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Show 28 II. ANAA, DZI£K'I, HOZHONEE'JI wandered south till she came to the home of Ch'al, the Toad. He punished her for trespassing on his land by shooting her hips, knees, and shoulders with mudballs. When her husband, Big Snake Man, found her, she was stiff as a corpse. He restored her to life. Then he punished Ch'alby shooting the Toad's darts back at him. The third day, she went north and met the Rock Wrens. They were rolling stones down a smooth hill. She tried to imitate their sport, but the stones buried and crushed her. That day no one, not even Mountain Lion or Wolf or Wildcat, could find her. Finally Big Snake Man called on Badger. He discovered her body buried under the rocks, her bones already stripped of flesh. Badger brought the bones back to Big Snake Man. He completely restored Younger Sister, using the songs of the Arrowsnake and the Wind. Younger Sister remained at the home of Big Snake for four years. At the end of this time, all the songs, prayers, medicines, sandpaintings, incense, and prayersticks of the chant had been given to her. "A ceremony shall be held for you, a sing given for you," she was told. "You shall become holy. Your Elder Sister on the other side of Wide Chokecherry Patch also has learned all that she needs to know. A ceremony will be conducted for her also." So, as Elder Sister's Mountain Way ceremony began, the Younger Sister's Beauty Way ceremony started. The usual rituals were held on the first four days. A prayer to Big Snake Man was said.8 Young man, this day I gave you my tobacco, at [Cabezon Peak], Young Man, Big Snake Man, Head Man! Today I have given you my tobacco, today you must make my feet and legs well, my body, my mind, my sound, the evil power you have put it into me, you must take it out of me, away, far away from me! Today you must make me well. All the things that have harmed me will leave me. I will walk with a cool body after they have left me. Inside of me today will be well, all fever will have come out of me, and go away from me, and leave my head cool! I will hear today, I will see today, I will be in my right mind today! Today I will walk out, today everything evil will leave me, I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body, I will walk with a light body. 8 Selection from Leland C. Wyman, ed.,Beautyway: A Navajo Ceremonial, Bollingen Series LIII, pp. 141-42, copyright (c) 1957by Princeton University Press. Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press. |
