The Anaye (or ''Nayéé’'', ) were a race of monsters or evil gods from

Navajo mythology The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (10 ...

, who were all killed by the hero

Nayenezgani Naayééʼ Neizghání () is a mythical hero from Navajo mythology who, along with his brother Tobadzischini, Tóbájízhchíní, rid the world of the Anaye, Naayééʼ. He is considered by some to be the Navajo god of war, although evidence for ...

Creation

According to the legend, Anaye came about when men and women separated after a dispute, resulting in the women having sexual intercourse with random objects that they found. This resulted in them giving birth to monsters resembling what their "father" was. For example, Yeitso's was birthed from a stone.

List of Anaye

Binaye Ahani

"Eye Killers" were a group of limbless creatures that could either shoot lightning from their eyes or could kill things by looking at them. Nayenezgani got around this by throwing salt in their eyes and shooting arrows at them. Their remains became

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

Sasnalkáhi

"The Bear That Pursues" was a giant

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

that would hide in its cave, killing anyone that came near. Nayenezgani waited for its head to stick out and chopped it off. He cut the head into three pieces, which each became

yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

Teelget

"Horned Monster" (sometimes the Delgeth) was a large creature that mauled people to death with its thick antlers. Nayenezgani could not approach it directly nor sneak up on it in the grassy field it lived in, so he crawled underneath a gopher tunnel and waited for the beast to come over top of him. Once it did, he stabbed at it from underneath.

Tsé’nagahi

"Traveling Stone" was a monstrous rock that would roll and crush passersby to death. Nayenezgani killed the creature by placing his knives point up in the ground and letting it stab itself to death while chasing after him. Its body became

Shining Rock Shining Rock is a mountain in western North Carolina, United States. The mountain is one of the Great Balsam Mountains which are a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains within the Appalachian Mountains. It is the 38th tallest mountain in the eastern ...

Tsenahale

"Rock-Monster Eagles" were a pair of enormous

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

that feed humans to their hatchlings. Nayenezgani tricked them into taking him to their nest and held the babies hostage. After he killed the parents, Nayenezgani promised not to kill the offspring as long as they also promised not to kill any more humans. They became first the

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

and

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

. (In some versions the Tsenahale are Thunderbirds)

Tsetahotsiltali

"Cliff Dweller" would use its massive legs to kick travellers down cliffs. It tried this on Nayenezgani, who survived by clinging onto the side of the cliff but losing all of his weapons. He grabbed the monster by its hair and pulled it down the mountain instead, its children finishing it off. They became the

buzzards Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

Yeitso

Generally considered the most powerful Anaye, "Big Monster" was the last killed by

. Yeitso was a giant so large, it could walk as far as a man could travel from sunrise to sunset in a single step and drink an entire lake in four gulps. Yeitso first encountered Nayenezgani when he stumbled upon Changing Woman, who hid her sons and tried to convince Yeitso that it was mistaken. When questioned about the small footprints in the snow, Changing Woman replied saying that in her loneliness she made the footprints herself to pretend she has company. When the twins were fully grown, they tracked Yeitso down with very little difficulty. He spotted them in the bushes but they quickly disappeared. They taunted him four times before shooting a lightning bolt, killing it instantly. Nayenezgani scalps Yeitso and throws it into the lake, creating Cabezon Peak.

References

{{Reflist Navajo mythology Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America