Diné bahane’ – Navajo Creation Story

Mescalito; Bilagody, H.; Yazzie, E.; Blackgoat, D.; Vigil, M.; Sandoval, R.; Sandoval, A.; Jimerson, F.; Jimerson, A.; Morgan, W.; Zolbrod, P. (1984). Diné’ bahane’ / Navajo creation story. University of New Mexico Press.

There are four worlds beneath our world. Those are linked to one another by a hole that goes through the middle of all worlds. We live in the fifth world according to some versions. The fourth world is where the spirits of the deceased go. The sky of one world is the seat of the above world.

Each world is more complex than the previous world, but they mirror one another. All of them have four directions: e’e’aah (=West), nóhookǫs (=North), ha’a’aah (=East), and shádi’ ááh (=South). The West is up on paper or up in our minds when we envision the territory. The place where the Sun goes down, probably where the migration originated (Alaska), and they traveled Southeast, following the Sun. Usually, explorers place upside on their mental maps the place where they come from, just like European explorers marked Europe on the map.

 In English, we say first world, second world, third world, and fourth world. In Diné bizaad, you can count using colors. The first world is the dark world, or Ni’ Nodiłhił. The second world is the blue world or ni’ hodotł’izh. The third world is the yellow world or ni’hatsooí. The fourth world is the red world, or probably ni’hołchí. Our world is ni’ hodisxǫs, or the glittering world. The sky has four colors in each world: łitsoí=yellow, dootł’izh=blue, lígai=white, and black=łizhin. Sunrise and sunset display all colors at once, and the intensity of the colors changes throughout the day. Similarly, sky colors change across worlds. In today’s world, white and blue are the most prominent in the sky.

Niłch’í dine’é, the people of the air, were the first beings in the worlds. They resembled insects. They were called to have children everywhere. We don’t understand them. They seem like countless tiny creatures flitting about, because their purpose is to bring life. That’s why they sought romantic relationships wherever they went.

Ni’ hodiłhił – Dark World

In the dark world all colors exist, yet no one really stands out. Chief Cháł=toad dominated the West. At the North there was ii’ní (thunder) and reed=lókʼaaʼ. At the East there was dą́ą́=food or the essence of naadą́ą́=corn. At the South there was táłtłʼááh álééh (blue heron). Four rivers flowed through the middle. Big tó=water was sitting far beyond land. The reed that someone may despise as weed was sacred. The world was quite simple, but the insects had a purpose. They traveled everywhere spreading love and seeking to have children. This didn’t please Chief Ch’áł. Waters rose all around and flooded the world. The insects survived because they were lightweight and could fly. They found a way up until they saw a hole. A blue-headed person called them in.

Ni’ hodotł’izh – the blue world

The second world was blue, ni’ hodotł’izh. In this world, there lived the swallow people. Swallow people lived in blue houses. They didn’t speak to niłch’í dine’é. The insect people sent the grasshopper and the locust to see if there was something in the world. And there was nothing. Then the insect people asked the swallow people if there was something in the world. And they said it was nothing. Lesson for our lives: always ask. Never let doubt lead you into danger. But if a doubt calls you, and you respond, embrace the adventure. Swallow people welcomed the insect people, and they lived together. However, the insect people had a calling, which the swallow people did not like. As a result, they were expelled once again. The waters also rose and flooded the area. But the insect people could fly, so they found a way upward until they spotted a hole. A yellow-headed person called them in.

Ni’ hatsooí – The yellow world

The second world was blue, ni’ hatsooí. In this world, there lived yellow people. Yellow people lived in yellow houses. They didn’t speak to niłch’í dine’é. The insect people sent the grasshopper and the locust to see if there was something in the world. And there was nothing. Then the insect people asked the yellow people if there was anything in the world. And the yellow people said there was nothing. All was empty. The yellow people welcomed the insect people, and they lived together. However, the insect people received a calling, which the yellow people didn’t like. They were expelled once again. Meanwhile, the waters rose and flooded the area, but the insect people could fly. They followed a red smoke and found a path upward until they saw a hole. They entered a red world. I took the liberty to call it ni’ hołchí, but this needs to be confirmed.

Ni’ hołchí – El mundo rojo – The red world

Swallow people welcomed the insect people, and they lived together. However, the insect people had a calling that the swallow people didn’t like. As a result, they were expelled once again. Then, the waters rose and flooded the area. Luckily, the insect people could fly, so they found a way to escape. Flying they saw a hole. A yellow-headed person called them in. Four red rivers crossed the area from all directions. The people, who lived in upright houses or the k’isáani (the Pueblos), dwelled there. But bits’íí’ łigai, the white body, whispered from the East, followed by the insect people. They were called to cleanse themselves. Then bits’íí’ łigai, the speaking God, created the first woman =áłtsé asdzá and the first man =áłtsé hastiin out of corn. They created the sun, the stars, and all the necessary things to have children. These are animals of the fourth world: nééshjaal = owl, tazhí = turkey, bį́į́h = deer, jádí = antelope, dlǫ́ʼii = weasel, nahashch’id = badger, and atseełtsoi = yellow eagle. And for other reasons more complicated than having children, a new wave flooded the area. They were too heavy to fly, but a lóka’a’ provided shelter. They stayed inside the shelter for 24 days, I think.

Oral tradition may differ from source to source. This source talks about five worlds. It’s not that the others are wrong.

Ni’ hodisxǫs – The fifth world

The people climbed through the reeds and reached the next world, but it was too hot and shiny because everything was too close together. So, the first man and the first woman created four mountains, placed far apart from each other, to spread out the light and heat and help preserve life. Games were introduced. The coyote played with them and won the first game, which led to the creation of death. The first to die was one of nadlééh (changing twins, no woman, no man). One brave man went to find him in the world below (the fourth world), and became the first medicine man.

The women had learned to enjoy themselves. The woman who pleased herself with an antelope horn gave rise to Dééłgéeł (the horned monster). The woman who enjoyed herself with an eagle feather created Tsé Nináhálee (the eagle monster). The woman who pleased herself with a stone gave rise to Tsé da Hodzíláłi (the monster who kicks people off cliffs). The woman who enjoyed herself with a cactus created Bináá’ Yée’ Aghání (the monster who kills with its eyes), who are twins. All of them were located on the East.

But then a man arrived who won everything — Nááhwiiłbįįhí — and the Kis’áanii started to play games with him, and they lost everything. So, they gathered with the gods to plan a way to trick the one who always wins. Darkness Chahałheeł and the wind Niłch’itried to deceive him, but they ended up being tricked instead.

I think, for this reason, the people know gambling leads to ruin, and they give it away to bilagáana the white man.

Then four animals offered to help. They had learned to be sneaky and crafty, and that’s how they won. Tł’iistosh(Great Sneak) helped them win in na’azhǫǫzh(hula hoop) by moving the hoop in a favorable direction. Jaa’baní (bat) won in tsidił táá’ts’áadah (13 chips) by making all chips one color. Na’azíí (gopher) helped them win tsinbétsił (pushing wood) by pushing from underground. And Tsį́į́łkoatii (woodpecker) hwlped them win in jooł(ball) by pushing on the ball. 

Then the one who wins everything was cast out to the edge of the stars, where Begochídí (the one who grabs women’s breasts) received him, and finally allowed him to return to the earth with another people to rule — and these are the people wandering around, or Naakáí, the Mexicans.