Navajo Religion 

The Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States and inhabits its largest reservation in the country, more than 27,325 square miles of land in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. The Navajo Reservation is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia. The Navajo language is spoken throughout the region, and most Navajo also speak English. The term Navajo was coined by Spanish missionaries and historians, but the Navajo refer to themselves as the Diné, meaning the) people. Archaeological and historical evidence suggests the Athabaskan ancestors of the Navajo and Apache entered the Southwest around 1400 CE. The Navajo were originally hunters and gatherers. Later, they adopted farming from Pueblo people, growing mainly corn, beans, and squash. They adopted sheep and goat herding from the Spaniards as a source of trade goods and food. Meat became central to the Navajo diet, and sheep became a form of currency and a status symbol. Women began to spin and weave wool into blankets and clothing, creating items of high artistic value which were also traded and sold. There is a system of clans, or K’é, that defines relationships between individuals and families. The clan system is exogamous. People can only date or marry partners outside their own clan. Historically, the structure of the Navajo society is matrilineal. The family of the women owned livestock, dwellings, planting areas, and livestock grazing areas. Navajo spiritual practice is intended to restore balance and harmony to a person's life to keep them healthy and is based on the ideas of Hózhóójí (which translates into Hózhóójí). The Diné believed in two catagories of humans, the Earth People and the Holy People, and that beings passed through three worlds before arriving in this world, the Fourth World, or Glittering World. As Earth People, the Diné must do everything within their power to maintain a proper balance between Mother Earth and humanity. In the Diné Bahaneʼ (Navajo creation mythology), the First, or Dark World is where the four Diyin Diné lived and where First Woman and First Man came into existence. Because this world was so dark, life could not thrive there so humans had to move on. The Second, or Blue World, was inhabited by a few species of mammal as well as the Swallow Chief, or Táshchózhii. The First World beingsnoffended Táshchózhii and were asked to leave. From there, they headed south and arrived in the Third World, or Yellow World. Four sacred mountains were discovered here, but due to a great flood, First Woman, First Man, and the Holy People were forced to seek yet another world to live in. They arrived in the Fourth World, the Glittering World where true death came into existence, as well as the seasons, the moon, the stars, and the sun. The Holy People, or Diyin Diné, had instructed the Earth People to view the four sacred mountains as the boundaries of the homeland (Dinétah) they should never depart. Certain times of day, as well as colors, are used to represent the four sacred mountains. The importance of specific numbers is emphasized in the Navajo religion. The number four appears to be especially sacred. There were four original clans of Diné, four colors, four times of day, four Diyin Diné, and typically, four songs were sung in the course of a ritual.