Nayenezgani
Nayenezgani AmericaLiterally, ‘slayer of alien gods’. Along with Tobadzistsini, ‘child of the water’, the Navajo Indians say that Nayenezgani dealt fearful blows to the spirits of evil threatening the world. The two brothers, Nayenezgani and Tobadzistsini, may be seen as war gods, but they are more like cultural heroes. As the offspring of Estsanatlehi, ‘the woman who changes’, and Tsohanoai, the sun god, Nayenezgani appears to be a lord of light, while Tobadzistsini, moist and dark, is his opposite, a lord of darkness.
Once the two brothers encountered Naste Estsan, the benign Spider Woman. They were on their way to the house of the sun god when they noticed smoke rising from the ground. Looking closely they found it came from the smoke hole of a subterranean chamber, into which led a ladder. Having climbed down the rungs of this smoke-blackened ladder, the two brothers were greeted by Naste Estsan, who told them that their journey to the...
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