Article
In some versions of the Navajo origin story, Tracking Bear is a monster that was killed by Monster Slayer, one of the great hero twins. When Tracking Bear died, his body became yucca, a plant of great importance to many American cultures as it provides fruit, soap, and cordage.
The story of Tracking Bear and Monster Slayer is told in the Enemyway legend, where Tracking Bear follows Monster Slayer to the base of “beautiful mountain,” the highest point in the Chuska range, also known as Dziłkʼi Hózhóonii in Navajo. Monster Slayer shoots the bear with a lightning bolt, thus killing the bear, and initiating Tracking Bear's transformation.
"Two bears playing in the town of the bears, Kirchenfeld, Bern, August 25, 2012" by SteFou! is licensed under CC BY.
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References
Haile, Berard, and Karl W. Luckert
1984 Navajo Coyote Tales: The Curly Tó Aheedlíinii Version. Lincoln: University of
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Haile, Berard
1938 Origin Legend of the Navaho Enemy Way. New Haven: Yale University Press.
McPherson, Robert S.
2001 Navajo Land, Navajo Culture: The Utah Experience in the Twentieth Century.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.