What Is the Summary of the Navajo Origin Legend?
The Navajo creation story involves four worlds. In the first world, First Man and First Woman come into being. The second world is very similar to that of the Garden of Eden story in Genesis ending with First Man and First Woman banished to the third world. In the third world, they begin to pro-create, and in the fourth world, they settle down with the help of the wind god.
Like the creation story of the Bible, numbers play an integral role. The number four in particular, a prevalent number to the Navajo nation, is a recurring theme in the Navajo story of origin. There are four worlds in the story. In the first world, there are four oceans ruled by four creatures and four clouds in the sky. In the third world, there are four gods and five sets of twins born in four day increments. Each set of twins is given to one of the gods to become the ancestors of each of the four Navajo clans. There are some marked similarities of the Navajo creation story to that of the creation story in the Bible. The second world is a place populated with many plants and animals where everyone lives in harmony. First Man and First Woman are banished from the second world when Air People attempt to seduce the wife of the Swallow Chief.
