I have no right to speak about another culture. I have done my studies, but I do not * know * and can only relate what I have encountered. I am not Dineh. I am not nadle (important link there–it would honor me if you followed it). I have no right to speak of this.
In the best of times, I have little right to speak of anything.
According to Dineh legend, two nadle named Turquoise Boy and White Shell Girl once belonged to the Dineh people. They invented all arts and handcrafts between them – basketry, weaving, the carving of pipes. All these they gave freely to the Dineh, and they thrived.
At one point, however, there was a terrible war between the men and the women, and they separated to live on opposite sides of a riverbank. Turquoise Boy did the women’s work for the men, and White Shell Girl did the men’s work for the women. They would often meet at night on the riverbank, which was shunned by the rest of the tribe, and commiserate sadly on how difficult it was to satisfy half a tribe all by themselves. These nightly meetings enabled them to notice, however that the river was rising dangerously, and that if nothing was done the Dineh people would all drown.
Turquoise Boy and White Shell Girl made a last dramatic plea to their tribe – come together and cooperate, or die. Faced with death, the men and women grudgingly agreed to put aside their differences and save the tribe. The two nadle built a boat, which enabled the tribesfolk to sail to a new and higher world.
–Raven Kaldera, from Pallas the Genderbender
The last sentence of Raven’s story:
The water is rising. We must, we must all band together soon, before it is too late.
Turquoise Boy and White Shell Girl have moved on. The Holy Ones asked Turquoise Boy to inhabit the great, perfect turquoise that is the sun. And they asked White Shell Girl to inhabit the great, perfect white shell that is the moon. They each carry a whistle. Each note of Turquoise Boy’s whistle made from the Male Reed, the earth moves one month. With the whistle made from the Female Reed carried by White Shell Girl, the tides of the sea are moved.
Moving on is sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity and sometimes because we feel we have been told to go. Moving on is less painful if healing is left in our wake.
For anyone interested, there are more legends here.
Additional resources:
Sabine Lang, Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures
Walter L. Williams, The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture
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…if not all, are available at the last two links (Google Books.
It’s an eagle feather. If you’re planning on going anywhere don’t forget to carry it with you.
But I have to be honest with you. I haven’t followed the links…yet. I was just over at some friends for dinner and I’m afraid the margaritas will interfere with my ability to grasp anything much more than short essays and comments tonight. But I’ll check back later.
For what its worth, my opinion is that its not good to make a permanent decision about going or staying without at least a couple of days of reflection. Feel free to ask for what you need and/or stand back and take a good hard look at things. Then make a decision that can incorporate both your feeling and your thinking about what’s best for you. Those last four words are the key as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t know how to find what it was.
all of the truths which are being bandied around are in the eye of the beholder. I at the age of 10 found Beaver hilarious not because it was ‘cute’ but because it was so untruthful even to white suburban people. I find it supremely arrogant for anyone any where to tell me that I need ‘teaching’ to see their brand of ‘truth’ specially if it’s an emotional truth. A question of approach to the truth. A need to wear sack cloth and ashes for the sins of my race, gender or culture is not required to see the truth nor is beating people on the head and insisting that they don’t feel the right amount of pain or righteous anger.
If you prick me do I not bleed. Do I deserve to bleed because I don’t have the same attitude or solutions about apparent injustices and see by my own experience (I’m flaming hot head) that shouting and beating ones breast doesn’t work. Nor does power tripping people, to me power is a very nasty thing and no matter how liberal and well intended the seeker is it just doesn’t work. Aggression just keeps the dharma wheel turning and creates more aggression does not allow for any process that is needed to . The last time I did this my computer burst in flames as well as my head.
In order to create change and teach it seems absurd to wield your own truths like a weapon. absolutes do not exist and were all guilty as charged, were all also capable being powerful healers with out wallowing in our collective sins.