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Navajo religion sacred lands - page 1 of 2

It is vital that the Dine people continue to live on their ancestral lands. The sacred places define a sacred zone to which they have responsibilities and which is a safe area for the family.

A place is sacred because it is possible to communicate there with the Holy People through prayer and offering. The Holy People cannot be seen, but their presence is known through air movements and vibrations, a certain kind of light, pictographs, noises, and through legends.

There are several consistent qualitative associations, such as kinds of places, atmospheric conditions, or times, that provide needed access to the Holy People. Mountains, watercourses, springs, hills, flat areas, at young trees and at home are common places for prayer and offering. There are also traditional natural springs, rock formations, and other phenomena of nature that are shrines.

There are places mentioned in Navajo legends which are said to be sacred. Rainbow Bridge is one thought to possess supernatural powers. Tucked among the rugged, isolated canyons at the base of Navajo Mountain, Rainbow Bridge was known for centuries by the Native Americans who lived in the area. Native Americans living in the region have long held the bridge sacred. To the Navajo this 290-foot-high pink sandstone bridge is a sacred “rainbow of stone”. Ancestral Puebloan residents were followed much later by Paiute and Navajo groups. Several Paiute and Navajo families, in fact, still reside nearby. By its wonderous size, to say nothing of its majesty and mystery, Rainbow Bridge has inspired humans throughout time. According to one Navajo legend, the Diné (Navajo People) once believed that harm would befall anyone who walked beneath Rainbow Bridge without first chanting a prayer of protection. Over the years the prayer was forgotten and the Diné would no longer enter the area.

Navajo Mountain is sacred to the Navajos. It represents the head of the female and the female pollen figure of Navajoland in the Blessing Side Stories. In the Navajo story of Creation, Navajo Mountain was seen by the first emergents in the distance, and they regarded it as the Head of the Earth. The name Navajo Mountain, or Naatsis' aan, means "Head of the Earth." Navajo Mountain is located in Utah, just north of the Arizona State line, 40 miles south of the Colorado River and 90 miles north of Tuba City. The terrain boasts beautiful sandstone canyons and formations, and piñon, juniper and ponderosa are prevalent. It is also home to the Limber Pine (Pinns Flexilis), found only on Navajo Mountain in Navajo Country. Navajo Mountain summit reaches 10,388 feet above sea level, making it the most prominent geological feature in the Lake Powell region. The world famous Rainbow Bridge is located at the northwestern foot of the mountain.

• Navajo Creation
• Navajo ceremonies
• Navajo medicine men
• Navajo ceremonial sandpaintings
• Navajo sacred lands

Navajo religion sacred lands - page 2

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