People of Darkness (1980)

While there are many different versions of the Navajo Origin Myth, the general outlines of the myth are present in all versions, and First Woman (Áłtsé Asdzą́ą́), usually alongside First Man (Áłtsé Hastiin), is present in every version. First Man and First Woman are considered the builders of this world, responsible for creating the four sacred mountains, the first hogan, and the holy figures. First Man then completes a night-long ceremony where he creates beauty, balance, and order. It is into this world that the child of First Man and First Woman, Changing Woman, is born. It is Changing Woman’s twin boys, Monster Slayer and Born for Water, who defeat the monsters in this world and make it safe for the Navajo people to live in. Changing Woman takes over creation duties from First Man and First Woman.

While there are many different versions of the Navajo Origin Myth, the general outlines of the myth are present in all versions, and First Woman (Áłtsé Asdzą́ą́), usually alongside First Man (Áłtsé Hastiin), is present in every version. First Man and First Woman are considered the builders of this world, responsible for creating the four sacred mountains, the first hogan, and the holy figures. First Man then completes a night-long ceremony where he creates beauty, balance, and order. It is into this world that the child of First Man and First Woman, Changing Woman, is born. It is Changing Woman’s twin boys, Monster Slayer and Born for Water, who defeat the monsters in this world and make it safe for the Navajo people to live in. Changing Woman takes over creation duties from First Man and First Woman.

A child born out of wedlock (marriage), who is therefore considered "illegitimate." Often used as a vernacular insult, suggesting that an individual is somehow less than fully deserving of the rights and protections associated with membership in a community, regardless of the marital status of his or her biological parents.

Anthropology is the study of human cultures past and present and includes the four sub-fields of physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics.

Gall medicine is made of the gall bladders of eagles, mountain lions, bear, and skunk. Occasionally the gall bladders of sheep, wolf, badger, and deer are also used. Navajos carry this medicine with them, sometimes in small bags or pouches, for protection against witches, corpse poison, and strangers. It is most often carried on their person when they are in a crowd, for example during ceremonies, or when traveling outside their home territory.

A hole in the surface bedrock through which air passes. These blowholes can occur in sea caves where the pressure of the water blasts a hole through the roof of the cave, and on land where differences in air pressure force air out of an underground formation through a hole. These holes can have high velocity winds rushing through them.

Often, blowholes are sites of spiritual and cultural significance, because they seem to replicate the act of breathing. Especially for the dry blowholes on land, such as those found at Wupatki National Monument in Arizona or Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota,when close enough, one can feel air being sucked into the earth and escaping from it, making it seem as if the earth is exchanging breath with the creatures on its surface.

A small rise in elevation on the landscape or a small hill.