A study of Navajo symbolism - Free History Ebooks

All of these things can be taken and used bya witch to make a person ill and sick.23. These are all of the things combinedwhich can kill you. The various colored linesrepresent everything that can be used. Thecircle represents the earth — everything onthe earth. The yellow cross represents nothing.13 Because of these things a witch maypray that you be killed by anything — a horse,rock, sheep and so on. Many colors are usedbecause the witch can use anything to makesomeone sick.24. Witch (red).a. This means that he is crying becauseof what has been done to him with this ceremony.Big Snake was beaten by this power(the ceremony).b. The songs and prayers go from thehead to the toes, and the witch's power goesback to his heart or has been reversed on him(the usual order of sequence has been reversedto nullify the witchcraft and to send it backto the witch).c. "A long time ago when a witch usedthis power on me and now it goes into hisheart."d. The circle represents the power thathas been encircled or turned back to him (thewitch).25. The witch has died and gone farunder the north pole to the "c'j-di-" land.26. The prayer goes: "Witchcraft wentbehind the red world and red heaven."a. Red Heaven.b. Red Earth.c. The entrance or door.The witch is blocked in and no longer canuse his power.27. This is the witch Coyote who comesup in front of the witch to block him. Thewitch and Coyote ordinarily are friends, butbecause of these songs and prayers, Coyotemust block the witch.28. Squeaking Pinyon Jay. He is a friendof witches. He also must block the witch becauseof the songs and prayers (i.e., becauseof this ceremony Squeaking Pinyon Jay isforced to fight against the witchcraft).THE PICTURE WRITING: FISHLER29. Big Red Star — Coyote's Star. 14 Thisstar is seen only during the summer. Big RedStar is a god, for when a witch says somethingwill happen to someone due to this star, it willhappen. He, too, must block the witch becauseof this ceremony.30. Red North Star. This star is evil. He,too, must block the witch.Black North Star. He is our friend forhe helps us. There are these two north stars:one good and one evil, but both live in heavenand not on the stars themselves, for they are3 1 .gods.32. Curing Bear, a good bear. Now as wetravel back (i.e., from the first line to thesecond and right to left), we start to cure thepatient. The Black Bear is first and the BlueBear is second. In the sincr the reverse is true,for you sing to the Blue Bear first and theBlack Bear second, saying as before (plateI, D, 18): "Big Blue Bear to the eastward, etc.,etc."33. Curing Big Snake. He is of two colors,which are represented as before. The tonguesand the red color represent the power to swallowwitchcraft as is shown above.34. Curing Thunder. He is also of twocolors and is the same as above.35. Wind. He is of the two colors and isthe same as the others. Only two CuringBears, Big Snakes, Thunders and Winds areused, instead of four, because sometimes peoplepray only to one god or two instead ofall four. This has been done from the beginning.These are sung in the Opposite ways sothat the power of the witch will be reversedback to him; so that he will die instead of hisvictim.36. Mirage Stone. The lines representwhat the lines actually look like in the realstone. These are actually gods and are prayedto, as are the Bear, Big Snake, Thunder, theWind and other gods: "Black Mirage Stone,get up before me, etc."37. Mirage Stone Powder. He is also a god.He is prayed to, as are the others, to stopwitchcraft.38. Emergence — Upward-Reaching-Way. 1563"The informant was very emphatic about this." Haile, 1947, p. 8."This is a small ceremony which may be givenseparately. The names which are given for the ma-jority of the following ceremonies are hypotheticaland not actually known. Father Berard, Dr. Wymanand the author agree as to these names being possibly(Continued on p. 64.)