The first three worlds were neither good nor healthful. They moved all the time and made the people dizzy. Upon ascending into this world the Navajo found only darkness and they said "We must have light." In the Ute Mountain lived two women, Ahsonnutli, the turquoise hermaphrodite, and Yolaikaiason, the white-shell woman. These two women were sent for by the Navajo, who told them they wished light. The Navajo had already partially separated light into its several colors. Next to the floor was white indicating dawn, upon the white blue was spread for morning, and on the blue yellow for sunset, and next was black representing night. They had prayed long and continuously over these, but their prayers had availed nothing. The two women on arriving told the people to have patience and their prayers would eventually be answered. Night had a familiar, who was always at his ear. This person said, "Send for the youth at the great falls." Night sent as his messenger a shooting star. The youth soon appeared and said, "Ahsonnutli, the ahstjeohltoi (hermaphrodite), has white beads in her right breast and turquoise in her left. We will tell her to lay them on darkness and see what she can do with her prayers." This she did.6 The youth from the great falls said to Ahsonnutli, "You have carried the white-shell beads and turquoise a long time; you should know what to say." Then with a crystal dipped in pollen she marked eyes and mouth on the turquoise and on the white-shell beads, and forming a circle around these with the crystal she produced a slight light from the white-shell bead and a greater light from the turquoise, but the light was insufficient. Twelve men lived at each of the cardinal points. The forty-eight men were sent for. After their arrival Ahsonnutli sang a song, the men sitting opposite to her; yet even with their presence the song failed to secure the needed light. Two eagle plumes were placed upon each cheek of the turquoise and two on the cheeks of the white-shell beads[pg 276] The couple then made four poles, two of turquoise and two of white-shell beads, and each was put under the sun, and with these poles the twelve men at each of the cardinal points raised it. They could not get it high enough to prevent the people and grass from burning. The people then said, "Let us stretch the world;" so the twelve men at each point expanded the world. The sun continued to rise as the world expanded, and began to shine with less heat, but when it reached the meridian the heat became great and the people suffered much. They crawled everywhere to find shade. Then the voice of Darkness went four times around the world telling the men at the cardinal points to go on expanding the world. "I want all this trouble stopped," said Darkness; "the people are suffering and all is burning; you must continue stretching." And the men blew and stretched, and after a time they saw the sun rise beautifully, and when the sun again reached the meridian it was only tropical. It was then just right, and as far as the eye could reach the earth was encircled first with the white dawn of day, then with the blue of early morning, and all things were perfect.[pg 277] |