THE WHIRLING MOUNTAIN OF THE
NAVAJOS
Where did you come out
from my Children?
From yonder, where the Whirling
Mountain stands.
Navajo Shooting
Chant
Introduction
 The Navajos are the most
populous of all surviving Indian nations in the USA. They comprise about
100,000 individuals, and inhabit New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The Navajo
Indians are close of kin to the Apaches and were, as these, deeply influenced
by the more civilized, agrarian Pueblo Indians. Under this influence, the
Navajos adopted a sedentary existence, based on agriculture and, later,
in the herding of goats, sheep and cattle.
The Pueblo Indians instructed
the Navajos and the Apaches not only in agriculture, but also in the arts,
crafts and religion. Navajo pottery and their famous rugs derive their
design from that of the Pueblos. So do their silver smithing and, above
all, their remarkable sand paintings, which we will be discussing in depth.
In the present chapter we
analyze, to a certain detail, one of the main myths of the Navajo Indians,
that of the Twins. We show its unequivocal connection with certain myths
of the Old World, particularly those of India and Indonesia. Moreover,
we interpret this myth in detail, showing that it is indeed an allegorical
exposition of the myth of Paradise and its secret whereabouts. This Paradise
is no other thing than Eden or Atlantis, the original homeland of Mankind
and Civilization, as will become clear from the present discussion.
We are of the opinion after
having researched the matter for quite along time now that the real reason
behind the theory that holds the autochthonism of the Amerinds was, and
perhaps still is, part of a concerted effort to deny them their humanity
and the divine origin that the whites claim for themselves. With this the
Conquistadores and the
Bandeirantes as well as their counterparts
elsewhere were justified in plundering the land and the possessions of
the natives, as they did, and in enslaving them.
So, while the white missionaries
thumped the Bible, attempting to convert the Amerinds forcefully, with
the menace of all too real bonfires, they opened the way for the soldier
and the colonists who would rob the natives of everything, inclusive their
very humanity. Of course, this missionary and civilizatory influence would
not be needed if the natives partook of the very same Tradition, the Primordial
Religion and culture that came to us from Paradise, brought by the angels
themselves, in the dawn of times. So, the modern anthropologists who cling
to this view are but the legitimate heirs of this ancient tradition, which
they defend irrationally, despite all sorts of compelling contrary evidence.
The Religion of the Navajos
The Navajo religious system
is intricate. Like most Amerindian nations, they claim to have come from
a subterranean world through caves or vents that connect with this upper
world. Theirs is a Mystery Religion based on Drug Cults (Peyotism), on
shamanism, and on amuletic songs, dances, design and rituals.
But the idea of a subterranean
Creation one in which Mankind somehow originated underground and later
ascended to this earth in some manner is peculiar not only to the Navajos,
but to most Indian nations of the three Americas. As a matter of fact,
this conception of a subterranean Paradise whence Mankind sprung into the
present era coming from a former one was also widespread in the Ancient
World as well. For instance, Civilizing Heroes such as Osiris, Serapis,
Mithras and several others originally rose from a cave or a subterranean
abode, more or less in the way that Christ too rose from among the dead.
This cave or tomb is the
Primordial Cave, the Cave of Archetypes of which Plato tells us in his
dialogues. It is the Pacari-tambu of the Incas, and the Cave of Illusion
so masterfully described in the
Ramayana. In fact, this cave is
no other than the sunken, submarine realm of Atlantis-Eden. Again, the
Polynesians also claim to have come originally from a sunken island or
continent which they called by names such as Hawaiki (or Javaiki), which
mean something like "Sunken Grove", that is, the same as the sunken Garden
of Eden. And, as we argue elsewhere, the Polynesian Paradise, just as all
others indeed lay in the submerged portion of primordial Indonesia.
The Dual Creations
Throughout the whole world,
traditions tell of two basic types of Creation Myths. In one, the Ancestors
fall down from Heaven above, and civilize the semi-bestial humans, with
whom they breed the new humanity. In the other, as with the Amerinds, the
Ancestors come from the Netherworld, and effect what amounts to a second
Creation which is in all respects the dual of the former one.
This dual Creation and, indeed,
Dualism in general, derives from Hinduism and seems to form the base and
essence of the
Urreligion ("Primordial Religion") postulated by
certain anthropologists of note. We encounter this Dual Creation even in
the
Book of Genesis. There, the first Creation attributed to Elohim
is told in chapter 1 of that book, whereas the second one, attributed
to Jahveh, is narrated in chapter 2, as the reader can verify for himself.
The language in both passages
is (purposefully) obscure, but is unmistakably dual. The god of
Gen.1,
Elohim is clearly Celestial. But the one of
Gen.2, Jahveh, starts
his Creation from below, as "the mist that came up from under the earth".
In other words, the spirit ("mist") of God ascends from below, together
with the subterranean waters and, certainly, followed by his hosts (or
people), much in the manner of the Indians.
The Earth-Diver
In several Cosmogonies, we
have the so called "Earth-Diver" fetching the earth from under the seas,
in contrast to the Fallen Sun that drops from the skies down to earth,
as an avatar of the Celestial God.
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