A study of Navajo symbolism - Free History Ebooks

AN ORIGIN LEGEND FOR CURING SORCERY: FISHLER 57father." The mother replied, "That is notthe only person like that. Many people havewarts." But she went and looked at Coyoteand finally recognized him.Shortly after this, Coyote's new wife had ababy and she threw him into a badger hole.Coyote went back to the badger hole so hecould eat the baby, for he knew whose childit was. In the hole lived an old male and afemale owl who had no children. When Coyotearrived, the female owl told Coyote hecould not eat the baby. The old man askedif he and his wife could raise the child andCoyote agreed. The old owls raised the babyuntil he was a man about twenty years old.From the time Coyote's son was a baby heslept with the grandmother owl and the oldman became jealous, for he never had a chanceto sleep with his wife.One day the wind whispered in the boy'sear and said: "If you stay here the owl willkill you. You have a home and a mother andbrothers and sisters. You have to go home."The boy then started off to find his home, asthe wind had directed him. When he got towhere he was born he found the ruin of anold hogan. As he approached the ruin he sawa black poker (see plate I, C, 6) which hadbeen thrown away by the people who hadlived there before. As he got closer to thepoker, he winked his eye and the poker turnedinto a person. The poker turned into an oldman. The poker said, "My grandson, I was tohave killed you, but I will not kill vou. Thereis another old hogan out there. That is wherevou are going."The boy continued on until he came uponanother old hogan. Here he found some ashand as he winked his eye the ash turned intoa person — an old woman. She said, "Mygrandson, I was to have killed you, but I willnot. There is a hogan out there. That iswhere you are going." The boy continued onuntil he reached still another hogan. Insidethis hogan, was a torch thrown away by theformer inhabitants. As Coyote's son winkedhis eye, the torch turned into a boy and allhappened as before. These people did not killthe boy for he had power; besides he had donenothing and they did not want to kill him.Each time he traveled on, he met somethingdifferent which had been thrown away fromeach of the hogans. The ceremonial potturned into an old woman. The stirring stickturned into a girl. The bowl turned into amiddle-aged woman. The dipper turned intoa young girl. The metate turned into a very,very old woman. The mano turned into avery young girl (8-10). The old worn outbrush turned into an old woman. The BroadYucca turned into a man of 35; the regularYucca turned into a woman of about 35; theYeibichai Yucca turned into a boy of 20 andthe Horn Yucca into a girl of about 17.As Coyote's son traveled along from onehogan to another, the first hogans were veryold, but now they were getting newer andnewer. The Yucca People were not found inthe hogans, but the bov met them as he traveledalong. The Wide or Broad Yucca saidto him, "I was to have killed you, but I willnot. There are people ahead of you. That iswhere you are going." Each of the Yucca toldhim this.When he met the Bear, the Bear told himthe same as the Yuccas. Then he met BigSnake, the Thunder and the Wind. After theboy met the Wind, the Little Holy Windwho was taking care of him said and whisperedin his ear: "Your grandfather Owl tookhair, spit, dirt from vour arms, body and legs,your feces and urine, your footprint and yourshadow — he used them for witchcraft. Thatis why all those things happened to you. Youmust be careful of yourself and watch forwitchcraft. Build a small hogan just like asweat bath. Don't make room for the owl orhe will kill you. Just make enough room foryourself. Build a fire in front of the hoganfor the rocks."The boy did as he was told and built ahogan. He got inside of the sweat hogan towardthe back at sundown and soon he heardthe two owls coming toward him. Each owlgave four hoots when they got to the littlehogan. Then the grandfather owl said "Wheredo you think you are going, my grandson?Let us go back home." The boy refused toq-o with the two owls.The wind whispered to the boy and theboy took out five stones (white shell, turquoise,oyster shell, jet and red rock) as agift to the owls. When they received the qift,the owls said no more and left. They had