THE GAMBLER: A NAVAJO MYTH.
The Navajo Indians Edwardy, William M.
Harper's Weekly 34 5 July 1890 Page 530
Fort Wingate, the largest military post in the Southwest, is situated some three miles south of the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, and not many miles from the Arizona border. Department head-quarters are situated here, and a garrison of nine companies, mostly of the Sixth United States Cavalry, and one company of Indian scouts is constantly maintained. This large force is considered necessary to guard against any possible outbreak of the Navajo Indians, who roam over an extensive reservation, embracing nearly twenty thousand square miles of territory in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona.
The Navajos are estimated to number 23,000 or more, and they are by far the most powerful tribe of the Southwest. They have been at peace with the whites for about twenty-six years; but their fierce warlike natures have made it necessary for the military authorities to keep constantly on the alert. The tribe is rich in cattle, ponies, and sheep, and they suffered so much during the last war with the whites that it is the fear of losing their property more than anything else which prevents serious trouble. As it is, they are constantly quarrelling with cattle-men on the borders of the reservation, and they cannot resist the temptation of making an occasional raid on their neighbors and old enemies the Utes. In spite of his apparently peaceful inclinations, the Navajo has a deep-seated and well-founded hatred for the white man, and would gladly seek revenge for the wrongs he has suffered, if past experience had not proven to him that he must eventually lose in any conflict with his pale-faced conquerors. No white man or party of white men can safely pass through the Navajo country alone; but if sent out under the escort of any Indian of the tribe, the sense of honor of the people is such that there can be no possibility of danger.
Considering the vast extent of the Navajo reservation, with its natural wonders, the numerical strength of the tribe, and their superior intelligence, very little attention has been paid them by travelers and writers, so that their country, their customs, and their traditions are comparatively unknown. Fort Wingate is the natural starting-point for the Navajo country. It is a prettily situated post, with spacious quarters, storehouses, and corrals, where every detail of every-day life is conducted with that order and military discipline common to frontier forts. The strategic position of the post is such that in the event of a Navajo outbreak the troops could be readily thrown out between the reservation and the thickly populated districts of New Mexico. It was established several years ago, and is now under the command of General Carr, who during his many years of service with the Sixth Cavalry has fought nearly every tribe of hostile Indians on the border.
The company of Indian scouts which is kept at the post is a splendid body of men, being selected from among the bravest and most intelligent young men of the tribe. They have adopted the regulation army uniform, and are neat and careful in their dress. They render efficient service in keeping order on the reservation and in bringing in renegades who have committed depredations of any kind. The scouts are commanded by a regular army officer, but their chief is a handsome half-breed called Chee (the light- haired), who acts as interpreter, and is one of the most influential men of the tribe.
By the permission of the commanding officer, and through the aid of Chee, I succeeded in obtaining an Indian pony and the services of one of the scouts to guide me on a trip through the reservation. We left the post at an early hour of the morning, and headed north through the rugged, broken country, which in its peculiar formations is unlike any other portion of the earth. Snow had fallen during the night to the depth of several inches, and as we passed into the hilly country an ever-changing panorama of weird and beautiful scenery was opened before us. The tall buttes of variegated hue rising abruptly from the snow-clad plains presented an endless variety of color and form. Some were smooth and round as if chiseled by the hand of man; others were jagged and rough; while others still took the shape of perfect domes.
A few miles from the post we came upon a pile of dark brownstone which so closely resembles the body and spires of a great cathedral that it has been called the "Navajo Church." It rises for several hundred feet above the level of the surrounding plain, and can be seen for many miles.
Near Fort Defiance, where the agency is located, we passed three tall buttes which in color and form resemble stacks of hay. They are called the "Hat-stacks," and at the distance of one or two miles the illusion is so perfect that the name is very appropriate. There is an immense circular opening in one of these buttes, through which a person on the west side can plainly see the mountain slopes which lie to the eastward. The natural beauties and wonders of the Navajo country are too varied and numerous to be mentioned in detail. There is a wonderful canon in the Navajo Mountains -- of which I know only from stories told me by old men of the tribe -- which has never yet been visited by white men. It is a beautiful valley, shut in on all sides by cliffs which rise several thousand feet, the only entrance being a narrow defile scarcely wide enough for two men to pass abreast. The Bridal-Veil Falls, which have been seen and photographed, are unsurpassed in beauty by anything in the Southwest. The principal fall is a solid body of water some twenty feet in width, which plunges over a precipice 132 feet in height, and there are several smaller streams on either side.
At Fort Defiance, which is just across the line in Arizona, I found a picturesque little settlement in a broad canon, where the government has erected a number of buildings, and established a school for the education of Indian boys and girls. This is the business center of the Navajo reservation, and here all dealings and consultations between the agents of the government and chiefs of the tribe are carried on. There are at present seventy-two children in the school; and outside of authorized traders there are probably twenty government employees at the place. Mr. C. E. Vandever, the present Indian Agent, was formerly City Marshal of Terre Haute, Indiana, and under his vigorous administration of affairs many innovations have been made, and a degree of order established which until lately was unknown on the reservation. I will give you some of his views in regard to the advancement of the Indian later on. At Defiance I spent some time, and naturally my first efforts were directed toward learning something of the traditions of the tribe. Through Chee's help I had no difficulty in securing interpreters, and had many long and interesting talks with the story-tellers, or historians, whose business it is to tell what has been handed down from the past.
I found among the Navajos the same difficulty which I have met with in other tribes, viz., that the various historians, or story- tellers, do not always agree in their traditions, and that while the groundwork may have been the same originally, each one elaborates or curtails to suit his own fancy. In common with other tribes of the Southwest, the Navajos believe that they originally came from below, and like the Moquis their lower world is composed of two stories or stations. Their best-established tradition of the creation, or appearance of man on earth, is as follows: The Navajos originally lived in the underworld -- that is, the world immediately below the one upon which they now live. In that world they were happy and contented, and had everything which heart could wish for. There were no excesses of heat or cold, and fruits and flowers grew in abundance. The day was marked by a bright cloud, which rose like a curtain in the east, and as this went down a black cloud rose in the west, which marked the night. In this happy condition they existed until some one of the tribe discovered an opening in the earth which extended upward to some place then unknown. He communicated his discovery to his people, and the tribe set out to find to what place the opening would lead. Finally they emerged upon this earth at a point somewhere in the Navajo Mountains, and immediately prepared to take possession of their new home. When they came upon earth they were ruled by a queen, who mysteriously disappeared four days afterward. Men were sent in all directions to search for her, and those who had gone in the direction of the Navajo Mountains came upon the opening by which the tribe had ascended from the lower world, and found that it had not yet been closed. Looking downward, they beheld their former home, and saw their queen combing her long black hair. She spoke to them, and told them to return to her people with the message that she had died on earth and had returned to the lower world, and that they would come to her only when death had released them from the upper world. With this the earth closed, and the searchers returned to the tribe with the message which had been given them. Soon after this, giants appeared in the country, who killed and ate up the entire tribe with the exception of four families, who found safety in a deep canon of the Navajo Mountains.
One day in their desolate retreat they saw at early dawn a bright ray of sunshine beaming upon a lovely verdant hill not far away. Four days in succession this phenomenon was presented, and being drawn by curiosity to visit the spot, they found a beautiful girl babe. This child was regarded as the daughter of heaven and earth, and they reared her with the greatest care. When she grew to womanhood, the great warrior who rides upon a white horse and carries the sun upon his arm as a shield fell in love with and married her. The offspring of this union were two sons, who slew the giants who had destroyed the Navajos; and under their protection the world was peopled again. The daughter of heaven and earth was finally taken up by her warrior husband and transported to the great waters to the westward, where she was placed in a floating palace, which has since been her home. She is immortal, and to her are addressed the prayers of the people. Her water home is guarded by twelve immortal beings, who return periodically to the land to learn what the Navajos are doing, and to carry back with them any messages which they may send. The tradition of this protecting goddess accounts for the respect which the Navajos show to the women of their tribe. among them a man never lifts his hand against a woman, although it is no unusual thing for a squaw to administer a sound thrashing to the warrior husband who has offended her. All of the sheep, which constitute the great wealth of the tribe, are owned by the women; and in the various families the line of descent is always on the side of the woman. The Navajos have little or no idea of a future existence, but are firm believers in the transmigration of souls. For this reason they have great reverence for different animals and birds, which are supposed to be the re-embodiment of departed spirits of Navajos. The morals of the Navajos are of a very low standard. Polygamy is practiced; and the marriage rite is only a form, for the husband or wife can take a new partner whenever so inclined. It is usual to purchase a wife by paying from ten to twenty ponies, but the husband is not bound to keep her any longer than he wishes. However, the wife who is abandoned can avenge herself by shooting the ponies or cattle belonging to her fickle lord. Some of the Navajos own slaves, who are principally Ute Indians who have been captured on raids into their country; and although the government has been trying for a long time to liberate these captives wherever found, there are still many on the reservation.
The Navajos are naturally an intelligent and industrious race. They cultivate large tracts of land, and carefully tend their flocks and herds. The wool clip for the past year was upward of 2,500,000 pounds. They have lately been furnished with shears of an improved pattern; but until recently they cut the wool from the backs of the sheep with knives or sharp pieces of tin, an operation which was not only tedious, but was terribly painful to the animal. Previous to the last war with the whites, the tribe had extensive orchards of peach, apple, and pear trees; but these were cut down and destroyed by the soldiers under Kit Carson, since which time the Indians will not plant trees, for they say "the white men will come again and cut them down." During this war the Navajos suffered terribly, for they not only lost their flocks and herds, but nearly half of the tribe was either killed in battle or died of hunger and exposure. In order to subdue them, the soldiers and their allies, the Utes, destroyed everything upon which they could subsist; and it is related upon good authority that hundreds of Navajo women, when driven to the last extremity, threw themselves and their children headlong from the tall cliffs which overlook Fort Defiance, and were dashed to pieces upon the stones below. The Navajos have more than ordinary ingenuity in some classes of work, which is shown in the artistic patterns of the blankets which they make, and the skillful designing and manufacture of silver ornaments. A silversmith in the tribe can make bridles, belts, and necklaces which in originality of pattern and perfection of finish would puzzle many of our best mechanics. The people too are inclined to present a fine outward appearance, and display much taste in decorating their persons and the animals upon which they ride.
In regard to the progress which the tribe is making, there is little, if any. The means provided by the government are totally inadequate for the needs of the people. There is, to be sure, a school of seventy-two pupils, but what does this amount to among 23,000 people? The influence is so slight that it is hardly felt, and its benefits are scarcely perceptible.
Mr. Vandever, the present agent, is my authority for the statement that it is a bad policy to take the children from the agency and send them to Carlisle or some other remote school. He thinks that there should be several primary schools at convenient points on the reservation, and also a high-school, so that the children could be educated without having to be separated from their families. Above all, he thinks that there should be industrial teachers throughout the tribe, as the people are not only capable but willing to learn how to cultivate their lands and care for their animals.
At present the Navajos live in little huts, called hogans, scattered over the reservation, and it is very seldom that more than one or two of these huts are found together. Lately the people have evinced a desire to build houses, and a number of comfortable cabins have been erected under the supervision of the government agent. As already stated, there is constant hostility between the Navajos and cattle-men along the borders of their reservation; but this is due more to the encroachments of the whites than to any fault of the Indians. There are fine grazing lands on the reservation, and the Navajo Mountains are said to be wonderfully rich in minerals. These serve as a constant temptation for unscrupulous people to enter the reservation, and when they do, they are generally met with a warm reception. It is not an uncommon occurrence to find a body riddled with bullets, as was the case a short while ago, when two Mexican herders were found dead not far from the post. The Navajos now own their land in common, but there is a growing sentiment in favor of its allotment in severalty, and those who know them best predict that when this is done the tribe will make rapid strides toward civilization and enlightenment.
Noqoìlpi, the Gambler: A Navajo Myth Matthews, Washington
Franz Boas, T. Frederick Crane, J. Owen Dorsey; W.W. Newell, General Editor. Journal of American Folklore, Vol II, No. V, April-June, 1889.
In the cañon of the Chaco, in northern New Mexico, there are many ruins of ancient pueblos which are still in a fair state of preservation, in some of them entire apartments being yet, it is said, intact. One of the largest of these is called by the Navajos Kintyèl or Kintyèli, which signifies "Broad-house." It figures frequently in their legends and is the scene of a very interesting rite-myth, which I have in my collection. I have reason to believe that this pueblo is identical with that seen and described in 1849 by Lieut. J. H. Simpson, U. S. A.,2 under the name of Pueblo Chettro Kettle. Although his guide translated this "Rain Pueblo," it seems more probably a corruption of the Navajo Tseçqa or Tceçga (English Chethra) Kintyèl, or "Broad House among the Cliffs," -- i.e., in the cañon. This story of Noqoìlpi was not related to me as a separate tale, but as a part of the great creation and migration legend of the Navajos. When the wandering Navajos arrived at Kintyèl, this great pueblo was in process of building, but was not finished. The way it came to be built was this:
NOQOÌLPI, THE GAMBLER: A NAVAJO MYTH.
Some time before, there had descended among the Pueblos, from the heavens, a divine gambler or gambling-god, named Noqoìlpi, or He-who-wins-men (at play); his talisman was a great piece of turquoise. When he came, he challenged the people to all sorts of games and contests, and in all of these he was successful. He won from them, first their property, then their women and children, and finally some of the men themselves. Then he told them he would give them part of their property back in payment [See Note "A" --- Desertphile] if they would build a great house; so when the Navajos came [See Note "B" --- Desertphile], the Pueblos were busy building in order that they might release their enthralled relatives and their property. They were also busy making a race-track, and preparing for all kinds of games of chance and skill.
When all was ready, and four days' notice had been given, twelve men came from the neighboring pueblo of Kinçolíj (Blue-house) to compete with the great gambler. They bet their own persons, and after a brief contest they lost themselves to Noqoìlpi. Again a notice of four days was given, and again twelve men of Kinçolíj -- relatives of the former twelve -- came to play, and these also lost themselves. For the third time an announcement, four days in advance of a game, was given; this time some women were among the twelve contestants, and they too lost themselves. All were put to work on the building of Kintyèl as soon as they forfeited their liberty. At the end of another four days the children of these men and women came to try to win back their parents, but they succeeded only in adding themselves to the number of the gambler's slaves. On a fifth trial, after four days' warning, twelve leading men of Blue-house were lost, among them the chief of the pueblo. On a sixth duly announced gambling-day twelve more men, all important persons, staked their liberty and lost it. Up to this time the Navajos had kept count of the winnings of Noqoìlpi, but afterwards people from other pueblos came in such numbers to play and lose that they could keep count no longer. In addition to their own persons the later victims brought in beads, shells, turquoise, and all sorts of valuables, and gambled them away. With the labor of all these slaves it was not long until the great Kintyèl was finished.
But all this time the Navajos had been merely spectators, and had taken no part in the games. One day the voice of the beneficent god Qastcèyalçi [See Note "C" --- Desertphile] was heard faintly in the distance crying his usual call "hu`hu`hu`hu`."
His voice was heard, as it is always heard, four times, each time nearer and nearer, and immediately after the last call, which was loud and clear, Qastcèyalçi appeared at the door of a hut where dwelt a young couple who had no children, and with them he communicated by means of signs. He told them that the people of Kinçolíj had lost at game with Noqoìlpi two great shells, the greatest treasures of the pueblo; that the Sun had coveted these shells, and had begged them from the gambler; that the latter had refused the request of the Sun and the Sun was angry. In consequence of all this, as Qastcèyalçi related, in twelve days from his visit certain divine personages would meet in the mountains, in a place which he designated, to hold a great ceremony. He invited the young man to be present at the ceremony, and disappeared.
The Navajo kept count of the passing days; on the twelfth day he repaired to the appointed place, and there he found a great assemblage of the gods [Yei]. There were Qastcèyalçi, Qastcèqogan and his son, Níltci, the Wind, Tcalyèl, the Darkness, Tcàapani, the Bat, Klictsò, the Great Snake, Tsilkàli (a little bird), Nasísi, the Gopher, and many others [See Note "D" --- Desertphile]. Beside these, there were present a number of pets or domesticated animals belonging to the gambler, who were dissatisfied with their lot, were anxious to be free, and would gladly obtain their share of the spoils in case their master was ruined. Níltci, the Wind, had spoken to them, and they had come to enter into the plot against Noqoìlpi. All night the gods danced and sang, and performed their mystic rites, for the purpose of giving to the son of Qastcèqogan powers as a gambler equal to those of Noqoìlpi. When the morning came they washed the young neophyte all over, dried him with [corn] meal, dressed him in clothes exactly like those the gambler wore, and in every way made him look as much like the gambler as possible, and then they counselled as to what other means they should take to out-wit Noqoìlpi.
In the first place, they desired to find out how he felt about having refused to his father, the Sun, the two great shells.
"I will do this," said Níltci, the Wind, "for I can penetrate everywhere, and no one can see me;" but the others said, "No, you can go everywhere, but you cannot travel without making a noise and disturbing people. Let Tcalyèl, the Darkness, go on this errand, for he also goes wherever he wills, yet he makes no noise."
So Tcalyèl went to the gambler's house, entered his room, went all through his body while he slept, and searched well his mind, and he came back saying, "Noqoìlpi is sorry for what he has done."
Níltci, however, did not believe this; so, although his services had been before refused, he repaired to the chamber where the gambler slept, and went all through his body and searched well his mind; but he too came back saying Noqoìlpi was sorry that he had refused to give the great shells to his father.
One of the games they proposed to play is called çàka-çqadsàç, or the thirteen chips; it is played with thirteen thin flat pieces of wood, which are colored red on one side and left white or uncolored on the other side. Success depends on the number of chips, which, being thrown upward, fall with their white sides up.
"Leave the game to me," said the Bat; "I have made thirteen chips that are white on both sides. I will hide myself in the ceiling, and when our champion throws up his chips I will grasp them and throw down my chips instead."
Another game they were to play is called nanjoj; it is played with two long sticks or poles, of peculiar shape and construction (one marked with red and the other with black), and a single hoop. A long many-tailed string, called the "turkey-claw," is secured to the centre of each pole.
"Leave nanjoj to me," said the Great Snake; "I will hide myself in the hoop and make it fall where I please."
Another game was one called tsínbetsil, or push-on-the-wood; in this the contestants push against a tree until it is torn from its roots and falls.
"I will see that this game is won," said Nasísi, the Gopher; "I will gnaw the roots of the tree, so that he who shoves it may easily make it fall."
In the game of tcol, or ball, the object was to hit the ball so that it would fall beyond a certain line.
"I will win this game for you," said the little bird, Tsilkáli, "for I will hide within the ball, and fly with it wherever I want to go. Do not hit the ball hard; give it only a light tap, and depend on me to carry it."
The pets of the gambler begged the Wind to blow hard, so that they might have an excuse to give their master for not keeping due watch when he was in danger, and in the morning the Wind blew for them a strong gale. At dawn the whole party of conspirators left the mountain, and came down to the brow of the cañon to watch until sunrise.
Noqoìlpi had two wives, who were the prettiest women in the whole land. Wherever she went, each carried in her hand a stick with something tied on the end of it, as a sign that she was the wife of the great gambler.
It was their custom for one of them to go every morning at sunrise to a neighboring spring to get water. So at sunrise the watchers on the brow of the cliff saw one of the wives coming out of the gambler's house with a water jar on her head, whereupon the son of Qastcèqogan descended into the cañon, and followed her to the spring. She was not aware of his presence until she had filled her water-jar; then she supposed it to be her own husband, whom the youth was dressed and adorned to represent, and she allowed him to approach her. She soon discovered her error, however, but deeming it prudent to say nothing, she suffered him to follow her into the house. As he entered, he observed that many of the slaves had already assembled; perhaps they were aware that some trouble was in store for their master. The latter looked up with an angry face; he felt jealous when he saw the stranger entering immediately after his wife. He said nothing of this, however, but asked at once the important question, "Have you come to gamble with me?" This he repeated four times, and each time the young Qastcèqogan said "No." Thinking the stranger feared to play with him, Noqoìlpi went on challenging him recklessly.
"I'll bet myself against yourself;" "I'll bet my feet against your feet;" "I'll bet my legs against your legs;"
and so on he offered to bet every and any part of his body against the same part of his adversary, ending by mentioning his hair.
In the mean time the party of divine ones, who had been watching from above, came down, and people from the neighboring pueblos came in, and among these were two boys, who were dressed in costumes similar to those worn by the wives of the gambler. The young Qastcèqogan pointed to these and said, "I will bet my wives my against your wives."
The great gambler accepted the wager, and the four persons, two women and two mock women, were placed sitting in a row near the wall. First they played the game of thirteen chips. The Bat assisted, as he had promised the son of Qastcèqogan, and the latter soon won the game, and with it the wives of Noqoìlpi.
This was the only game played inside the house; then all went out of doors, and games of various kinds were played. First they tried nanjoj. The track already prepared lay east and west, but, prompted by the wind god, the stranger insisted on having a track made from north to south, and again, at the bidding of the Wind, he chose the red stick. The son of Qastcèqogan threw the wheel: at first it seemed about to fall on the gambler's pole, in the "turkey-claw" of which it was entangled; but to the great surprise of the gambler it extricated itself, rolled farther on, and fell on the pole of his opponent. The latter ran to pick up the ring, lest Noqoìlpi in doing so might hurt the Snake inside; but the gambler was so angry that he threw his stick away and gave up the game, hoping to do better in the next contest, which was that of pushing down trees.
For this the great gambler pointed out two small trees, but his opponent insisted that larger trees must be found. After some search they agreed upon two of good size, which grew close together, and of these the wind-god told the youth which one he must select. The gambler strained with all his might at his tree, but could not move it, while his opponent, when his turn came, shoved the other tree prostrate with little effort, for its roots had all been severed by the Gopher.
Then followed a variety of games, on which Noqoìlpi staked his wealth in shells and precious stones, his houses, and many of his slaves, and lost all.
The last game was that of the ball. On the line over which the ball was to be knocked all the people were assembled: on one side were those who still remained slaves; on the other side were the freedmen and those who had come to wager themselves, hoping to rescue their kinsmen. Noqoìlpi bet on this game the last of his slaves and his own person. The gambler struck his ball a heavy blow, but it did not reach the line; the stranger gave his but a light tap, and the bird within it flew with it far beyond the line, where at the released captives jumped over the line and joined their people.
The victor ordered all the shell beads and precious stones and the great shells to be brought forth. He gave the beads and shells to Qastèyalçi, that they might be distributed among the gods; the two great shells were given to the Sun. [3]
In the mean time Noqoìlpi sat to one side saying bitter things, bemoaning his fate, and cursing and threatening his enemies:
"I will kill you all with the lightning. I will send war and disease among you. May the cold freeze you! May the fire burn you! May the waters drown you!" he cried. [See Note "F" --- Desertphile]
"He has cursed enough,"whispered Níltci to the son of Qastcèqogan. "Put an end to his angry words." So the young victor called Noqoìlpi to him, and said, "You have bet yourself and have lost; you are now my slave and must do my bidding. You are not a god, for my power has prevailed against yours."
The victor had a bow of magic power named Eçin C-ilyil, or the Bow of Darkness: he bent this upwards, and placing the string on the ground, he bade his illustrious slave stand on the string; then he shot Noqoìlpi up into the sky as if he had been an arrow. Up and up he went, growing smaller and smaller to the sight till he faded to a mere speck, and finally disappeared altogether. As he flew upwards he was heard to mutter in the angry tones of abuse and imprecation, until he was too far away to be heard; but no one could distinguish anything he said as he ascended.
He flew up in the sky until he came to the home of Bekotcic-e, the god who carries the moon, and who is supposed by the Navajos to be identical with the god of the Americans. He is very old, and dwells in a long row of stone houses. When Noqoìlpi arrived at the house of Bekotcic-e, he related to the latter all his misadventures in the lower world and said, "Now I am poor, and this is why I have come to see you."
"You need be poor no longer," said Bekotcic-e "I will provide for you."
So he made for the gambler pets or domestic animals of new kinds, different to those which he had in the Chaco valley; he made for him sheep, asses, horses, swine, goats, and fowls. He also gave him bayeta, and other cloths of bright colors, more beautiful than those woven by his slaves at Kintyèli. He made, too, a new people, the Mexicans, for the gambler to rule over, and then he sent him back to this world again, but he descended far to the south of his former abode, and reached the earth in old Mexico.
Noqoìlpi's people increased greatly in Mexico, and after a while they began to move toward the north, and build towns along the Rio Grande. Noqoìlpi came with them until they arrived at a place north of Santa Fé. There they ceased building, and he returned to old Mexico, where he still lives, and where he is now the Nakài C-igÍni, or God of the Mexicans.
Washington Matthews.
