Atsá- Navajo SpiritSpirit · Beast
Also known as: Atsa
Description
The eagle flies nearest the Sun and the sky-dwelling Holy People, so its feathers carry prayers upward and fill every medicine bundle. The eagles of today descend from nestlings Monster Slayer spared atop Tsé Bitʼaʼí, after he killed the monster bird that fed on human prey.
Mythology & Lore
The Monster Eagle of Tsé Bitʼaʼí
Before the Hero Twins' campaigns against the Anaye, a monstrous eagle nested on the rock spire of Tsé Bitʼaʼí. It snatched people from the ground and carried them to the pinnacle to feed its young. The rock walls were streaked with blood.
Monster Slayer climbed to the nest. He found two nestlings among the bones of the eagle's victims. When the first adult bird returned, he struck it down with his flint club. The second came and he killed it too. Their bodies fell to the base of the rock and became the oddly shaped formations still visible there.
The nestlings he spared. He told one it would become the eagle, providing feathers for the people's ceremonies. The other he told would become the owl. Bat Woman lowered Monster Slayer from the pinnacle in her carrying basket, and the young birds took their places in the world.
Carrier of Prayers
When a hatałii prepares prayer sticks, eagle feathers are bound to them so the prayers can rise. The eagle's flight traces the path words follow to reach the Holy People. During the emergence into the Glittering World, eagles were sent ahead to scout the new land and report where the sacred mountains should stand.
Obtaining eagle feathers is itself a ceremony. The hunter approaches with ritual preparation, honors the eagle's life, and releases its spirit properly so it can return to the Holy People. Eagles found dead are considered direct gifts from above.
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