Diné (Navajo) TraditionHoly Person
Spider Woman (Naʼashjéʼiiʼ Asdzą́ą́)
Naʼashjéʼiiʼ Asdzą́ą́(Naʼashjéʼiiʼ Asdzą́ą́)
Also known as Spider Grandmother (in some English retellings)
- weaving
- help and protection
- knowledge
The Holy Person who guides the Hero Twins on their way to the Sun, giving them protection and words to calm the guardians; in Diné tradition she also taught weaving.
About Spider Woman (Naʼashjéʼiiʼ Asdzą́ą́)
The twins' helper
When the Hero Twins set out to find their father, they come upon Spider Woman, who lives underground and invites them in. She tells them who their father is and how dangerous the way to his house will be, and she gives them protection, in Matthews's version a sacred feather, and a prayer or chant to pacify the dangers and guardians they will meet. Her help makes the journey possible.
Weaving
Diné tradition credits Spider Woman with teaching weaving, and Spider Man with making the first loom. Weaving remains one of the great Diné arts, and weavers speak of the knowledge as a gift from the Holy People. Some weavers leave a small line (sometimes called a spirit line) running out from the pattern; practices and explanations differ, and this site does not describe them further.
Spider Rock
Tsé Naʼashjéʼiiʼ, Spider Rock, a sandstone spire in Canyon de Chelly, is associated with Spider Woman. Canyon de Chelly is on Navajo Nation land and is visited with Diné guides.
Worship and cult
Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Spider Woman (Naʼashjéʼiiʼ Asdzą́ą́)
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.
In the atlas
Where Spider Woman (Naʼashjéʼiiʼ Asdzą́ą́) appears
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Washington Matthews, Navaho Legends
Appears in
Ancient and classical works featuring this figure.
helps the twins on their journey (origin legend, the twins' journey)
Further reading
The twins' meeting with Spider Woman
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.
Genealogy
Family tree
Spider Woman (Naʼashjéʼiiʼ Asdzą́ą́)'s parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.