Turquoise Boy and the Great Flood (Dine) Turquoise Boy was always doing things to help the First People. When he was about twelve years old, many rains came and there was a great flood. That flood was much larger than any flood we have heard about in our lifetime. All the people and the animals ran to the top of the highest mountain, but still the waters kept rising. Back then the animals and the people were friendly. They did what they could to try to help each other. Eagle said, Ill fly everyone to safety!, but it was raining so hard that she could not get off the ground. When she tried to lift her wings, the weight of the raindrops pushed them back down. Not even Eagles powerful wings could make her fly. Seeing this, Coyote became sad. Oh no, Coyote cried, were all going to drown. Then Turquoise Boy had an idea. They might be able to survive if they could find a tree that was tall enough to rise above the water. He began to search all around the mountaintop. This was hard to do because of the terrible storm. He saw several trees, but none of them were tall enough. He did not give up, but kept searching, though the rain was coming down even harder than before. Turquoise Boy never gave up. He was determined to try to save everyone. At last he found a giant reed. This reed was so tall that it stretched high into the sky, higher than the rainclouds. Turquoise Boy could not even see the top of this tall plant. He made a prayer, in appreciation for the reed. He asked the reed spirit for permission to cut a hole in this reed. Turquoise Boy was always careful to give thanks to the spirits, because he himself was a spiritual person. He never wasted anything that was alive. He used only what was necessary. The reed spirit granted him permission to cut a hole in the reed, but its outer surface was very hard. Turquoise Boy could tell that it would require a sharp blade to cut it. He had no knife that was sharp enough. He then called Woodpecker. He politely asked the hard-nosed bird, Can you please chop a hole in the base of this reed for us? No matter how desperate the situation, Turquoise Boy always spoke in a gentle and polite voice. Woodpecker was as wet and miserable as the others, but was so touched by Turquoise Boys politeness that he did as he was asked. After the hole was big enough for each animal to crawl through, Turquoise Boy then turned to Gopher, and again politely asked, Can you burrow a tunnel upward, inside the soft interior of this reed? Gopher did not need much encouragement, because he was quite afraid of drowning. The rain had been coming down so hard that the water level was steadily rising. If they did not do something quickly, the mountaintop would soon be under water. Gopher burrowed frantically until, one by one, all the animals and the people climbed up through the tall hollowed reed. Finally, they came out on top. When they emerged, they realized that they had gone far above the rain-clouds. The reed had planted its crown into the dirt of another world above. That is the world of our Mother Earth that we walk on here every day. And so that is how the Dine’ came into this world where we now exist. The animals and the humans were saved, all because of the original thoughts of Turquoise Boy. This is why Dine’ people feel gratitude for those who are created different. They are a gift to us all. They can help us with their special talents. They can open our eyes to different ways of seeing things. Such people are very creative. If Turquoise Boy had not come up with that creative idea, all the people and the animals would have drowned. This is why even the animals respect such people. A family that has such a child born into it should feel lucky, because such individuals often have magical powers. If they pray to the spirit of Changing Woman, they will feel a special closeness to her. Changing Woman is compassionate to everyone, but she feels a particular love toward nadleehi persons like her child Turquoise Boy. That is why such people are especially good at being nurses and doctors. They are able to help the sick, because they have a special relationship with Changing Woman. Nadleehi are sometimes born into the body of a man, and sometimes into the body of a woman. If they are a boy they are girlish, and if they are a girl they are like a boy. Their character as they grow up always shows them to have the spirit of a man and the spirit of a women. They are two-spirited. Indian people believe that a persons spirit is more important in defining them than their physical body. We accept people for the way they are. That is a reflection of their personal spirit. The old people, years ago, always respected a Two-Spirit person. They are sacred and holy. They are central to our whole way of life. Whenever there are no more Two-Spirit children born among our people, that is the day when there will be no more Dine’. The Dine’, the animals, and the beauty of our homeland would all disappear. A feminine male will typically fall in love with men, and a masculine female will fall in love with women. That is just part of their character. That is what their heart tells them to do. No one has any control over the true speakings of their heart. They might hide it, but they still have those thoughts, no matter how secretive they try to be. It is better if they can be open about their feelings. We always have to follow our heart. Dine’ believe that every person has the right to release their feelings and express love for another person of their choice. Turquoise Boy was like that. He enjoyed working and talking with the women, but his love feelings were reserved for men. He just fell in love with men all the time. In fact, at one point, he was married to all the Navajo men. Who can decide who wants to be attracted to whom, except the people involved? Either youre attracted to each other, or youre not. For a marriage to occur, what matters are feelings of love and attraction, not the type of persons involved. When two people love each other, that is one of the most blessed gifts in the world. It does not matter if they are male or female, tall or short, young or old, thin or plump, dark-skinned or light-skinned. What matters is that they love each other. In Dine’ communities, marriage is accepted in different ways. If a nadleehi marries, they can get children by adoption if they wish. They are excellent adoptive parents. But in terms of marriage, people get more out of marriage than just children. Intimate pleasure with your loved one is one of the great enjoyments of life, one of the greatest gifts from the spirit world. Becoming close to your loved ones relatives is almost like gaining a second family. We should express gratitude for love. Love brings men and women together as relatives, even if the marriage itself is two males together or two females together.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 19:19:01 +0000
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