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Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society,
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General SummaryWashington Matthews, "The Night Chant" volume 6, 1902, pages 77, 78, 81, 85, 143; and, the same author, "Navaho Legends," volume 5, 1897, pages 27, 28. The Navaho live in northern New Mexico and Arizona.
45.
RELIGIOUS SONGS AND PRAYERS OF THE NAVAHO1
Collected and translated byWASHINGTONn/aMATTHEWSn/an/an/an/a
1. SONG IN THE ROCK
In the house of the Red Rock,
There I enter;
Halfway in, I am come.
The corn-plants shake.
In the house of Blue Water,
There I enter;
Halfway in, I am come.
The plants shake.
2. SONG IN THE ROCK
At the Red Rock house it grows,
There the giant corn-plant grows,
With ears on either side it grows,
With its ruddy silk it grows,
Ripening in one day it grows,
Greatly multiplying grows.
At Blue Water house it grows,
There the giant squash-vine grows,
With fruit on either side it grows,
With its yellow blossom grows,
Ripening in one day it grows,
Greatly multiplying grows.
3. MOUNTAIN SONG
In a holy place with a god I walk,
In a holy place with a god I walk,
On Tsisnadzini with a god I walk,
On a chief of mountains with a god I walk,
In old-age wandering with a god I walk,
On a trail of beauty with a god I walk.
4. A SONG TO SWEEP OFF WITH
The corn grows up; the rain descends,
I sweep it off, I sweep it off.
The rain descends; the corn grows up.
I sweep it off, I sweep it off.
5. FREE TRANSLATION OF A PRAYER
In Tse’gihi,
In the house made of dawn,
In the house made of the evening twilight,
In the house made of the dark cloud,
In the house made of the he-rain,
In the house made of the dark mist,
In the house made of the she-rain,
In the house made of pollen,
In the house made of grasshoppers,
Where the dark mist curtains the doorway,
The path to which is on the rainbow,
Where the zigzag lightning stands high on top,
Where the he-rain stands high on top,
Oh, male-divinity!
With your moccasins of dark cloud, come to us. . . .
In beauty I walk.
With beauty before me, I walk.
With beauty behind me, I walk.
With beauty below me, I walk.
With beauty above me, I walk.
With beauty all around me, I walk. . . .
It is finished in beauty.
6. A MOUNTAIN CHANT SONG
The voice that beautifies the land!
The voice above,
The voice of the Thunder,
Among the dark clouds
Again and again it sounds,
The voice that beautifies the land.
The voice that beautifies the land!
The voice below,
The voice of the grasshopper,
Among the flowers and grasses
Again and again it sounds,
The voice that beautifies the land.
7. BLUEBIRD SONG
Just as daylight Sialia calls.
The bluebird has a voice,
He has a voice, his voice melodious,
His voice melodious that flows in gladness.Sialia calls! Sialia calls!
1
Chicago: Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society, in Source Book in Anthropology, ed. Kroeber, Alfred L., 1876-1960, and Waterman, T. T. (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1920), Original Sources, accessed November 22, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9BD8HBP5CR2EJIV.
MLA: . Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society,, Vol. 5, in Source Book in Anthropology, edited by Kroeber, Alfred L., 1876-1960, and Waterman, T. T., Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, 1920, Original Sources. 22 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9BD8HBP5CR2EJIV.
Harvard: , Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society,. cited in 1920, Source Book in Anthropology, ed. , University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Original Sources, retrieved 22 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9BD8HBP5CR2EJIV.
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