Yeibichai- Navajo EventEvent"The Nightway"
Also known as: Yeiʼii Bicheii
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Description
On the ninth and final night, masked dancers emerge as the Holy People themselves, their voices and jingling ornaments bringing the sacred into the winter darkness. Nine nights of songs, sandpaintings, and prayer to heal afflictions of the head and eyes.
Mythology & Lore
The Dreamer
Washington Matthews recorded the origin narrative in 1902. A young man, ill and abandoned by his people, was found by the Holy People and taken to their home. They put him through trials. They taught him songs, one by one, night after night. They showed him how to make the sandpaintings and how to prepare the masks. When he had learned everything, they sent him back. He carried the Nightway with him.
Nine Nights
The Nightway is performed in winter, after the first frost, when snakes have gone underground. It addresses illnesses of the head, eyes, and mind. Each of the nine nights carries specific songs, sandpaintings, and prayers. A hatałii who has spent years learning the cycle performs the rite.
On the final night, the ceremony opens to the community. Masked dancers step into the firelight as the Holy People themselves. Talking God leads. Water Sprinkler follows, playing the fool. When a person puts on one of the sacred masks, they cease to be themselves. They become the deity the mask represents.
The dancers' calls and the jingle of their ornaments fill the winter air. The patient sits among them. What was wrong is being set right, song by song, through the night until dawn.
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