Bitter Water clan

According Navajo traditional lore, the Bitter Water (Todích'íí'nii) clan was one of the original groups formed by Changing Woman who, as the legend goes, created four men by rubbing the skin under her arms. One of these men, searching for water, dug in the ground and found a water source that was bitter and undrinkable--hence the name that the clan has carried ever since.

The Navajo (Diné) tribe is comprised of more than forty family lineages, or clans, that claim common ancestry. In traditional history, the Todích'íí'nii (Bitter Water) is one of the original lineages formed within the Navajo People, which included the Standing House Clan, Bitter Water Clan, Near the Water Clan, Mud Clan, Water Edge Clan, and Two Streams Meet Clan.