ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Navajo origin stories begin with a First World of darkness (Nihodilhil). From this Dark World the Dine began a journey of emergence into the world of the present. It had four corners, and over these appeared four clouds. These four clouds contained within themselves the elements of the First World.

Detailed explanation-2: -Anthropologists hypothesize that the Navajo split off from the Southern Athabaskans and migrated into the Southwest between 200 and 1300 A.D. Between 900 and 1525 A.D. the Navajos developed a rich and complex culture in the area of present-day northwestern New Mexico.

Detailed explanation-3: -The fact that First Man and First Woman are created from ears of corn illustrates the importance of corn in the Navajo diet. Similarly, the fact that the first Navajo people were brought forth from lower worlds reflects the importance of the earth and nature in Navajo life.

Detailed explanation-4: -Navajo medicine men say there are two worlds above the Fifth World. The first is the World of the Spirits of Living Things and the second is the Place of Melting into One. The Navajo legends are an oral account that is passed down from generation to generation.