BEFORE THE TELLING OF "THE WANDERINGS"
The Storyteller's Prayer is a beautiful symbol of the purpose of the telling of these stories. Go to: Navaho - The Storyteller's Prayer

THE ORIGIN OF THE DÎNÉ
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
After the bow and arrows of lightning were returned to the Sun, Hasjelti and Hasjohon came to First Man and First Woman and asked them what they thought about all that had happened. "What will take place now will be your plan," they said. "Yes," answered First Man and First Woman, "Now it must be our plan. We will think about it."

THE FIRST CLANS OF THE DÎNÉ
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Toward the east side of the mesa called Dzil na'odili there is a place named Ta chee. On the top of this small mesa a man and a woman were found. From these two sprang the clan called Tlasch chee, or Tha'tsini, Red Under the Bank. At another place called Ash chee, salt, there arose two persons, a man and a woman.

THE MAKING OF THE HEADDRESS
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
The headdress for this dance should be made of buckskin. One medicine man may have 12 or more headdresses which are called tcgich or tqegisch. This includes the hide, the feathers, and the blue fox and swift skins.

THE STORY OF THE WATER BUFFALO'S KINGDOM
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
The Elder Brother spoke: "The World will use me once more. I shall act for the People once again." There were at that time different places where the water was sacred; but there were other places where people drowned, where people were killed by lightning, while others sank in quicksand or marshes.

NAMING OF THE BROTHERS AND THEIR DEPARTURE
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
All the people from all the sacred places gathered together, and there was a great crowd of Holy Beings waiting when the Elder Brother returned to his home. Even the Sun came down from the sky. When all was ready they decided to give the Elder Brother a name.

THE DEPARTURE OF THE FIRST FOUR HOLY ONES
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Again the Sun spoke: "First Man and First Woman, the Coyote-Who-Was-Formed-in-the Water and the Coyote called Atse'hashke', First Angry, these First Four must go to the East beyond the place of the sunrise. They must travel to a place called To dotsos."

THE DEPARTURE OF THE HOLY BEINGS
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
After the Four First Beings started for the East, First Woman turned back and said: "When I wish to do so, I will send chest colds and disease among the people; when I wish to do so I will send death, and the sign will be the coyote."

THE DEPARTURE OF THE WHITE BEAD WOMAN
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Then the time came for the White Bead Woman to depart. Before her stood two persons, one was Niha oni gay hasjelti, and the other was Niha oni gay hasjohon. There were also 12 male beings, the De'n'yeinaki zatana queye hahoni'gay denae e, the Four Rain Clouds, and all the flowers, and another 12 persons, female beings, and with them were the Four Vapors.

STORY OF THE CLAN CALLED TQO YAH HA'TLINE
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
There was a. certain man named Tse bit la'kal, the Man with the Rock Shirt, who lived near the mountain called Chol'i'i. There is a canyon near this mountain and the place is called Tsen chet dzil. This man was tall, a good hunter, and swift on his feet.

STORY OF THE RAIN CEREMONY AND ITS HOGAN
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
"The main poles of this ceremonial hogan should be raised with a chant," said the Water Buffalo. You should pour the water on the poles from the top to the bottom. The water used must come from the sacred springs of the East. This water must be gotten and carried in a water jar.

THE TWO WHO RETURNED
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
The Maiden from the Water Buffalo's Kingdom became a mother and a grandmother. There were many people counted as her descendants. They planted corn in the canyon where they lived, and their corn ripened, having tassels and bearing rich ears.

TWO RELATED CLANS TO THE TQO YAH HA'TLINE
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
There is a clan called the Mexican clan, Nakai dinae'e. This clan is closely related to the clan called Tqo yah ha'tline because a man from that clan captured a Mexican girl and the Spaniards captured an Indian girl. They planned to take the Mexican girl back to her people because the mother of the Indian girl grieved so greatly.

THE STORY OF THE PICTOGRAPH OF THE COIL
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Now at this time some of the people returned to inhabit Pueblo Bonito and Aztec. They built their homes over the ancient houses. The Blue Bird Clan people went first to Pueblo Bonito, then they moved to Tse dez a', Under the Rock, across from Farmington. From there they moved to the mouth of Salt Canyon.

STORY OF THE MOUNTAIN CHANT AND THE FIRE DANCE
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
There was once a young man captured by a people whose descendants are the Utes. The peoples were at war and the people of the North carried the young man to their country. They crossed a big body of water. There many gathered and they held a dance. They planned to kill the young man, but Hasjelti and Hasjohon had not forgotten him.

FLINT KNIFE BOYS AND THE GREAT WARRIOR OF AZTEC
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Beyond Debensa, La Plata Mountains, there is a yellowish colored mountain and near it there is a mountain with shiny rocks on it, this mountain is called Dessos. Now the man who was formed inside the first mountain is called Tso y natlaye', and the man who was formed in Dessos is named Klay ya, ne'yan, One Who Was Raised inside the Earth.

THE JOURNEY OF THE ELDER BROTHER
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
The Elder Brother took a long journey. He covered the whole country-mountains, plains, and all. When he was on the side of La Plata Mountains he saw a fire on the mesa, which is a part of Mesa Verde. He saw this fire at night. Now this boy knew of three strong medicines, so when he got to the place where be had seen the fire, and found people living there, he was not afraid, for he had a plan.

THE STORY OF THE YOUNGER SISTER
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
The younger sister reached a people called Nat at tsele, and there were some members of the Big Snake People living with them who called out: "Where are you going, sister-in-law?" Hearing this the girl left them and fled to the Lukaichukai Mountains. But members of the Big Snake family lived there also, and they called after her as before.

MAIDEN AND THE BEAR - MOUNTAIN TOP CHANT
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
There were 12 young men and 2 young women. The men went hunting and they killed 2 of the Eagle Dancers of Wide Ruin. The Cliff Dwellers were angered over this and they chased the 12 young men to the top of a flat mesa. Now the 12 hunters rode on sun dogs; but the Great Warrior of the Cliff Dwellers and his chief through their power took the sun dogs from them.

THE STORY OF THE SUMMER DANCE
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
The younger of the Twin Brothers, the sons of the Man Raised in the Mountain, also traveled over the country as had his elder brother. He was a great hunter and he always carried his bow and arrows. One day, on one of his journeys near Dzil na'odili, he came upon a hogan. He left his bow and arrows on the outside of the dwelling and entered. There sat a beautiful maiden; she was lovely to see.

SAN'HODE'DI'BEGAEYE, THE BEGGAR'S SON
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Now after the Great Gambler had been sent up into the sky, the Sun wanted the people to know about the medicine that the Gambler had used and had taken up into the sky with him. So he made a plan.

THE TWO MAIDENS AND THE WHITE BUTTERFLY
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
San'hode'di heard that there were two maidens in the village of Ken tiel who were guarded. These maidens were sacred. All the young men who came as suitors were sent away. The Beggar's Son said to himself: "So the young maidens will say: 'Eat my brains.'" He went to the top of the hill and he saw many people from the village gathering wood. Holding the flowers from the plant of many different colors before him he sang three sections of a chant. The first part is this:

THE STORY OF SAN'HODE'DI'S MEDICINE
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
When San'hode'di arrived at his home the person called Dotso came and whispered to him, saying: "There are two more maidens over here who are calling for suitors. Go try your luck."

THE STORY OF THE DÎNÉ
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Now all that has been told before this time was about the people living in the country before the coming of the Dîné, the Navaho. The White Bead Woman wished now to have her own people. She wished to have a people that she could call her grandchildren. They would carry on the lore that she would teach them. They would respect and hold holy the prayers and the chants that she would give them.

THE TWO BOYS AND THE COMING OF THE HORSES
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
By this time tassels were coming out on their cornstalks and ears of corn had begun to form. When some of the silk on the ears of corn had turned red, two girls and two boys were sent to bring in some ears of young corn. Returning they carried the ears of young corn. They poured some water in a basket and placed the corn in it, and then they took the ears out with the water dripping from them and said: "May we have the Black Cloud which brings the Male Rain.

THE NAVAHO AND THE APACHE PEOPLES
Navaho Indian - The Wanderings
Now that the horses were given to the people, and there were a great many people in the land, they commenced to crowd each other. Some of the people wanted to go to war over the slightest thing. They taught their children to be quarrelsome; they were not raising them in the right way. They did not have peace in their hearts. At this time there appeared in the country many plants with thorns, in fact these were more numerous than any other kind of plant. Even the grass became sharp and spiked. It was because of the people's ill nature, and the plants and the grass, that another plan was formed.