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SPIRIT IN THE STONE
There is danger when I move my feet. I am a gray bear. When I walk, where I step, lightning flies from me. Where I walk, one to be feared I am . . . There is danger where I walk. —From a Navajo song (Goddard, Navajo Texts)
(Above) Bear made of Zunistone with bamboo coral friend by Hayes Leekya. (Below) Bear made of labradorite by Emery Eriacho.
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Bears Bears, whether the much-feared grizzly that once roamed the greater Southwest or the more common black bear, have always been accorded special regard, with many tribes giving one name for the animal in general and another sacred name for the bear spirit. Powerfully built and not easily intimidated, bears can stand on their hind legs like man, unlike any other predator. Northern Eurasian groups from Norway to Siberia commonly referred to bears by names like “Old Man of the Woods” and “Grandfather” when hunting it, both to avoid alerting the beast of their presence as well as to honor it. Despite his fearsome qualities, many tribes assigned him other attributes as well. The Oglala Sioux conceived of him as a chief of underground earth forces, in a terrifying and negative way, yet the Oglala holy man Black Elk said he obtained his knowledge of cures from the bear. And in the Ojibwa language, a young woman who had gone through puberty can be said to have “become a bear,” symbolizing her new power, the power to bring new life into the world. Bears are particularly prominent in the belief system of the Navajo. Shash is the name for Bear, but he is usually addressed as “Reared in the Mountains” lest he think he is being called. He is regarded as the most powerful (and therefore most dangerous) of all animals. Along with Snake, Bear is a guardian of Sun’s house and of Changing Woman’s first hogan. It was she who gave Snake and Bear to the Navajo to protect them in their travels. But somewhere along the way, after protecting the Diné from enemies, they began to cause illnesses. In Bear’s case, a ceremony was held over him and he was sent to live on Black Mountain, where his descendants can be found today. The bear, like the coyote and the ant, is an “unappeasable” animal, so special care must be taken not to offend or show disrespect because righting the wrong is a difficult and uncertain task. Traditional Navajo will not gather piñon nuts where a bear has been gathering them, nor will they make a cradleboard from wood of a tree where a bear has scratched itself. Naturally, bears are major figures in the Mountain Way, a ceremony used to heal those who have fallen ill because they violated ritual respect for the bear. Symptoms of bear-related illness range from swollen limbs to general bad luck. Severe fright from having seen a bear is one of the ailments treated by the Shooting Way ceremony.
3/17/16 8:48 PM