Reaches for the Sky

    Article

    A reference to the moon leaving the sky as the sun rises. In Navajo mythology the moon and sun were created by First Man and First Woman. The sun is given a blue mask and the moon a white mask and both are given eagle feathers to help them move across the sky. However, due to the wind the moon lost its feathers and so follows a strange path through the sky. The moon is often referred to as one of the Holy People in Navajo mythology.

    Photo Credit

     
    "Dawn moon, August 10, 2015" by Ed Dunens is licensed under CC BY.

    Published Works
    Term Type
    References

     
    Chamberlain, Von D, John B. Carlson, and M J. Young
         2005   Songs from the Sky: Indigenous Astronomical and Cosmological Traditions of the
             World: Selected Proceedings of the "First International Conference on Ethnoastronomy:
             Indigenous Astronomical and Cosmological Traditions of the World" held at the
             Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 5-9 September 1983. Bognor Regis: Ocarina
             Books.

    Hirschfelder, Arlene, and Paulette Molin
         2000   Holy People. Encyclopedia of Native American Religions, Updated Edition. New
             York: Facts On File, Inc.