Átsĕ Hástĭn (first man)
Fragments from Tsé Bitʼaʼí 1
I.
You were born as white 2
and as round as the moon
on the fourth of July
with cannon ball eyes, but
you were already tainted
blood was your war paint
it covered your hide, and
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your first cry was red
yet, you had nails on your toes
and a mouth on your head, so they named you Human "
you held the title with ignorant simplicity
in thick stumpy fingers
it became your starring role
you were always hungry
trying to fill up all those holes
captivating in your captivity
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II.
At the age of five your body became a bee hive 3
a paper-mache fight
swarming with stingers and
stripes. The schools smelled like
tarred teeth and the red dust of
night. They never understood
the fertility of your anger
they doped the holes with smoke
1
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Tsé Bitʼaʼí Is Navajo for “winged rock” or “rock with wings.” It is the aboriginal name given to the natural monument of
Ship Rock. Ship Rock is a monadnock: an isolated structure that towers over a peneplain; as well as the erosional remnant
of the throat of a volcano. It is located in San Juan County, New Mexico, and has long been interwoven into the spiritual
and mythological fabric of the Navajo nation.
2
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In the Navajo creation story Ni’hodilhil First World: there were four clouds: white, black, yellow, and blue. The white
cloud represents male being or substance, the black represents female. Man is created from the white and black clouds
coming together. He is the dawn; he brings light into the first of four worlds: the world of darkness.
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3
“Bee” is a Navajo article that translates roughly to “by means of it.” Here is signals both utility and futility.
and warned you against strangers
they said ‘anyone who wants you
wants to put you in danger’ "
You held 8000 corpses inside you all winter 4
the spring forced you back
weaker than ever
one by one you opened the flowers
III.
At fifteen you were a landmine
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IV.5
At twenty I took off my shoes
and walked over you for the first time
alive
in the red panes your decaying throat, which quaked and sighed
shijéí bóhodínínil 6
(you set my heart on fire)
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Poem by: Firemother
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4
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The “Long Walk” spanned from fort defiance to Fort Sumner, 300 miles away. It began in 1864. Eventually 8000 Navajos
were captives at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
5
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In the Navajo origin story, the first woman followed the light of the first man to find his home in the beginning. She failed
in her efforts the first three times, but was successful on the fourth. "
6
In Navajo mythology the first man and the first woman left the first world together, which was violent and overcrowded.
They traveled to the second, third, and finally, the fourth world. In the last world they became human.
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Works Cited Crumpler, Larry. “Navajo Volcanic Field.” New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 2015.
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Web. 6 March, 2015.
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Long, Clayton, and Carey, Harold. Navajo People: Culture and History. Navajopeople.org, 2015. Web.
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5 March, 2015.