Indeed ‘The Navajo Origin Legend’ story is a Native American myth that gives meaning and values of Navajo culture, history, and human creation. The Navajo story might potentially function to change meaning or value among future generations.
In the Navajo Origin story, there is the illustration numbering of days, cleansing and creation. Indeed, the next generation might have to give the twelfth day a special meaning. Additionally, cornmeal is portrayed as a purification item as persons both men and women use to dry themselves. More so, this story gives a perspective that men are superior to women in that men use white cornmeal to wipe themselves while men use while women use inferior yellow cornmeal. This superiority illustration is only a myth since it is not true. In fact, the story tries to make believe that it is only after cleansing “ablutions” that the gods should appear and perform rituals. The future generations are intended to think that people have to shout so that the gods appear and must first purify and dry themselves. Also, the future generation is made to believe about disparities of colors as the blue, and black bodies are said to carry buckskin. In essence, the buckskin is thought to be sacred too. Further, the story portrays the myth of white color superiority and that the white body gives power of both men and women. Still, the Navajo Origin Legend story intends to make people believe that men originated from the East while women originated from West. Further, the myth means to make people think that eagles as a sacred too. By giving men the white color, the story intends to show men as purer than women. Moreover, there is the value given to directions of the wind and future generation might believe that wind blowing from the East is superior as the originator of man. Additionally, the eagle feature is shown as a source of life too as the white eagles features start moving between the buckskin. In fact, this is another myth that human beings originated from animals and that eagles and bucks are sacred. Indeed, the Navajo myth concludes that it is the wind from our mouths that now gives us life. Therefore, the future generation would have to give so much value to the wind as a source of life and much more meaning of eagles and bucks as an origin of human creation.
Further, the Navajo myth shows that death occurs when the wind leaves human mouths. Also, people are made to believe that skin at their fingertips show trails of the wind and that is where their ancestors originated. As such, the Navajo story illustrates that the origin of the two human beings who appeared after the wind blew over the buckskin as the first man and woman on earth. For that reason, man and woman were created on the same day but with different status complexes. Also, it is the gods that ordered the people to build a brushwood enclosure for the pair to live and as such husband and wife should forever live together. Consequently, the future generation is made to believe that marriage is sacred, and husband and wife should indeed live in structured houses and not any other habitat.
The Navajo narrative offers a perspective that the Navajo people’s culture of the land as fertile by the illustration of corn, eagles, and bucks. Besides, there is there is the possibility of enough forest land as husband and wife are directed to construct brushwood enclosures, meaning Navajo is not a desert land but rather a fertile forest. Further, the story gives the perspective that the Navajo land is hilly where the strong wind blows from the both directions. Still, the Navajo story has the standpoint of time as illustrated by people using cornmeal to dry their bodies as such it must be in the ancient time since no clothing is given. Finally, the story gives the view of ancient time in that that the two people who appeared are the first man and woman.
- Matthews, Washington. Navaho Legends. University of Utah Press. Salt Lake City; 1994.
