Third World

    Article

    Although there are many versions of the Navajo origin story, in general the primary components and occurrences are present in most versions. According to the Diné Bahaneʼ, or the Story of the People, the Navajo emerged through various worlds to get to the present world, which is considered either the fourth of the fifth world. The Third World ( Niʼ Hałtsooí) is the Yellow World, and was entered after the People left the First, or Dark World, and the Second, or Blue World. In the Third World, a great flood occurred after Coyote stole two children from a the Big Water Creature (Tééhoołtsódii), whereas in the first two worlds, the People had fought amongst themselves and the creatures belonging to those worlds causing discord, insult, and anguish until they were asked to leave.

    Photo Credit

     
    "First Man and First Woman in the First, or Dark, World, Frontispiece Sithsonian Bulletin 163, 1936" by Gerald Nailor is licensed under Public Domain.

    Term Type
    References

     
    Gill, Sam D.
    1983 Navajo Views of Their Origin. In Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 10. William C. Sturtevant and Alfonso Ortiz, eds. Pp. 502-505, Vol. 10. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Washington.

    Hirschfelder, Arlene and Paulette Molin
    2000 Encyclopedia of Native American Religions. New York: Checkmark Books.

    Leeming, David A.
    2014 Navajo Creation Story. The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience. http://americanindian2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1549926?terms=water+…, accessed June 23, 2014.

    Newcomb, Franc Johnson
    1967 Navaho Folk Tales. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

    Zolbrod, Paul G.
    1984 Diné bahané: The Navajo Creation Story. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.