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Spider Rock
A Navajo Tale
Spider
Rock stands; with awesome dignity and beauty over 800 feet high in Arizona's
colorful Canyon De Chelly National Park (pronounced da Shay). Geologists of the
National Park Service have said that "the formation began about 230 million
years ago. Windblown sand swirled and compressed with time has created the
spectacular red sandstone monolith. Long ago, the Dine (Navajo) Indian tribe
named it Spider Rock.
Stratified, multicolored cliff walls surround the canyon. For
many, many centuries the Navajo built caves and lived in these cliffs. Most of
the caves were located high above the canyon floor, protecting them from enemies
and flash floods. Spider Woman possessed supernatural power at the time of
creation, when Navaho emerged from the third world into this fourth world.
At that time, monsters roamed the land and killed many
people. Since Spider Woman loved the people, she gave power for Monster- Slayer
and Child-Born-of-Water to search for the Sun-God who was their father. When
they found him, Sun-God showed them how to destroy all the monsters on land and
in the water.
Because she preserved their people, Navajo established Spider
Woman among their most important and honored Deities. She chose the top of
Spider Rock for her home. It was Spider Woman who taught Navajo ancestors of
long ago the art of weaving upon a loom. She told them, "My husband, Spider Man,
constructed the weaving loom making the cross poles of sky and earth cords to
support the structure; the warp sticks of sun rays, lengthwise to cross the
roof; the heads of rock crystal and sheet lightning, to maintain original
condition of fibers. For the batten, he chose a sun halo to seal joints, and for
the comb he chose a white shell to clean strands in a combing manner." Through
many generations, the Navajo have always been accomplished weavers.
From their elders, Navajo children heard warnings that if
they did not behave themselves, Spider Woman would let down her web- ladder and
carry them up to her home and devour them! The children also, heard that the top
of Spider Rock was white from the sun-bleached bones of Navajo children who did
not behave themselves!
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