male rain

In traditional Navajo belief, a thunderstorm with torrential rain is considered a male rain. A gentle, slow-moving rain, accompanied perhaps by low clouds and mist, is a female rain. In general, male rains are associated with the violent seasonal summer storms known as the monsoons, whereas female rains are associated with the stirring of the seasons when spring rains bring the high desert to life. This duality marks a general structural gendering in Navajo cosmology; whether it's Father Sky and Mother Earth or the male and female sides of a hogan, ultimately it’s the equilibrium between the two forces, qualities, and characteristics that enable healthfulness, harmony, and beauty.