The mythology of the Native Americans is very extensive, so today we are going to learn about some of the most important Native American gods related to the creation of the world and people.
The stories, religion, and gods of each culture form the basis of the beliefs, actions, and customs of each place and are key to understanding that culture.
Gods of the Native American Indians
To understand the gods of Native Americans, we must explore some sacred narratives and spiritual stories that are based primarily on nature . They often tell tales that relate to or explain the seasons, time, fire, water, and so on.
In the beginning is the Great Spirit, all-encompassing and with an omniscient relationship to the earth. Ancestors are also of great importance, as is the connection to nature. Rituals often incorporate tribal gatherings, dances, songs, rhythms, trances…
Let's now meet some of the most important gods
1. Tsohanoai
The sun god, or the sun bearer . This god is described in some texts as a warrior riding a sky-blue horse. This warrior carries a bright sun as his shield.
He is responsible for carrying the sun on his back from his house in the east to his other house in the west. For this daily task, he uses his five horses, which are turquoise, white, pearly, red, and black. When the sky is blue, he rides one of the first three, but when the sky is stormy, he chooses the second two. At nightfall, he hangs the sun on the wall, a task so strenuous that he is described as permanently hunched over.
In some creation myths, such as that of the Navajo people, it is said that the tribe was created from corn and the skin of Tsohanoai. He is therefore considered the giver of life, creator of animals, and master of the stars . For the Navajo, the stars are the guides of the people.
Tsohanoai is the father of twins Nayenezgani and Tobadzischini, who would be the heroes in charge of freeing the world from the monsters and evil spirits that spread chaos.
2. Ahsonnutli
The sky god or father . For some tribes, like the Navajo, he is the principal god, the one who created the firmament, the Earth, and the sky. He established the cardinal directions , each with a color: north is black, south is blue, east is white, and west is yellow. Each direction also has a particular wind that creates the different clouds. The clouds are moved by the beating wings of a white swan located at each cardinal point.
The colors of the cardinal directions were used by sacred men during ceremonies, creating figures in the sand. Furthermore, the Aztec god also shares interesting similarities.
3. Estsanatlehi
She is the changeable woman, a representation of the seasons of the earth and not only that, but also of what the seasons bring with them: change, renewal, fertility, the very cycle of life. She is one of the most revered deities among the Navajo.
It is never in the same state; this deity grows old with the arrival of winter and becomes young again with the arrival of spring. It varies just as the earth varies.
Estsanatlehi has her home in the great waters of the west, where she lives with her husband the Sun god (Tsohanoai) when he finishes his journey from the house of the east.
Legend tells that the first Navajo couple watched as a dark cloud descended upon a mountain. Drawn by curiosity, they approached and saw a baby in the cradle of lightning and sunbeams; it was the daughter of Naestan (the horizontal woman) and Yadilyil (the upper darkness). The first woman took the baby and fed it with pollen brought by Tsohanoai, and when the baby grew, in four days she became Asdzaa nádleehé (another name for the shape-shifting woman).
Another legend tells that, feeling lonely in her home by the sea, she created people to keep her company, using pieces of her own skin. Legends place her as queen of the realm of the dead, a place where goodness flows.
She is venerated with chants and ceremonies that last several days and in which grains of corn, buds, pollen… are scattered on the earth to receive her blessing.
4. Other important gods
- Tonenili, the god of rain
- Huehuecoyotl (the old coyote) is in Mexican mythology the god of music, dance, the arts in general, but he is also the guiding god when one reaches adolescence and adulthood.
- Flint Boys, the name the Navajos gave to the Pleiades.
- Tirawa, for the Pawnee Indians, was the creator of the world and the one who entrusted the stars with supporting the weight of the sky.
