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One of the spirit guardian creatures of the Navajo people, Big Snake is a mythological creature associated with sacred sand paintings as well as healing ceremonies. According to some versions of the Navajo creation account, First Man and First Woman, after creating the sacred mountains of Dinétah (the Navajo homeland), sent Big Snake to guard the turquoise of Tsoodzil (Turquoise Mountain), or what is known today as Mount Taylor, located just northeast of present day Grants, NM.
"Navajo rug with Yei figure holding a snake in each hand, circa 1900," rug, (1980_15_1). Farmington Museum, Farmington, New Mexico.
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References
Benally, Clyde, Andrew O. Wiget, John R. Alley, and Garry Blake
1982 Dinéjí nákéé' nááhane': a Utah Navajo history. Monticello, Utah: San Juan School
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O'Bryan, Aileen
1993 Navajo Indian Myths. New York: Dover Publications, INC.
Twin Rock Trading Post Online
2014 Big Snake: Navajo Mythological Creature.
http://www.twinrocks.com/legends/21-big-snake--navajo-mythological-crea…,
accessed November 26, 2014.