The Yei are the masked Holy People of Navajo ceremony, appearing in the great chantways to heal and restore — Talking God leads them, House God accompanies, and Tonenili, Hastsezini, and the Yeibichai dancers follow in the sacred processions.
The Yei gathered at Ch'óol'í'í for the first Kinaaldá, led by Talking God, to witness and bless Changing Woman's passage to womanhood — establishing the puberty ceremony that the Holy People themselves would thereafter attend in song and prayer.
Skinwalkers desecrate Yei masks and ceremonies, donning stolen or corrupted masks to channel the Holy People's power for malevolent ends — a transgression so profound it inverts the sacred healing purpose the Yei embody.
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