)/;, Crystal chrysalis <strong>of</strong> insect from Spiro Mound,Oklahoma. See pages 86 and 88. (Photo,courtesy <strong>of</strong> the University o\ Oklahoma \lnseum.Plate IV. a, Antlered human head <strong>of</strong> steel andsilver, from Persia, 19th century, owned by MissSusan Dwicht Bliss, New York.
NOTES ON CORRESPONDING SYMBOLS: WHEELWRIGHT 89ETHKAY-NAH-ASHI AND ASVINSIn connection with the <strong>Navajo</strong> Ethkaynah-ashi,2 it is <strong>of</strong> interest to turn to comparablefigures in the earliest Vedic mythology <strong>of</strong>India. Of the divine pair <strong>of</strong> horsemen calledAsvins in the Rigveda, Keith (pp. 30-32)writes: "They are beautiful, strong, and redand their path is red or golden. They havea skin filled with honey and touch the sacrificeand the worshipper with their honey-whip.Their chariot alone is described as honeyhuedor honey-bearing, and it also hasthe peculiarity <strong>of</strong> possessing three wheels,three felloes, and all the other parts triple.The time <strong>of</strong> the Asvins' appearance is atdawn; they follow dawn in their car. . . .They are wedded to a deity described asSurya, the sun-maiden, or the daughter <strong>of</strong>the Sun, and it is for her perhaps that theircar has three seats and three wheels. . . .Moreover they are physicians who heal diseases,restore sight to the blind, and ward <strong>of</strong>fdeath from the sick. . . ."The Indian interpreters <strong>of</strong> the early periodwere at a loss to decide the nature <strong>of</strong> theAsvins, whom they regarded as heaven andearth, sun and moon, day and night, or even astwo kings who were performers <strong>of</strong> holy acts.It is clear that in essence thev are one withthe Dioskouroi and with the two sons <strong>of</strong> theLettic god who came riding on steeds to wo<strong>of</strong>or themselves the daughter <strong>of</strong> the Sun or theMoon and who, like the Dioskouroi, are recuersfrom the ocean. The older identificationwith sun and moon has been supported, andthey have been regarded merely as succouringgiants who have no mythical basis, butthe more probable view is either that theyrepresent the twilight (half dark, half light),or the morning and the evening star." Guardians<strong>of</strong> immortality, who can ward <strong>of</strong>f death,restore life, rejuvenate and make fertile, they2 Their name means "the-two-that-go-together."They are mysterious, and so holv that they are onlyshown on creation paintings and always in whitecolor. In vol. I, <strong>Navajo</strong> Creation Myth, <strong>Navajo</strong> ReligionSeries, published by the Museum <strong>of</strong> <strong>Navajo</strong> Cerewereonce shut <strong>of</strong>f in a lower rank from othergods because <strong>of</strong> their healing <strong>of</strong> men. In theRigveda they rank below Indra, Agni andSoma. When they rejuvenated Cyavana, theancient husband <strong>of</strong> Sukanya, he obtained forthem the previously denied right to the Somadrink <strong>of</strong> the gods. In the later epics they arecalled Nasatya and Dasra, and appear in higherstatus as physicians <strong>of</strong> the gods and healers <strong>of</strong>mankind. Some accounts reported one Asvinas bright and the other dark, in as striking contrastas the black and white eagles <strong>of</strong> Aeschylus.These twins, sometimes alike, sometimeslight and dark, are conceived <strong>of</strong> both as means<strong>of</strong> reinforcement and in opposition; most generallythey are transmitters and healers.Like the Asvins, the Greek Dioskouroi,Castor and Polydeuces (latinized Pollux) — thesons <strong>of</strong> Zeus by Leda — were handsome horsemen,who rescued many men, especially inbattle and at sea. Kerenyi (p. 87) also tells <strong>of</strong>Dioskouroi, who were represented in Samothraceby two brazen phallic statues, similarto those <strong>of</strong> Hermes, at the entrance to themost secret shrine <strong>of</strong> the Great Mother. Dawson(p. 374) mentions the ruins <strong>of</strong> an earlyIron Age temple at Nesactium in the south <strong>of</strong>Istria which contains remarkable statues <strong>of</strong>twin figures — ithvphallic horsemen — and agoddess <strong>of</strong> birth, and says that the worship <strong>of</strong>a triad consisting <strong>of</strong> the Mother Goddess andtwo divine horsemen was still prevalent inPannonia during the Roman period. In Spartathe Dioskouroi were exponents <strong>of</strong> virtues andvalor, called by Plutarch "Guardians." Farnell(p. 210) speaks <strong>of</strong> their worship at Epidauros,where "they were evidently attractedinto the circle <strong>of</strong> Asklepios as healers, andcame to share with him the ministrations <strong>of</strong>his priest and were — probably in the healingsense — entitled the 'Saviour-gods'."monial Art, they are called transmitters <strong>of</strong> life to allcreation and are always mystically present at ceremonies.See page 8 in Part I <strong>of</strong> this <strong>study</strong>, fig. 3,and section on "Notes on Parallel Symbols and Ritesin India, Tibet and Ancient Persia" in Part III, page 95.
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UNIVERSITYOF FLORIDALIBRARIES
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PAPERS OF THE PEABODY MUSEUMVOLUME
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PAPERSOF THEPEABODY MUSEUM OF ARCHA
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PART I: NAVAJO SYMBOLS IN SANDPAINT
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CONTENTSPLATE III. Antlered altar f
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PART I:NAVAJO SYMBOLS IN SAND PAINT
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TOTHE NAVAJO SAND PAINTINGBECOME ac
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A STUDY OF NAVAJO SYMBOLISMa bruise
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WIND, RAIN, HAIL, CLOUDS, MIST, LIG
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48 A STUDY OF NAVAJO SYMBOLISMtrail
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