Side by sideParent and child
The Sun Bearer (Jóhonaaʼéí) and Monster Slayer (Naayééʼ Neizghání) are recorded as parent and child in the Diné (Navajo) Tradition.
| The Sun Bearer (Jóhonaaʼéí) | Monster Slayer (Naayééʼ Neizghání) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tradition | Diné (Navajo) Tradition | Diné (Navajo) Tradition |
| Domains | the sun, fatherhood of the Hero Twins, trial and recognition | protection of the Diné, the destruction of the monsters, war and courage |
| Symbols | the sun, the turquoise house in the east | lightning arrows, flint armor |
| Also called | Tsóhanoai (Matthews's spelling), Sun Bearer, the Sun | Nayénĕzgani (Matthews's spelling), Slayer of Alien Gods |
The atlas records no domain or symbol that The Sun Bearer (Jóhonaaʼéí) and Monster Slayer (Naayééʼ Neizghání) share.
They are compared because of how the myths connect them, not because of what they rule.
Associated with the sun, fatherhood of the hero twins, and trial and recognition.
Associated with protection of the diné, the destruction of the monsters, and war and courage.
The Holy People are part of a living religion. Ceremonies associated with them, including the Blessingway (Hózhǫ́ǫ́jí) and the chantways conducted by hataałii (ceremonial practitioners), are not described on this site, and sandpaintings are not reproduced, because they are sacred and made for healing within ceremony. Many Diné families teach that the origin stories in which the Holy People appear should be told only in winter, after the first frost and before the first thunder of spring.
The Holy People are part of a living religion. Ceremonies associated with them, including the Blessingway (Hózhǫ́ǫ́jí) and the chantways conducted by hataałii (ceremonial practitioners), are not described on this site, and sandpaintings are not reproduced, because they are sacred and made for healing within ceremony. Many Diné families teach that the origin stories in which the Holy People appear should be told only in winter, after the first frost and before the first thunder of spring.
Diné (Navajo) Tradition
The Sun, who carries the sun across the sky, father of Monster Slayer by Changing Woman; he tests the twins harshly before recognising them as his sons and giving them lightning weapons.
Jóhonaaʼéí is the Sun, often described in English as the Sun Bearer because he carries the sun across the sky each day. He lives in a house in the east, described in Matthews's version as made of turquoise, from which he sets out each morning.
Diné (Navajo) Tradition
The elder of the Hero Twins, son of Changing Woman and the Sun, who with his brother journeys to their father's house and returns with lightning weapons to destroy the monsters that preyed on the Earth Surface People.
Naayééʼ Neizghání, Monster Slayer, and his brother Tóbájíshchíní, Born for Water, are the Hero Twins of Diné tradition. Monster Slayer is the son of Changing Woman and the Sun, Jóhonaaʼéí. The twins grow up hidden from the naayééʼ, the monsters that are killing the people, and in time set out to find their father.
Comparisons pair figures that play a similar role across traditions, or that the myths connect within one. A shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.