and the panther got up by himself. He soon returned and his jaw was bloody. A party of men followed his tracks back and found he had killed three antelope. They prepared a meal and went on again. When the sun was about here (nearly down), they stopped for the day and made camp. The panther went off and soon came back. When they followed back on his tracks they found four large antelope lying dead. The panther had eaten the intestines of each. The men came back bringing much meat. Ba’ni’ directed them to roast the meat and make it into pemmican, so that it would not be so heavy. It was for this reason they had taken the panther. They were carrying out the intention of Yołgaiesdzan. When they had made the pemmican, they started off carrying it. They came to Navajo Mountain. “This is the mountain she told us not to climb, but to cross the ford at its base.” When they came there they found a bank or hill and water beyond flowing here and there. “That is the place,” they said and they crossed the ford.

 “We will stop here and eat, my children,” ba’ni’ said. They built a fire there. They saw something black over there where they had come down. “Those married men have come after us,” ba’ni’ said. One man went down to the river bank and told them the way to cross. “We were sorry and came after you,” they were saying as they embraced each other. (At that time we didn’t shake hands.) Those who came they found were not the husbands who had remained behind.

 “Well, if you are sorry about being separated from us we will be kinsmen from henceforth.” Just as they were starting to eat there was something black over there. One man went back and shouted to them p. 173 telling them where to cross. They found they had come right from the shore of yołgaiesdzan. “She told us to follow your tracks.” They were carrying a large snake on their backs. They had it to kill animals for them. They carried pollen for its food. “Your pets are the bear and panther. Ours the snake. We will be all one clan.” “All right,” the others said. “Now being all one clan we will travel in front.” They came to a place called Much Wool where they stayed for a year. During the year they stayed there they lived on mountain sheep. They piled up the wool from these sheep about the hogan and in that way the place took its name.

 “When it is spring and the ground is yellow she told us to go up on this mountain called Black Mountain.” The bear began to work again. He went ahead of the people and dug out tc’act’εzε with his paws. He also dug out wild onions. These served the people as their food when they arrived. They camped there and wondered where they could get water. “You have a cane, baiłnikǫsε,” they said. He stuck the turquoise cane into the ground and twisted it twice. The water flowed out and they ate their food with it. They slept there that night and when it was light, they went on, arriving at a place called Skunk Bush Spring. They went toward a place called Where-two-stars-lie, close by where they got lost, and came to the edge of Cañon de Chelly. They arrived here the rocks join and the water flows. There was much wide grass there and trees covered the top. They were following each other by this place. When someone called out “Wait,” they stopped and said, “This woman has given out we will remain here. Go on.” The kiya’ani, went on. The others remained at the place called tsinł’oik’a. A strange man came there. They found he was a tatcini. The others slept at tsεniidji‛dε and early in the morning started on again. “Wait, a woman has given out.” They found she had a husband. “Go on,” ba’ni’ said. “Take care of my son-in-law and my daughter-in-law.”

 The pair went to the place called totso and the clan totsoni are descended from them. There are now many of the totsoni clan. The others went on. At a place called tsεbasozołłεigε he stuck the abalone cane into the ground and twisted it. Abundant salt water sprang up. They drank the water and ate their meal. “Yes that mountain to which we have come is the one called Brushy Mountain. We do not go toward the South,” ba’ni’ said. “No, this place does not look like the right place. The one we went by has a mountain projecting horizontally as she told us,” ba’ni’ said. He put the white shell cane and the turquoise cane into the ground and water flowed up at both places. “ ‘Springs-opposite-each-other’ p. 174 this place will be called,” he said. They ate a meal there and then started back toward the south. They went up over hard ground. There was the place they had set out from. They unloaded on the other side where there was a sharp point. Those points came to be called kinniobiji. The one they had come up was called basła.

 There is a place called large “Cottonwood-tree-stands” beneath which water flows much spread out. The Navajo stopped here and planted corn. Red silk appeared on the corn and they recalled the directions they had received from yołgaiesdzan before they left her. She had told them to gather the ears low down on the stalks, husk them, and when they put them in the water to say, “Let there be frequent rains.” “Put them in a small pot to cook. Do not fail to do this,” their grandmother had told them.

 Growing children went for the ears of corn and when they put them in the pot they said, “Let there be showers here.” The next day four children, two boys and two girls, went for more corn. They did not come back at once. At midday just two of the children came back, saying they had been playing hide-and-seek, in pairs, in the corn. They failed to find the other pair and when they followed the footprints to a place where there was sand the tracks ceased. A boy and girl were missing. Some of the people went there to investigate and came back saying that what the children had reported was true. They wondered what had happened to the vanished pair and thought it possible they had gone to their grandmother’s place in the west.

 Four days later he (the chief) sent two children to get some young ears telling them to come back quickly. They came back very soon, saying the lost children had returned and were sitting in the field. “They told us to come back and tell you they had been to our grandmother’s place. They told us to get some mountain mahogany from the east, some Mormon tea from the south, some cedar from the west, some piñon from the north, and put them up in this manner. Then, they said, you were to get some sand from the garden and spread it down and stand up some brush on it in four concentric circles. When this is arranged, they said their grandmother had told them to bathe on it. That is what the two sitting there told us. They arranged this according to the directions and then the two came there and washed. The boy dried himself with white cornmeal and the girl with yellow cornmeal. After this they told their story.

 “While we were hiding from each other two persons were standing there. They were xactc’εłti and xactc’εoγan. ‘Come’ our grandmother p. 175 yołgaiesdzan said to us. Something white came to be spread near us. We felt nothing, but it alighted with us on the summit of tc’ocgai and then the top of the mountain called tsįbεl’ąi. There they washed us the way you have just done. Next we were taken to the summit of the jet mountain and then were conveyed to our grandmother’s doorway. When we went in, our grandmother lay curled up, nearly killed by old age. She got up and walked with a cane of white shell to a room to the east. She came out again somewhat stronger. She then went into the south room, walking with a cane of turquoise. She came back walking by herself unaided.

 “She went next without a cane into the room at the west. She came out a young woman. She went into the north room and came out a girl, so handsome, we were abashed. ‘You came here within my view, my grandchildren,’ she said to us. ‘You went away without songs.’ She began to sing and taught us the songs.” When they had learned the songs they sang them. (I do not know those songs. I know the horse songs.) They found they had been there four days.

 “ ‘Some of the songs I will not teach you. My grandchildren who live over there will teach you those. Do not forget those I have taught you. The day you forget them will be the last, there will be no other days.’ This is what our grandmother told us. Then two of the twelve people who live there came and began to sing the horse songs. We learned them. We were brought back to the summit of the mountain of jet, to the top of tsįbεl’ąi, to the summit of tc’ocgai, and then to the garden. We did not sleep last night. This grass on which we washed will be good. It will cause the people to increase, our grandmother told us.”

 Fall came and the Navajo camped across from kiya’a and lived there. During that time someone came up to the camp and reported the people on Red Mountain were being constantly defeated by their enemies. He said he was sent as a messenger to ask the loan of the bear which the people who came from their grandmother had for a pet. They wanted to have the bear to fight with. ba’ni’, who was the caretaker of the bear, said, “All right, in five days we will come.” When the fifth day came they started to war. When it was dark the party stopped. ba’ni’ addressing his bear spoke as follows: “My pet, the people who live at Red Mountain are being beaten all the time by their enemies. We are going there to war.” The bear went toward the south, pulled up some young spruce trees, and put them across each other. He sat on these and when it was very dark they heard songs:—

p. 176

 When it was light, the war party attacked. The scouts helped them to go across the prairie. Song:—

 They crossed the prairie without being seen, due to the darkness caused by heat mirage. They camped at sundown and when it was good and dark the bear sat as before. He put young spruces across each other and songs were heard again. The bear was singing:—

 It was light and they got up. So far the bear had walked and then he began to sing:—

 Then there were two songs, not long ones, and he ran up the mountain and ran around them four times and took their hearts out of them. All bloody, they lay side by side. They took the scalps. The bear himself had killed them all. They started back home and passed a hill that stands there.

 The bear stood up like a man, in his right hand he held a piece of dziłdilgεsi and tc’εji with a red male arrowhead. In his left hand he held ł’onastasi, toikał, and a red female arrowhead. Then he moved his hands across each other in four places. He made a curve four times. Speaking if he were naiyε’nezγani, he made four curves. Speaking like tobadjictini, he made four straight lines.

 Speaking as if he were naiyε’nezγani, he made four curved lines. Speaking like tobadjictcini he made four straight lines. Then he moved his hands across each other in four places. He then stuck into the ground the branches of plants and the arrowhead he had in his hand. He did the same way with what he had in his left hand. He then moved over these things and began to sing.

 There were six songs here. Then they came to a hill that stood there where he did exactly the same way. He made the lines again, sang six songs, and the party passed over the line again. When they had nearly returned he sang as follows:—

 He sang six songs and the party all passed ahead of him. Again they heard songs.

 He did that because the wind told him to. There were eight songs. (There will be one more. I am tired.) When they came to the hogan from which they had seen (?) he began to sing.

 There were two songs with the refrain, “With me we two start back?” Then there were two alike with the words, “With me they two get home,” then two, “With me they two sit.” The party then were home again. Hereafter when there is cough and fever ? ? That is why he sang that. When they returned with the bear he got angry and started to run off. ba’ni’ caught him with a rope saying, “My pet, you were going to do something bad.” He spread an unwounded buckskin and told his pet to sit on it. He put a string with five perforated white shell beads around his right wrist, and the same on his left wrist. He put similar strings of beads on each ankle and a string across his breast. Then between his ears he dusted specular iron ore, powdered turquoise, pollen from trees, and pollen from cat-tail rushes. He took turquoise from the bear’s (?) mouth with his spit on it and pulled out his hair where it was twisted. The bear shook himself and the pollen fell off. “This will be called what was put in a bear’s mouth. Hereafter when I live there will be danger from me. They will wish bad things to stay away.” “My pet, I found you where it is the way of darkness. On this side is a mountain called black. Your relatives will be there. You will walk there.” p. 179 He put some of the pollen which had been in his mouth on his head and led some of it before and behind him, He began to sing.

 It ends here. The bear went away to the mountain called Black Mountain. It is because of that bears are mean there. My maternal grandfather, baiłnikǫsε told me so. They decorated panther in the same way. “I found you at the place called yellow mountain, my pet. You will walk where it is called yellow stone. Because of that panthers are numerous there.”

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Footnotes

p. 168

1 The narrator said to me. “Not this song, I live by means of it. I live with it.”