- Ahayuta
According to
Zuni mythology , Ahayuta are thetwin gods of war inNative American mythology .Origins
Ahayuta were created by
Awonawilona , the Sun God, to protect the first people from their enemies, usinglightning . They are second only to Awonawilona himself.Names
"Benedict (1935 :1) and Bunzel (1932 : 584, n. 96) give the names "Watusti" (Bunzel uses the term "Watsutsi") and "Yanaluha" to these" twin-brothers. [M. Jane Young : "Morning Star, Evening Star : Zuni Traditional Stories", p. 94, n. 3. In :- Ray A. Williamson & Claire R. Farrer : "Earth & Sky : Visions of the Cosmos in Native American Folklore". University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1992. pp. 75-100]
Feats
*The ʔahayutah (Ahayuta) overcame a one-horned giant (who had been kicking people over cliffs) by tricking his son into killing him [Edgar L. Hewett : "Ancient Life in the American Southwest". Biblo & Tannen Publ, 1968. p. 109] ;
*they sent a gopher who tunneled into another giant's house to find the rain-clouds which had all been confined to jars there, released the rain-clouds, cut out and burned that giant's heart [Edgar L. Hewett : "Ancient Life in the American Southwest". Biblo & Tannen Publ, 1968. pp. 110-112] ;
*they found the deer who had all been confined to a corral by yet another giant, and induced the predator-beasts to tear down the corral, releasing the deer, and transformed that giant into a crow [Edgar L. Hewett : "Ancient Life in the American Southwest". Biblo & Tannen Publ, 1968. p. 112-116] .Worship
Legend says that if one desires victory in
battle or protection, one should carve an effigy of one or both of the twins from a piece of wood that was struck by lightning.Followers of the Zuni
religion believe that Ahayuta are still defending all the peoples of the earth.Notes
References
*Benedict, Ruth : "Zuni Mythology". 2 vols. "COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY", 21. NY, 1935.
*Bunzel, Ruth L. : "Introduction to Zuñi Ceremonialism". "Forty-Seventh ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, for the years 1929-1930". pp. 467-1086. Washington (DC), 1932.External links
* [http://www.aras.org/se_war.html Ahayuta figurine and information]
* [http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/native_american-mythology.php?deity=AHAYUTA-ACHI Godchecker.com article]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=FWBbbklR6LgC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=Ahayutah&source=web&ots=dTQv7La4bG&sig=MVVPh7yYYOoGH8VRlXijeEopQac&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA109,M1 the feats of the ʔahayutah]
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