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Show 2 I. HAJHNEI Man and Holy Boy), and Holy Woman and Holy Girl make up this family. Some beings, such as the Monsters (Naaye'), are opposed to man. Others are at least very difficult to please. These include the Great Snake (TTiish tsoh), the Great Bear (Shash tsoh), the Thunders (Ii'ni), and the Winds (Niyol). Big Fly (Do' tsoh) and Bat (Jaa'abani) are doorguards for Bear and Snake. They can also carry messages among the Yei'ii and sometimes from the Yei'ii to the Twins. Most often, though, messages to the Twins come from Little Wind or Spirit Wind (Niyol biyazhi). Little Wind works like a combination of conscience and intuition. These beings have both an inner, or spirit, form and an outer, or physical, form. The outer form may change from time to time as needed, but the inner form never changes. So, despite his many outer forms, Monster Slayer may be called simply Elder Brother. Likewise, all the names of Born For Water (Holy Boy, Reared Underground, Changing Grandchild, He Who Scalps, He Who Floats Down) are joined in the name of Younger Brother. Holy Girl-Yellow Corn Girl becomes Younger Sister, and Holy Woman-White Corn Girl becomes Elder Sister. The single parent, mother or grandmother, is Changing Woman. Each being seems to have his or her own character, patrons, and enemies. Elder Brother is strong and active, and he wins by force. His enemy is Buffalo Chief-Abalone Woman, who controls game that lives in herds. His patrons, whose powers he gains, are the Thunders and the Snakes. Elder Brother is concerned with game animals and the power of death. Younger Brother's enemy is White Butterfly; his patrons are the Birds, Stars, and Water Beings. He is concerned with agriculture and the power of life. Younger Sister, whose patron appears to be Water Woman, has Big Snake as her foe. Elder Sister has Mountain Woman for her patron; her enemy is Hunger Woman, She Who Dries People Up. In general, then, the Younger Brother and Sister are linked to water, agricultural growth, and life, while the Elder pair are concerned with mountains, game animals, and death. Songs are important to the Navajos. Each ceremony has many songs associated with it. One singer said he knew over five hundred songs for Hail Way. As many as three hundred songs have been sung during the final long winter night of some ceremonies. Most of these songs are grouped in sets of four or multiples of four. Navajo songs have a formal, dignified beauty. Often |