Navajo Taboos
By Ashiihashkii Clauschee
Lightning/Thunder
The Navajo believe that lightning and thunder come from the
gods. When someone is struck by lightning, it is believed that the
sprits are telling them that they are wanted in the next world. I
can see why the Navajo have so many taboos about lightning.
Man tries to explain everything
and the best explanation is, “It comes from the gods.”
Lightning is loud and can destroy
anything it touches. It comes from the sky seemingly out of nowhere. It
is hard to believe that lightning is caused by build ups of static
electricity.
Here are some Navajo taboos pertaining to lightning
and thunder:
Don’t burn fire from a tree that was hit by
lightning
You will have bad luck and may get sick
My dad and I used to haul wood every
weekend before we got electricity. I remember he said this to me, “Don’t touch that! It could have come from a tree that was
struck by lightning!”
When
lightning strikes a tree, that tree was touched by the god, so it becomes
sacred. The Navajo believe that sacred objects should never be bothered unless you are a
medicine man.
Don’t do anything during a lightning storm
You might get struck or have bad luck
When a storm comes, my wife’s aunt turns off the lights,
the radio and sits and waits for the lightning to pass. Once, when my
in-law was visiting, a storm quickly blew in. She quickly stopped eating
her stew and
started to turn off all the lights. I said, “Its okay, you can leave on
the TV.” Next thing I know, a large surge from the lightning fried my
Receiver! The electrical surge went right threw the $100.00 surge
protector. Don’t even ask how much the receiver was. Talk about bad
luck!
Don’t hang around an area that was struck by
lightning
You may get sick or get struck later
I knew someone who laid in a
cradleboard that was made with wood touched by lightning. Of course
they did not find this out until a medicine man told them years later.
But it explained why that person had warts!
So, basically don’t mess with lightning
or anything that has been in contact with it. That means if your best
buddy was accidentally leaning on a tree that was struck, it’s time to
find a new buddy until he has a sing/ceremony done.
More soon! I hope you like!
Ashiihashkii Clauschee
http://www.rimrockpawn.com
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