Page 218 - 第三屆原住民族傳統習慣規範與國家法制研討會論文集

204 第三屆原住民族傳統習慣規範與國家法制研討會

monster, or of femininity, as with Born-for-Water’s more gentle attributes and abilities to
analyze a situation. A “monster” can be a metaphor for misconduct that gives birth or rise to
a destructive force and one for powerful forces that impede us in life. They are negative
forces that get in the way of one living one’s life well as a metaphor to teach ways to deal
with them or right ways of living to avoid them “getting in the way of leading a successful
life.”
If you ask an older Navajo how a given problem of life is approached he or she may
respond with a story from the Hajine Bahane, sometimes explaining its meaning and
sometimes not. While the stories are old they are considered to be timeless and they apply
to everyday life as a body of knowledge that is complete in itself. They are one way of
communicating and teaching a complete body of knowledge and thus of tradition.
Tradition is transmitted in other ways. Most of us have a regular routine from when we
get up in the morning to when we go to bed. If you look around you at the way your
neighbors are dressed you will see reflections of attitudes on the importance of this gathering
(or not). The way we dress reflect how we feel about this gathering They are an expression
of who we are. There are unwritten rules about how we will dress, and while there may be a
few people who are out of step for various reasons, most of us follow the rules. There is
even one researcher who examined how custom works by hiding out in a grocery store,
watched how people interacted with one another and “discovered” the unwritten rules of
grocery shopping in America.
Tradition is also expressed in what we do. We also know it as “custom.” There are
ways of doing things that are taught to us and we in turn pass it on. We do many things that
we cannot explain. For example, there is a custom in many parts of the English-speaking
world where a speaker will hope that something is so and then knock on wood. There is the
expression “knock on wood” to express a wish. What is that all about? It is summoning
the Norse God Wotan to hear the wish and make it so.
I discussed stories and then actions, and before we can better appreciate what we meant
by “tradition” or “traditional” we need to extract some meaning from what it is we say in
stories or creation narratives or what we are actually doing when we do things we learn as
children. For example, the Navajo creation narrative has its hero twins encountering
monsters. Monster Slayer went about killing them and at one point he remarked, “Surely
all the ana`ye are now killed.” But the Wind whispered in his ear, “Sa (Old Age) still lives.”
So Monster Slayer went to the North and saw an old woman leaning on a staff. He knew
who she was. He said, “Grandmother, I am on a cruel errand. I have come to slay you.”
She said: “Why would you slay me? I have never harmed anyone. I hear that you have
done great deeds so that men might increase on the earth, but if you kill me there will be no
increase of men; the boys will not grow up to become fathers; the worthless old men will not
die; the people will stand still. It is well that people should grow old and pass away and give
their places to the young. Let me live, and I shall keep this promise I shall spare your life.”
She was allowed to live.
He then tracked Cold Woman and found her “sitting on the bare snow, without clothing,
food, fire, or shelter.” He told her: “Grandmother, a cruel man I shall be. I am going to kill
you so that men may no more suffer and die by your hand.” She replied, “You may kill me
or let me live, as you will. I care not, but if you kill me it will always be hot, the land will
dry up, the springs will cease to flow, the people will perish. You will do well to let me live.”
He thought about it, told Cold Woman she spoke wisely, and let her live.