Kokopelli

Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with a huge phallus and antenna-like protrusions on his head), who is worshipped by many Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god.

Because of his influence over human sexuality, Kokopelli is often depicted with an inhumanly large phallus. Among the Ho-Chunk, this penis is detachable, and he sometimes leaves it in a river in order to have sex with girls who bathe there. Among the Hopi, Kokopelli carries unborn children on his back and distributes them to women (for this reason, young girls are often deathly afraid of him). He often takes part in rituals relating to marriage, and Kokopelli himself is sometimes depicted with a consort, a woman called Kokopelli-mana by the Hohokam and Hopi.

Kokopelli also presides over the reproduction of game animals, and for this reason, he is often depicted with animal companions such as rams and deer. Other common creatures associated with him include sun-bathing animals such as snakes, or water-loving animals like lizards and insects. Because of this, some scholars believe that Kokopelli's flute is actually a blowgun (or started out as one), but this is a minority opinion.

In his domain over agriculture, Kokopelli's fluteplaying chases away the Winter and brings about Spring. Many tribes, such as the Zuni, also associate Kokopelli with the rains. He frequently appears with Paiyatamu, another flautist, in depictions of maize-grinding ceremonies. Some tribes say he carries seeds and babies on his back.

Kokopelli has been worshipped since at least the time of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. The first known images of him appear on Hohokam pottery dated to sometime between AD 750 and AD 850.

Kokopelli may have originally been a representation of ancient Aztec traders, known as pochtechas, who traveled to this region from northern Mesoamerica. These traders brought their goods in sacks slung across their backs, and this sack may have evolved into Kokopelli's familiar hump (in fact, many tribes make Kokopelli a trader in this way). These men also used flutes to announce themselves as friendly as they approached a settlement. This origin is still in doubt, however, since the first known images of Kokopelli predate the major era of Aztec-Anasazi trade by several hundred years.

Another theory is that Kokopelli is actually an anthropomorphic insect. Many of the earliest depictions of Kokopelli make him very insect-like in appearance. The name "Kokopelli" may be a combination of "Koko", another Hopi and Zuni deity, and "pelli", the Hopi and Zuni word for the desert robber fly, an insect with a prominent proboscis and a rounded back, which is also noted for its zealous sexual proclivities. A more recent etymology is that Kokopelli means literally "kachina hump". Because the Hopi were the tribe from whom the Spanish explorers first learned of the god, their name is the one most commonly used.

Kokopelli is one of the most easily recognized figures found in the petroglyphs and pictographs of the Southwest. The earliest known petroglyph of the figure dates to about A.D. 1000. Kokopelli was one of several kachina dolls sold to tourists. The Spanish missionaries in the area convinced the Hopi craftsmen to omit the phallus from their representations of the figure. As with most kachina dolls, the Hopi Kokopelli was often represented by a human dancer. These dancers apparently had great fun with missionaries and tourists by making obscene and sexual gestures that the foreigners did not understand.

In recent years, the emasculated version of Kokopelli has been adopted as a broader symbol of the Southwestern United States as a whole. His image adorns countless tourist items such as T-shirts, ball caps, and keychains. A bicycle trail between Grand Junction, Colorado, and Moab, Utah, is now known as the Kokopelli Trail.

A similar humpbacked figure is found in artifacts of the Mississippian culture of the U.S. southeast. Between approximately 1200 to 1400 AD, water vessels were crafted in the shape of a humpbacked woman. These forms may represent a cultural heroine or founding ancestor, and may also reflect concepts related to the life-giving blessings of water and fertility.

Kokopelli bears a passing resemblance to Bradshaw Paintings of North-West Australia (examples), which could be mere coincidence or sign of a common origin; some have suggested that ancient astronaut theories in the model of Erich von Däniken have attributed both to a common celestial source.

Other names:
Kokopele
Kokopelli-mana or Kokopelmana (actually, Kokopelli's wife) (Hohokam)
Kokopeltiyo
Kokopilau
Neopkwai'i (Pueblo)
Ololowishkya (Zuni)

FROM: Wikipedia "Kokopelli"
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Kokopelli, distinguished by his hunch-back, dancing pose, and flute, is the only anthropomorphic petroglyph to have a name, an identity, and an established gender. His name may have been derived from the Zuni name for god ("Koko") and the Indian name for the Dessert Robber Fly ("pelli"). His association with the Desert Robber Fly may stem from the fact that this insect too, has a hump on his back and a prominent proboscis. But, Kokopelli is known by other names, as well. To the Hopi, he is known as "Kokopilau" - meaning "wood hump". To others, he is known as Kokopele, Kokopetiyot, and Olowlowishkya. He also bears a nickname - "Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers", a tribute to his image and legend. Kokopelli’s lesser known female counterpart is known as "Kokopelli Mana".

Kokopelli’s image varies as much as the legends about him, but he is generally depicted as a hunch-back flute player in a dancing pose with a festive crest on his head, and sometimes exhibiting male genitalia of exaggerated size. Images painted on ceramics ten centuries ago by the Hohokam (Arizona Pueblo) have become the prototype for modern representations.

Kokopelli’s hump is sometimes represented as an arc which covers his entire back. Other times, it covers only the lower half of his back. His arms are usually represented as a "V" shape with his elbows pointing down toward the Earth. His forward leg is usually represented as a continuation of the curved line which outlines his hump. Likewise, his rear leg is usually represented as a continuation of the front line of his body. The flute, which is actually a nose flute, is usually represented as a straight line, or pair of straight lines. Sometimes, however, it is curved. Often, it has a bulbous end - like the end of a clarinet. An even number of crest elements are usually found on Kokopelli’s head. In Pueblo culture, the festive crest represents the paired antennae of the katydid (grasshopper), with which he is sometimes associated. When being represented in the "Spirit World", he appears with feathers on his head. In other depictions, the crest on his head represents rays of light.

When present, Kokopelli’s phallus is unusually long and erect, symbolizing the fertile seeds of human reproduction. It usually projects upward from the lower body and is sometimes only represented as a single line or arrow. His phallus is clearly depicted in a thousand year old bowl displayed at Mesa Verde National Park. It is thought that Kokopelli’s image was "cleaned up" over the years (his phallus depicted less often) due, in part, to the influence of Catholic priests who worked hard to Christianize the natives of the American Southwest. In the modern genre, Kokopelli often wears a kilt and a sash.

Contemporary artists who have playfully portrayed Kokopelli as a skier, scuba diver, golfer, and rock star can be found, for sure. But there is no documentation to support the historical accuracy of any of these representations, except perhaps, his portrayal as a rock star. He certainly appears on many rocks in the Southwest!
The Legends

The legend of Kokopelli is wonderfully rich and entertaining. Though, his origin as a deity and the evolution of his role in Southwestern Indian culture is difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct. Evidenced by a huge number of ancient artifacts, it is clear that Kokopelli was important to many Native American tribes. He is especially prominent in the ancient Anasazi culture of the "Four Corners" area (Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah). Some have compared his importance to the Southwestern Indians to that of Abraham to the Jews and that of Paul to the Christians.

Still revered by current descendants of Native Americans , he is truly one of the most intriguing and widespread images to have survived from ancient Indian mythology. His whimsical nature, charitable deeds, and vital spirit are the primary reasons why he achieved such a prominent position in Native American mysticism. He possessed a playful, carefree nature that seemed to bring out the "good" in everyone. Kokopelli is so irresistibly charismatic that he has been reinvented time and time again for thousands of years by storytellers, artists, and craftsmen.

Known to some as a magician, to others he was a storyteller, teacher, healer, trickster, trader, or god of the harvest. Some even credit Kokopelli with being the "original" journalist. Almost universally however, he was regarded as a harbinger of fertility, assuring success in hunting, growing crops, and human conception. The Anasazi, who were first to claim Kokopelli, were primarily farmers who grew corn, beans, and squash on the Colorado Plateau. They regarded Kokopelli as a fertility symbol and he was always welcomed during corn planting season. A visit from Kokopelli insured that a good harvest was in store. According to Navajo legend, Kokopelli was the God of Harvest and Plenty - a benign minor god who brought abundant rain and food to people. The Zuni also regarded him as a Rain Priest, able to make it rain at will.

Others regarded him as a Spiritual Priest with actual healing powers. When Hopi women could not bear children, they would seek him out because he was able to restore their childbearing powers. According to Hopi legend, Kokopelli spent most of his time sewing seed and seducing the daughters of the village while his wife, Kokopelli Mana, ran after the men!

The lore of southern Utah paints Kokopelli as a little man who used to travel throughout the villages carrying a bag of corn seed on his back, teaching the people how to plant as he traveled. He was also said to have traded beads and shells for pieces of turquoise. Some speculate that this image of Kokopelli may have been derived from traveling traders of the time who announced their arrival by playing a flute as they approached - a tradition that is still practiced in Central America.


Many different legends exist about what Kokopelli actually carried in his sack. In Pueblo myths, he carried seeds, babies, and blankets to offer the maidens he seduced. According to the Navajo, his hump was made of clouds filled with seeds and rainbows. In the Hopi village of Oraibi, they believe he carried deer skin shirts and moccasins which he used to barter for brides or babies which he left with the young women. Others believe that Kokopelli’s sack contained the seeds of all the plants and flowers of the world, which he scattered every Spring.

According to San Ildefonso legend, Kokopelli was a wandering minstrel who carried songs on his back, trading new songs for old ones. According to this legend, Kokopelli brought good luck and prosperity to anyone who listened to his songs. Kokopelli embodied everything pure and spiritual about music. He and his magical flute traveled from village to village bestowing gifts and spreading cheer to all whom he visited. His flute was said to symbolize happiness and joy. When he played his flute, the sun came out, the snow melted, grass began to grow, birds began to sing, and all the animals gathered around to hear his songs. His flute music soothed the Earth and made it ready to receive his seed. The magic of his flute was also thought to stimulate creativity and help good dreams come true.

FROM: The Legends of Kokopelli (Southwestern United States and Mexico)
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The Ballad of Kokopelli
A strange lonely figure stares out of the past
where engraved by an artist in stone
Held firm by the sand in which he is cast,
these last thousand years quite alone.
Could he be listening, trying to hear
moccasins scuffing the butte?
Bringing the people once again near
to hear Kokopelli's sweet flute?
His image inscribed on a thousand rock faces
from east to the great western sea;
From Sonora's hot sun to the north glaciers bases,
proclaiming this loved tutelary.
Though powers possessed and methods employed
are often in open dispute;
One thing is agreed, the people did love
to hear Kokopelli's sweet flute. This stick figure man, with a hump on his back
seemed always to cast a good feeling;
His magic perhaps, taken out of his pack
would comfort the sick and do healing.
Whatever his talents, they surely were grand,
a fact no one cares to refute,
As people would come from afar in the land,
to hear Kokopelli's sweet flute.

FROM: Kokopelli
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Links:
Draw Your Own Kokopelli
Kokopelli
Kokopelli Kave: Who is he? --8 pages of various articles

Napi

Old Man (also known by his Blackfoot name, Naapi, or spelling variants such as Napi, Nape, Napa, Napiw, Napioa, Na-pe, Na'pi, Na'pe, or Old-Man.) Naapi is the benevolent culture hero of the Blackfoot tribe (sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists.) He is a trickster, a troublemaker, and sometimes a foolish person, but he is also responsible for the shaping of the world the Blackfeet live in and frequently helps the people. He is assisted in these tasks by his wife, Old Woman or Old Lady (Kipitaki or Kipitaakii in Blackfoot). In some Blackfoot Indian legends both Old Man and Old Woman are associated with coyotes (some Blackfoot storytellers even call them "Old Man Coyote" and "Old Lady Coyote," as the Crow Indians do.) In other Blackfoot legends they have no particular connection with coyotes and are instead described as the first man and woman made by the Creator, who in turn made the rest of humankind. Naapi shares some similarities with other Algonquian heroes such as the Cree Wisakejak, Wabanaki Glooscap, and Anishinabe Nanabozho, and many of the same stories are told in different Algonquian tribes with only the identity of the protagonist differing. Napi is pronounced similar to nah-pee, and Kipitaki is pronounced similar to kih-pih-tah-kee.
From native-languages.org

Napi stories have been passed down from generation to generation in the Blackfeet Nation. All Blackfeet people knew of Napi, from the serious side of his creation to the foolish and spiteful deeds he performed. At one time it is said that Napi could talk with all living things--the animals, plants, rocks, everything. He teased, pulled pranks, many times on himself. His actions began a cycle of existence. Each family has their own interpretation of the various Napi stories, but in the final analysis each story has a common moral in the ending.
from here

It's quite common for Napi stories to feature Him being benevolent and the very next second, doing something treacherous or selfish. He not only provides an example of what to do, but what NOT to do and He often gets caught up in His own schemes. Here are two stories about Napi. In the first one, He's being kind (though He did let the animals quarrel on until it started to bother Him). In the second story, He attempts to steal the Sun's pants.

Why Blackfeet never kill Mice

There was much quarreling among the animals and the birds. You see the Bear wanted to be chief, under Old-man, and so did the Beaver. Almost every night they would have a council and quarrel over it. Beside the Bear and Beaver, there were other animals, and also birds, that thought they had the right to be chief.

They couldn't agree and the quarreling grew worse as time went on. Some said the greatest thief should be chosen. Others thought the wisest one should be the leader; while some said the swiftest traveler was the one they wanted. So it went on and on until they were most all enemies instead of friends, and you could hear them quarreling almost every night, until Old-man came along that way.

He heard about the trouble. I forget who told him, but I think it was the Rabbit. Anyhow he visited the council where the quarreling was going on and listened to what each one had to say. It took until almost daylight, too. He listened to it all -- every bit. When they had finished talking and the quarreling commenced as usual, he said, 'stop!' and they did stop.

Then he said to them: 'I will settle this thing right here and right now, so that there will be no more rows over it, forever.'

He opened his paint sack and took from it a small, polished bone. This he held up in the firelight, so that they might all see it, and he said: "'This will settle the quarrel. You all see this bone in my right hand, don't you?'

'Yes,' they replied.

'Well, now you watch the bone and my hands, too, for they are quick and cunning.'

Old-man began to sing the gambling song and to slip the bone from one hand to the other so rapidly and smoothly that they were all puzzled. Finally he stopped singing and held out his hands -- both shut tight, and both with their backs up.

'Which of my hands holds the bone now?' he asked them.

Some said it was in the right hand and others claimed that it was the left hand that held it. Old-man asked the Bear to name the hand that held the bone, and the Bear did; but when Old-man opened that hand it was empty -- the bone was not there. Then everybody laughed at the Bear. Old-man smiled a little and began to sing and again pass the bone.

'Beaver, you are smart; name the hand that holds the bone this time.'

"The Beaver said: 'It's in your right hand. I saw you put it there.'

Old-man opened that hand right before the Beaver's eyes, but the bone wasn't there, and again everybody laughed -- especially the Bear.

'Now, you see,' said Old-man, 'that this is not so easy as it looks, but I am going to teach you all to play the game; and when you have all learned it, you must play it until you find out who is the cleverest at the playing. Whoever that is, he shall be chief under me, forever.'

Some were awkward and said they didn't care much who was chief, but most all of them learned to play pretty well. First the Bear and the Beaver tried it, but the Beaver beat the Bear easily and held the bone for ever so long. Finally the Buffalo beat the Beaver and started to play with the Mouse. Of course the Mouse had small hands and was quicker than the Buffalo -- quicker to see the bone. The Buffalo tried hard for he didn't want the Mouse to be chief but it didn't do him any good; for the Mouse won in the end.

It was a fair game and the Mouse was chief under the agreement. He looked quite small among the rest but he walked right out to the center of the council and said: 'Listen, brothers -- what is mine to keep is mine to give away. I am too small to be your chief and I know it. I am not warlike. I want to live in peace with my wife and family. I know nothing of war. I get my living easily. I don't like to have enemies. I am going to give my right to be chief to the man that Old-man has made like himself.'

That settled it. That made the man chief forever, and that is why he is greater than the animals and the birds. That is why we never kill the Mice-people.

You saw the Mice run into the buffalo skull, of course. There is where they have lived and brought up their families ever since the night the Mouse beat the Buffalo playing the bone game. Yes -- the Mice-people always make their nests in the heads of the dead Buffalo-people, ever since that night.

Our people play the same game, even today.

Napi Steals the Sun's Leggings

Once Old Man was traveling around, when he came to the Sun's lodge, and the Sun asked him to stay awhile. Old Man was very glad to do so.

One day the meat was all done, and the Sun said, "Kyi! Old Man, what say you we go and kill some deer?"

"You speak well," replied Old Man. "I like deer meat."

The Sun took down a bag and pulled out a beautiful pair of leggings. They were embroidered with porcupine quills and bright feathers. "These," said the Sun, "are my hunting leggings. They are great medicine. All I have to do is put them on and walk around a patch of brush, when the leggings set it on fire and drive the deer out so I can shoot them."

"Hai-yah!" exclaimed Old Man. "How wonderful!" He made up his mind he would have those leggings, even if he had to steal them.

They went out to hunt, and the first patch of brush they came to, the Sun set on fire with his hunting leggings. A lot of white-tail deer ran out, and they each shot one. That night, when they went to bed, the Sun pulled off his leggings and placed them to one side.

Old Man saw where he put them, and in the middle of the night, when everyone else was asleep, he stole them and went off. He traveled a long time, until he had gone far and was very tired and then, making a pillow of the leggings, lay down and slept.

In the morning, he heard someone talking. The Sun was saying, "Old Man, why are my leggings under your head? He looked around, and saw he was in the Sun's lodge, and thought he must have wandered around and got lost, and returned there. Again the Sun spoke, and said, "What are you doing with my leggings?"

"Oh," replied Old Man, "I couldn't find anything for a pillow, so I just put these under my head."

Night came again, and again Old Man stole the leggings and ran off. This time he did not walk at all, he just kept running until pretty near morning, and then lay down and slept.

You see what a fool he was. He did not know that the whole world is the Sun's lodge. He did not know that, no matter how far he ran, he could not get out of Sun's sight.

When morning came, he found himself still in the Sun's lodge. But this time the Sun said: "Old Man, since you like my leggings so much, I will give them to you. Keep them." Then Old Man was very glad and went away.

One day his food was all gone, so he put on the medicine leggings and set fire to a piece of brush. He was just going to kill one deer that was running out when he saw that the fire was getting close to him. He ran away as fast as he could but the fire gained on him and began to burn his legs. His leggings were all on fire.

He came to a river and jumped in, and pulled off the leggings as soon as he could. They were burned to pieces.

Perhaps the Sun did this to him because he tried to steal his leggings.
fromfirstpeople.us

Links:
Glenbow Museum - this is their Blackfoot section. You can listen to stories told in Blackfoot while you read them in English and learn a bit more about the culture. If you're really adventurous, you can even set the website language to Kainai Dialect Blackfoot.
Wiki page on the Blackfoot Confederacy

Asdzą́ą́ Nádleehé/Estsanatlehi/Changing Woman

Asdzą́ą́ Nádleehé (IPA: [àsʦã́ː nátˡèːhé]) (also spelled Ahsonnutli, Estsanatlehi, and Etsanatlehi in older sources)[1], meaning "the woman who changes",[2] is one of the creating deities of the Navajo. She helped create the sky and the earth. The second word in her name can be read simply as "who changes", or as directly meaning that she is nádleeh ("hermaphroditic"[3]).

From: Wiki

The Apache called the earth goddess by this name, for she never grew old. When her age began to show, she simply walked toward the east until she saw her form coming toward herself. She kept walking until her young self merged with her aging self and then, renewed, returned to her home. Among the Chiricahua Apache, the name of this eternal goddess was Painted Woman. "Turquoise woman" was the Navaho sky-goddess, wife of the sun. She lived in a turquoise palace at the western horizon, where each night she received her luminous husband. Sister (or twin or double) of Yolkai Estsan, the moon's wife, Estsanatlehi was able to make herself young each time she began to age, thus her name, which means the "self-renewing one."

Here is her story: the ancestral goddess Atse Estsan, discovering Estsanatlehi on the ground beneath a mountain, reared her to be the savior of earth's people. When she was grown, Estsanatlehi met a young man; each day they went to the woods to make love. When her parents looked on the ground and saw only one set of footprints, they knew their daughter had taken the sun as a lover.

Delighted at the honor granted their family, they were delighted again when Estsanatlehi gave birth to twins, who grew so miraculously that eight days after birth they were men, ready to seek their father. But when they found his house, the twins found another woman there. Angry at the intrusion, she threatened them with their father's anger as well.

Undeterred, the twins remained and won from their father magic weapons, which they needed to clear the earth of monsters. This they did. After dancing with their mother in celebration, the twins built Estsanatlehi a magnificent home at the sky's end, so that the sun could visit her again.

But the twins' wars with the monsters had depopulated the earth. Estsanatlehi brushed the dust from her breasts. From the white flour that fell from her right breast and the yellow meal from her left, she made paste and molded a man and a woman. Placing them beneath a magical blanket, Estsanatlehi left them. The next morning they were alive and breathing, and Estsanatlehi blessed the creation. For the next four days, the pair reproduced constantly, forming the four great Navaho clans. But the creative urge of Estsanatlehi was not fulfilled. She made four more groups of people, this time from the dust of her nipples-and the women of these clans were thereafter famous for their nipples.

Feeling her creation to be complete, Estsanatlehi retired to her turquoise palace from which she continued to bestow blessings on her people: seasons, plants and food, and the tender sprouts of spring. Only four monsters survived her sons' wars on evil: age, winter, poverty, and famine, which she allowed to live on so that her people would treasure her gifts the more.

From: here

According to Navajo Native Americans, Estsanatlehi, whose name means "Changing Woman", created the first man and woman from pieces of her own skin. She is the wife of the Sun god, Tsohanoai and the mother of the two Navajo heroes, the twins Nayenezgani and Tobadzistsini.

Her home is on an island far to the west where Tsohanoai meets her every evening as he sets. She is said to become old each winter and to rejuvenate each spring. This curious peculiarity is related to the changing of the seasons.

It is believed that Estsanatlehi eventually became the goddess of the underworld.

From: here

Changing Woman is the Navaho Goddess of time and the changing of the seasons. She is also known as Estsanatlehi (pronounced es-tan-AHT-lu-hee). She is the daughter of the Sky and the Earth, and wife of the Sun. She lives in the West with the Sun, in a house that she built with Wind and Light. The East part of the house is made of white shell; the West of yellow abalone; the North of black jet; and the South of turquoise.

Changing Woman and the Sun had twin boys, Monster Slayer and Child of the Water. They grew to adulthood in only eight days, as Changing Woman herself had. They left their mother to go and fight the monsters that populated the world at the time. One day, feeling lonely without her sons, Changing Woman decided to create some company for herself. She brushed some dust from her breasts—from the right came flour and from the left came cornmeal. She used the flour and cornmeal to make a paste, which she formed into four pairs of men and women, who became the ancestors of the four Navaho clans.

From: here

The highest place in the Navaho pantheon is held by Estsanatlehi, the " Woman Who Changes " — for, like the Phoenix, when she becomes old, she transforms herself again into a young girl and lives a renewed life. Though she originated on earth, her home is now in the west, on an island created for her by the Sun-Carrier, who made her his wife. From that direction come the rains that water the Navaho country and the winds that foretell the spring; and it is therefore appropriate that the goddess of nature's fruitfulness should dwell there. The younger sister of Estsanatlehi is Yolkai Estsan, the White Shell Woman, wife of the Moon-Carrier, Klehanoai. The white shell is her symbol, and she is related to the waters, as her sister, whose token is the turquoise, is akin to the earth; white is the colour of the dawn and the east, blue of midday and the south, and it is with the magic of these colours that the two sisters kindle the sun's disk and the moon's — although, according to Navaho myth, which is by no means always consistent, the Sun-God and the Moon-God were in existence before the sisters were created.

From: here

One of the most important figures in Navajo (Dineh) tradition; the mother of the warrior twins known as Monster Slayer and Born for Water. Different informants describe the parentage of Changing Woman in different ways.

Sometimes her father and mother are given as the sky and the Earth; at other times, they are given as Long Life Boy (Sa’ah naghai), the personification of thought, and Happiness Girl (Bikeh hózhó), the personification of speech. Combined, the names of the latter two—sa’ah naghai bikeh hózhó—mean “an all-encompassing environment of beauty” and express the Navajo (Dineh) goal of life, to live in harmony surrounded by beauty. Long Life Boy and Happiness Girl are identified with the inner forms of all living things.

First Man and First Woman planned Changing Woman’s birth and raised her. First Man held up his medicine bundle toward Gobernador Knob (Ch’óol’íí) in New Mexico at dawn, and that was where Changing Woman was born. When she reached puberty (in four days, according to legend), a puberty ceremony was held for her that formed the basis of the puberty rites held for all young Navajo (Dineh) women.

Changing Woman was the personification of the Earth and the natural order of the universe. She represented the cyclical path of the seasons—birth (spring), maturing (summer), aging (autumn), and death (winter)—and was reborn each spring to repeat the cycle. The various dresses into which she changed corresponded to the changes in the seasons and gave her the other names by which she was known: White Shell Woman, Turquoise Woman, Abalone Woman, and Jet Woman. Her Apache counterpart is White Painted Woman.

After reaching womanhood, Changing Woman was impregnated by the Sun and by Water and gave birth to Monster Slayer and Born for Water. Although Born for Water had a different father, he was considered Monster Slayer’s twin and, with him, a son of the Sun. When her sons were grown, Changing Woman asked for and received the Mountain Soil medicine bundle from First Man. Then she moved to a hogan that had been built for her at the base of El Huerfano Mesa and conducted the first wedding ceremony, the mating of corn. After this ceremony, she moved to a house her sons had built for her in the west. Growing lonely there, she used the power of the medicine bundle to create the first four clans of the Navajo (Dineh) people from skin she rubbed from various parts of her body. (See Navajo [Dineh] emergence.)

Changing Woman is central to the Blessingway ceremonial and the girls’ puberty rite that is a part of it. Other Navajo (Dineh) ceremonials in which Changing Woman plays a part include Beadway, Eagleway, Monsterway, and Shootingway.

From: Native American Mythology A to Z

Also see:
The Navaho Genesis
The Navaho And Their Gods
THE STORY OF THE EMERGENCE
Creation of the Horse
Some info
Google Books with previews that mention her
Diné Bahaneʼ
Navajo Changing Woman
Essay
PDF How White Shell Woman / Yoołgaii Asdzáán Became Known as Changing Woman

Igaluk/An(n)ingan

In Inuit mythology, Igaluk is one of the most powerful gods of the pantheon. He is a lunar deity. In Greenland, he is known as Aningan.

Story

According to Inuit mythology, Igaluk and his sister Malina lived together in a village. They were very close when young, but came to live apart as they grew older, in the lodges for women and for men. One day, as Igaluk looked at the women, he found that his sister was the most beautiful. And so that night, as everyone slept, he crept into the women's dwelling and forced her. As it was dark, Malina was unable to tell who her attacker was, but the next night, when the same thing happened, she covered her hands with the soot from the lamps and smeared the Anningan's face with it. Afterwards, she took a lamp and looked through the skylight of the men's lodge. She was surprised to find that the man was Igaluk, her own brother. So Malina sharpened her knife and cut off her breasts. She put them in a bowl and carried this to the men's lodge, and presented it to Igaluk, saying "If you enjoy me so much, then eat these," and ran away out the door, grabbing a torch as she went. Igaluk chased after her, likewise taking a torch, and was able to easily follow her path, as her footsteps were marked with great pools of blood. However, he tripped and dropped his torch, and the flame was put out, except for a faint glow. Eventually however, Igaluk caught up to his sister, and the two ran so fast that they took off into the sky and became the moon and the sun.

Tulok

Tulok, according to Inuit mythology, is the arch nemesis of Aningan. A true warrior, after hearing of the incest of Aningan decided to challenge him to battle. As by this time Aningan had become the sun he devised a plan to run so fast he could reach into the sky and pour a bucket of mythical water over the sun to put out its flames. But upon hearing this, Malina, realising the devastating effect of the loss of the sun, banded together with Aningan and became an eclipse, so that when Tulok reached the sky he would become trapped. It is said after this he split to a thousand pieces, and became the stars.

From: Wiki

Aningan
The moon, brother to the sun whom Moon chases across the sky. Aningan has a great igloo in the sky where he rests. Irdlirvirissong, his demon cousin, lives there as well. The moon is a great hunter, and his sledge is always piled high with seal skins and meat.


Sun
A beautiful young maiden carrying a torch who is chased through the sky by her brother Aningan, the moon. The planet Jupiter is the mother of the sun and very dangerous to magicians. If they are careless, she will devour their livers.

From: here

Anningan
Anningan is the name of the Moon god of some of the Inuit people that live in Greenland. The word "Inuit" means "people."

Anningan continually chases his sister, Malina, the Sun goddess, across the sky. During this chase, he forgets to eat, and he gets much thinner. This is symbolic of the phases of the moon, particularly the crescent.

To satisfy his hunger, he disappears for three days each month (new moon) and then returns full (gibbous) to chase his sister all over again. Malina wants to stay far away from her bad brother. That is why they rise and set at different times.

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Malina
Malina is the Sun goddess of the Inuit people who live in Greenland. The word "Inuit" means "people."

Malina and her brother, the Moon god Anningan, lived together. They got into a terrible fight and Malina spread dirty, black grease all over her brother's face. In fear, she ran as far as she could into the sky and became the Sun. Anningan chased after her and became the Moon.

Anningan often forgets to eat, so he gets thinner as the days go by. Every month, the Moon disappears for three days while Anningan eats. He then returns to chase his sister once again.

This eternal chase makes the Sun alternate in the sky with the Moon.

From: here

We cross the Atlantic, and among the Greenlanders discover a myth, which is sui generis. "The sun and moon are nothing else than two mortals, brother and sister. They were playing with others at children's games in the dark, when Malina, being teased in a shameful manner by her brother Anninga, smeared her hands with the soot of the lamp, and rubbed them over the face and hands of her persecutor, that she might recognise him by daylight. Hence arise the spots in the moon. Malina wished to save herself by flight, but her brother followed at her heels. At length she flew upwards, and became the sun. Anninga followed her, and became the moon; but being unable to mount so high, he runs continually round the sun, in hopes of some time surprising her. When he is tired and hungry in his last quarter, he leaves his house on a sledge harnessed to four huge dogs, to hunt seals, and continues abroad for several days. He now fattens so prodigiously on the spoils of the chase, that he soon grows into the full moon. He rejoices on the death of women, and the sun has her revenge on the death of men; all males therefore keep within doors during an eclipse of the sun, and females during that of the moon."

This Esquimaux story, which has some interesting features, is told differently by Dr. Hayes, the Arctic explorer, who puts a lighted taper into the sun's hands, with which she discovered her brother, and which now causes her bright light, "while the moon, having lost his taper, is cold, and could not be seen but for his sister's light." This belief prevails as far south as Panama, for the inhabitants of the Isthmus of Darien have a tradition that the man in the moon was guilty of gross misconduct towards his elder sister, the sun.

From: here

The Sun and the Moon

(An Inuit Sky Tale)

Sun and Moon were sister and brother. They always took part in the copulation games in the young people's house. But one night, as Moon was trying to decide which girl he would try to find when the light was dimmed, his eyes fell upon his sister, and he thought she was the most beautiful of all. He noticed how her clothes were made, and when the lamp had been put out, he found her by feeling his way.

He did this many times. At last, Sun became suspicious, and she took a little soot from the lamp upon her fingers. During the copulation she pressed her fingers against the forehead of the man who took her. And when the lamp was lit again, she saw her brother Moon with soot on his face.

Sun became red and hot with shame. She took a whisk of moss from the heap by the lamp, dipped it in the blubber and lit it, and she ran out.

Moon wanted to follow her, but he was in such a hurry that he didn't get his moss lit very well.

"We must run far away and never see each other again," said Sun. And at the same moment they became spirits and were lifted up in the sky, where they continued their flight.

But Sun has the stronger warmer light, because her whisk of moss burns clearly. Her brother Moon, who pursues her but never can catch up with her, has the weaker colder light.

From: here

Inuit legend explains that the moon, personified as a male, chases the sun, represented by a female, and ends with an eclipse, before starting all over again.

The story recounted by Inuit elders in John MacDonald's book Arctic Sky, Inuit Astronomy, Star Lore and Legend, is the creation of the sun and the moon.

"The moon is personified as male and sun as female," said MacDonald who also heads the Iglulik Research Institute.

The legend tells the story of Anningaat and his sister Siqiniq.

The story spun by George Kappianaq in MacDonald's book is, like many myths, filled with violence, taboo and eventual punishment.

Siqiniq is plagued by constant visits of an obscene nature while staying in her birthing house.

Her attacker would sneak into the room and extinguish the light of her qulliq, thus hiding his identity.

In an attempt to trap him the next time he entered, she put soot from a cooking pot on her nose.

To Siqiniq's horror she discovered the attacker is her brother Anningaat.

Both lit torches and Siqiniq chased her brother around the Qaggiq (a large iglu used for communal activities).

Anningaat's torch extinguished during the chase while his sister's continued to burn.

Eventually, the two ascended to the heavens where Anningaat became the moon and Siqiniq the sun.

There in the sky the chase is said to continue and a solar eclipse occurs when the brother finally catches up with his sister.

Aside from the legend of the siblings, eclipses were also viewed with some foreboding by Inuit.

From: here