Sacred narrative and oral tradition

Diné traditional narratives

Living symbols indexed under this named context. This page gathers catalog references; it does not define the whole tradition or erase differences among communities and practitioners.

2 symbols

Mammal · Canine

Coyote

Canis latrans

A North American canine whose narrative roles are highly specific to individual Indigenous nations and should not be reduced to one pan-Indigenous meaning.

Diné traditional narrativesDisruption, appetite, boundary crossing, and consequential change

2 contextual readings

Invertebrate · Arachnid

Spider

Araneae

A web-building arachnid associated with story, creativity, fate, cunning, patience, and the dangerous consequences of pride.

3 contextual readings