Unraveling Some Numerical Mysteries in Diné Bahaneʼ: The Potential Navajo Counting System Connecting Observable Solar and Lunar Cycles, and the Cultural Significance Related to this Counting System

I recently stumbled upon an intriguing astronomical/calendrical connection within Diné Bahaneʼ, the Navajo Creation Story, a connection that I do not believe has ever been highlighted before. And by the way, this story is worth reading in its entirety over and over again.  It’s a beautiful story that not only conveys power and meaning for the Navajo people, but is also one of those amazing poetic creations that is incredibly valuable for all of humankind.

As I revisited sections of the story, particularly those detailing the escape from the Fourth World—where Coyote steals the water monster's child/daughter—I found a mathematical, and potential astronomical, reference that I believe deserves further exploration and explication.

In one part of the narrative, an old man (representative of the Moon) and a young man (representative of the Sun) scatter sacred earth from the seven sacred mountains; the young man then plants 32 reeds into the sacred earth. These reeds then intertwine and grow upwards, and provide an escape for the people, who climb up toward the sky, into the Fifth World (our world). 

Having studied Navajo Star Ceilings and archaeoastronomy in the Southwest, this moment that is buried deeply in the Creation Story narrative resonates profoundly with me, as it evokes themes of solar/lunar calendrical numerology, Navajo calendrical numerology that has not necessarily been appreciated by Western scholars.

The connections I’ve made have prompted me to calculate and analyze the numbers represented in this story. And keep in mind, these numbers are intentionally exhibited in this ancient narrative; these numbers are not randomly placed into the Navajo Creation Story, and they are communicating something that is quite profound!

Let me start here: 7 (sacred mountains of the Fourth World) x 32 (reeds) = 224; and 224 divided by 12 = 18.6.

Guess how many years it takes for the moon to complete a Lunar Standstill Cycle?  18.6 years! 

My sense, and to say it again and to put it simply, is that we can look at this number system in this way: 7 x 32 months = 224 months which is equal to 18.6 years, which represents the entire Lunar Standstill Cycle.

Even though 12 and 18.6 are Western temporal frameworks, utilized only to support our understanding of the numbers being presented by the Navajo, we can look at the 224 (7x32) as a block of Navajo-represented time, in and of itself. In other words, I posit that the 224 is the Navajo-conceptualized bundle of time, as it were, that totals our 18.6 years, as seen through Western eyes, and represents the entire Lunar Standstill Cycle. I also posit that the 7 and the 32 are somehow representative of some type of solar and lunar timescales that when put together reveal the coordinated cosmic movement (between Sun and Moon) witnessed in a larger amount of time (i.e., 224).    

Question: I wonder if the Navajo, like their Puebloan neighbors, observed the Lunar Cycle from a center place, wherein they could count/track the Lunar movements across the horizon? And I wonder, too, if the Navajo were concerned with coupling, bringing together, both the solar and lunar cycles into one long solar/lunar calendar in a meaningful way, much like the Chacoan and Mesoamerican cultures did? 

Two Versions of the Story

1)    Quoting from Paul Zolbrod’s version of Diné Bahane’, pages 74-75:

“Now the people were more frightened than they had ever been. For the waters had continued to rush in on them from east and from west, from north and from south. They all believed that they would soon perish. Then suddenly two men appeared on the hill on which the people all stood, it is said.

It is also said that one of the two men who suddenly appeared was old and gray-haired (Moon). The other, who walked in advance of the elderly one, was young and limber (Sun). His hair shone and little rays of light sparkled from his eyes.

The two spoke to no one as they climbed the hill. They passed quietly through the crowd and made directly for the summit. Once they had reached the very peak, the young man sat down. Then the old man took a seat directly behind him. And for no reason that anyone could understand, Woenesseeh'tdihi the Locust sat directly behind him. All three of them faced the east.

Then the old man took seven bags from under his robe and opened them. Each contained a small amount of soil. This soil, he then proclaimed, had been gathered from the sacred mountains that marked the limits of the fourth world. Whereupon a few of the people spoke words like these:

‘Ah, perhaps something can yet be done,’ spoke one. ‘Perhaps our grandfather can help us,’ said another. ‘Perhaps we can find another world to live in,’ another said. To which the old man replied: ‘I myself can do nothing more than what I have done,’ replied he.

‘But maybe my son here can help you.’

Whereupon the people begged the young man with the shiny hair and the sparkling eyes to do something. And this is what he said to them:

‘I can do something to help you, yes,’ he said to them. ‘But there are two things that you must do, too. Likewise, there are two things you must not do. You must all move away from where you stand. And you must all face the west. But you must not look at me until I call for you. And you must not ask me any questions. Nobody is to see me working. And nobody is to know what I have done or how I have done it.’

The people all agreed to do what he told them to do. And they agreed not to do what he said they must not do.

They moved away from where they stood. They all faced the east. None of them looked at

him. And no one asked him a question. And in a few minutes he called for them to return to the place where they had all been standing.

When they returned, they saw that the youth had spread the sacred soil on the ground. And they saw that in it he had planted thirty-two reeds, each of which had thirty-two joints.

They looked at the reeds, and as they gazed at them, they saw that they took root in the ground and that the roots spread downward rapidly. They also saw that the reeds themselves grew upward rapidly. And in another moment all thirty-two joined together to form one giant stalk with an opening in its eastern side, it is said.

It is also said that the young man then told the people to enter the reed through the opening. When they were all safely inside, the opening disappeared. And none too soon, for scarcely had it closed before the people inside heard the terrible sound of the surging water outside: ‘Yin! yin! yin! yin!’”

2)    Quoting from Washington Matthews’ version of the Navajo Creation Story, Navaho Legends:

“Now they were in the depths of despair, for the waters were coming nearer every moment, when they saw two men approaching the hill on which they were gathered.

One of the approaching men was old and grayhaired; the other, who was young, walked in advance. They ascended the hill and passed through the crowd, speaking to no one. The young man sat down on the summit, the old man sat down behind him, and the Locust sat down behind the old man,—all facing the east. The elder took out seven bags from under his robe and opened them. Each contained a small quantity of earth. He told the people that in these bags he had earth from the seven sacred mountains. There were in the fourth world seven sacred mountains, named and placed like the sacred mountains of the present Navaho land. ‘Ah! Perhaps our father can do something for us,’ said the people. ‘I cannot, but my son may be able to help you,’ said the old man. Then they bade the son to help them, and he said he would if they all moved away from where he stood, faced to the west, and looked not around until he called them; for no one should see him at his work. They did as he desired, and in a few moments he called them to come to him. When they came, they saw that he had spread the sacred earth on the ground and planted in it thirty-two reeds, each of which had thirty-two joints. As they gazed they beheld the roots of the reeds striking out into the soil and growing rapidly downward. A moment later all the reeds joined together and became one reed of great size, with a hole in its eastern side. He bade them enter the hollow of the reed through this hole. When they were all safely inside, the opening closed, and none too soon, for scarcely had it closed when they heard the loud noise of the surging waters outside, saying, ‘Yin, yin, yin.’

The waters rose fast, but the reed grew faster, and soon it grew so high that it began to sway, and the people inside were in great fear lest, with their weight, it might break and topple over into the water. White Body, Blue Body, and Black Body were along. Black Body blew a great breath out through a hole in the top of the reed; a heavy dark cloud formed around the reed and kept it steady. But the reed grew higher and higher; again it began to sway, and again the people within were in great fear, whereat he blew and made another cloud to steady the reed. By sunset it had grown up close to the sky, but it swayed and waved so much that they could not secure it to the sky until Black Body, who was uppermost, took the plume out of his head-band and stuck it out through the top of the cane against the sky, and this is why the reed (Phragmites communis) always carries a plume on its head now.”

Connecting the Story's Meaning

Given the numerical and calendrical alignment, it seems plausible that the Navajo Creation Story intentionally encodes astronomical knowledge into the narrative itself. The real potential alignment with the Lunar Standstill Cycle indicates that the Navajo people may have harnessed complex calendrical knowledge to inform their cultural practices and spiritual beliefs, as well as their practical life on earth. And all of this seems in line with exhibiting, and perhaps aligning with, the broader cosmic motion or movement witnessed in Nature (day, night, solar movements, lunar movements, etc.).

I argue that the interplay between the numbers 7, 32, and 224 illuminates an intricate web of cultural and astronomical knowledge embedded within the Navajo Creation Story. Here are several implications of these findings:

1. Sophisticated Calendrical Systems: The precise mathematical alignment suggests that the Navajo may have had sophisticated calendrical systems based on both careful solar and lunar observations. And these systems, at least in part, were orally communicated through the Creation Story.

   
   

2. The Interconnection of Life and Astronomy: The cultural practices of scattering sacred earth and planting reeds reflect a profound interconnectedness between nature and the cosmos. The recognition of lunar cycles could symbolize a spiritual understanding that the movements of the celestial bodies directly impact the rhythms of life on earth.

   
   

3. Preserving Sacred Knowledge Across Generations: It is possible that Diné Bahaneʼ acts as a vessel for transmitting complex astronomical and ecological knowledge. This narrative not only serves to educate the younger generations about their cosmological heritage but also reinforces the cultural practices that rely on seasonal/solar and lunar knowledge.

   
   

There is more to describe in this vein, about even longer time spans, and that is for another blog post. Suffice it to say, Diné Bahaneʼ is not simply a Creation Story; it is a sacred narrative that seems to also embody the natural and celestial rhythms that guide the lives of the Navajo people. As we explore these rich traditions, we gain a deeper appreciation for how the Navajo people have intertwined their understanding of the cosmos into their understanding of themselves, and more. This short exploration opens the door for further research into other potential calendrical representations witnessed in Indigenous narratives, reinforcing the idea that these cultures hold profound wisdom regarding the natural world and its own way of moving through the cosmos.

© Tom Christian, PhD, and De Chelly Archaeology and Preservation, PBC