The Mountain Chant : Navajo Ceremony

"The ceremony of dsilyídjeqaçàl, or mountain chant—literally, chant towards (a place) within the mountains—is one of a large number practiced by the shamans, or medicine men, of the Navajo tribe. I have selected it as the first of those to be described, because I have witnessed it the most frequently, because it is the most interesting to the Caucasian spectator, and because it is the best known to the whites who visit and reside in and around the Navajo country."

Contents:

Myth of the Origin of DsilyídjeQaçàl

Ceremonies of DsilyídjeQaçàl

First Dance (Nahikàï)

Second Dance (Great Plumed Arrow)

Third Dance

Fourth Dance

Fifth Dance (Sun)

Sixth Dance (Standing Arcs)

Seventh Dance

Eighth Dance (Rising Sun)

Ninth Dance (Hoshkàwn, or Yucca)

Tenth Dance (Bear)

Eleventh Dance (Fire)

The Great Pictures of DsilyídjeQaçàl

First Picture (Home of the Serpents)

Second Picture (Yays and Cultivated Plants)

Third Picture (Long Bodies)

Fourth Picture (Great Plumed Arrows)

Sacrifices of DsilyídjeQaçàl

Original Texts and Translations of Songs, &c.

Songs of Sequence

First Song of the First Dancers

First Song of the Mountain Sheep

Sixth Song of the Mountain Sheep

Twelfth Song of the Mountain Sheep

First Song of the Thunder

Twelfth Song of the Thunder

First Song of the Holy Young Men, or Young Men Gods

Sixth Song of the Holy Young Men

Twelfth Song of the Holy Young Men

Eighth Song of the Young Women Who Become Bears

One of the Awl Songs

First Song of the Exploding Stick

Last Song of the Exploding Stick

First Daylight Song

Last Daylight Song

Other Songs and Extracts

Song of the Prophet to the San Juan River

Song of the Building of the Dark Circle

Prayer to Dsilyi' Neyáni

Song of the Rising Sun Dance

Prayer of the Prophet to His Mask

Last Words of the Prophet