Context— This story was part of the larger Navajo creation myth. It follows two monster slaying twins. It was told to me by a young man in Arizona when asked for his favorite stories. It comes after the twins have slain most of the monsters in the world, save for three.

“There’s only those three left– Old Age, Poverty, and Hunger. Each twin goes to their mother Changing Woman and asks– where can we find these monsters? Changing Woman won’t tell them, but the Wind does. They first go to find Old Age on a mountain. This wrinkly old woman who just laughs when they say they came to kill her. She asks them, “What will you do when I am gone? When all of you stop growing old and having children? No one will be there to pass the knowledge on.” And so the twins spare her. 

“Next, the Wind tells them where to find Poverty – these two old bats living in the mountains in squalor, basically. They take and take everything people have until there’s nothing left, so the twins say they’ve come to kill them. They say, “Alright, if that is what you must do. But think, what will happen when we are gone? People would just go on using the same tools over and over. There would be no change. No betterment.” And so the twins decide to spare them too.

“Finally, the Wind tells them where to find Cold Woman, who freezes everything every winter. They find her on top of this winter mountain and they tell her the same thing – they have come to kill her. She only says, “If that is what you must do, then I will not stop you. But once I am dead, there will be no more winters. The land will get hot. Land and water will all dry up and people will die.” And finally, the twins decide to spare her too, leaving only these three monsters in the world.”

Analysis-= In this myth, twins confront three “monsters,” one by one. While it begins as a traditional heroic narrative of slaying the monsters, it quickly subverts these expectations. Instead of killing these monsters, the twins come to learn that they serve a unique purpose, making each encounter a moral lesson. Old Age does not just cause death– she brings wisdom and life, reminding the twins that without her, there would be no generational change or birth. Poverty is portrayed similarly– framed as a source of motivation rather than a monster. Finally, Cold Woman brings winter, something considered monstrous to the twins at first. Her warning that her death would upset the environment highlights core Navajo values of balance, nature, and cyclical life. Rather than eliminating all challenges to the Navajo people, this myth emphasizes that negative forces are as integral to harmony as sacred ones while also emphasizing interconnectedness (one monster cannot be killed without affecting the entire population), hardship, adaptation, and survival. 

Context: This was a story told by a teenage girl in an isolated village on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. When asked for her favorite myths, she told me the story of Coyote and the Giant –

“Every day, Giant comes around and eats people. He’s too fast for the monster hunters to get him, too fast for anyone to outrun him, and too big to fight. He loved to come down and eat all the children. But Coyote had a good idea, a way to make Giant less dangerous. Because Giant’s so big, he can only go so fast, so Coyote offers to make him as fast as him! Of course, Giant agrees. Coyote tells him that the reason he’s so fast is because he breaks his leg and heals it with his spit. If Giant does that too, he’ll be just as fast as Coyote. So Giant wacks his leg into two pieces. Splinters the bone and tells Coyote to spit on the bone. Coyote does. But of course, nothing happens. Coyote just made Giant break his own leg. Became too slow to catch anyone, much less Coyote.

Analysis: This myth features Coyote, a central figure in Navajo folklore. It highlights the importance of cunning in Navajo culture, as it is well-established that brute strength is no match for Giant. Coyote’s actions prove that intellect can win over physical power while emphasizing how these traits are heroic. The telling also included a lot of physicality and a sound effect when describing the “spit” Coyote produces. This comedic element creates engagement and entertainment. Additionally, Coyote’s choice to make the Giant break his own leg emphasizes nonviolent means of resistance and survival, another key value of Navajo culture.

Context — This story was told by an elderly Navajo woman in Arizona. She knew many Coyote stories, but told me two of her favorites, including Coyote and Changing Bear–

“There’s this beautiful maiden. She has twelve brothers. Takes care of all of them by herself. She feeds them and cooks for them and cleans for them, all the while they hunt and fight monsters. Her beauty was so great, holy men would come from all over the world in hopes of marrying her. She ignored all of them. Why would she give them any attention? But Coyote, he asks her – what can I do to marry you? And she says he must slay a giant! Incredibly so, he does. All of her brothers tell her not to marry Coyote, they say it will bring a great evil to this world, but she does it anyway. After all, Coyote did what she asked.

“And it’s not so bad. Coyote even teachers her how to turn into a bear! The brothers are right. Coyote manages to turn this woman evil! He turns her into the Woman who Became a Bear or Changing Bear. And so she returns to her family and offers to comb their hair. One by one, the brothers all let her. But as soon as they turn their back on her, she eats them!”

Analysis — This is another trickster tale layering many elements together– heroic quests, gender, and moral imperatives through a subversive taleŁ Coyote slays the giant, but instead of resulting in a happy ending, his actions end in tragedy. By reversing the traditional structure of the myth, the tale reemphasizes Coyote’s role as a trickster and disruptor. His marriage to Changing Bear disrupts the social and familial order. By offering the maiden a supernatural power, he ultimately leads her to killing her own family. The transformation reflects Navajo values about balance, harmony, and beauty – Changing Bear is a physical and profound disruption of the peace that’s caused by the maiden stepping out of expected responsibilities and roles. Coyote and Changing Bear’s marriage ultimately highlight the importance of community and illustrates how personal choice can put the entire familial unit at risk.