Overview
This narrative recounts the Navajo creation story, describing the emergence of the first beings through four worlds and their eventual settlement in the present world.
Creation of the First World
- The first world existed in darkness and emptiness, inhabited only by six beings: First Man, First Woman, Saltom, Fire God, Coyote, and Bego, the child of the Sun.
- Bego created four mountains in the cardinal directions: white (east), blue (south), yellow (west), and black (north).
- Despite these creations, the first world remained without light, prompting the beings to seek a new world.
Journey Through the Worlds
- At the world's center, Bego planted a giant hollow reed, enabling the beings to ascend into the second world.
- The second world was light and blue, but conflict with the resident cat people led the beings to retreat once more.
- Using the hollow reed, the group entered the third world, which was yellow, luminous, and filled with beauty and abundance.
Events in the Third World
- The beings thrived, and Bego created landscapes, animals, and birds.
- Coyote stole the child of the water monster, causing the water monster to flood the third world in anger.
- Bego’s creations escaped via the reed, returning the baby, but the third world was destroyed by the flood.
Arrival in the Fourth World
- Locust helped carve an opening to the fourth world, where the beings emerged and resettled.
- Bego created mountains, set the sun, moon, and stars, and established this world as the home of the Navajo people.
- Bego taught agricultural practices and rituals of gratitude to the people.
Key Teachings and Practices
- Bego instructed men and women on how to plant corn, squash, and beans.
- Giving thanks for the harvest became an essential part of life and culture.