Diné Bahaneʼ, is a Navajo creation story that describes the prehistoric emergence of the Navajo as a part of the Navajo religious beliefs. It centers on the area known as the Dinétah, the traditional homeland of the Navajo, and forms the basis of the traditional Navajo way of life and ceremony. Throughout the stories the importance of cardinal points and the number four are emphasized in multiple aspects.
First Man between Black Cloud and White Cloud, and First Woman between Blue Cloud and Yellow Cloud
Drawing by Sam Ahkeak of sandpainting of Dinétah, the Navajo Homeland created by ceremonial leaders near Shiprock around 1930.
Mask representing Haashchʼééłtiʼí, Talking God, used in Night Chant Ceremony, recorded by Matthews in 1902
Mask representing the younger twin, known both as Naʼídígishí, He Who Cuts Life Out of the Enemy, and Tóbájíshchíní, Born of Water. Mask used in Night Chant Ceremony, recorded by Matthews in 1902
The Navajo are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
Manuelito (Navajo, 1818–1893), a chief during the Long Walk
A 19th-century hogan
Navajo woman and child, circa 1880–1910
Untitled. Ansel Adams. 1941. Taken near Canyon de Chelly
