Page 219 - 第三屆原住民族傳統習慣規範與國家法制研討會論文集

NAVAJO TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS & METHODS OF JUSTICE 205

The Wind whispered in Monster Slayer’s ear to tell him that the monster Poverty still
lived. Asking about that monster, the hero learned that there were two, and old man and an
old woman “who were filthy, clad in tattered garments, and had no goods in their house.”
“Grandmother, grandfather,” Monster Slayer said to them, “a cruel man I shall be. I have
come to kill you.” The old man replied, “Do not kill us, my grandchild—it would not be
well for the people, in the days to come, if we were dead; then they would always wear the
same clothes and never get anything new. If we live, the clothing will wear out and the
people will make new and beautiful garments; they will gather goods and look handsome.
Let us live and we will pull their old clothes to pieces for them.” Poverty was allowed to live.
Likewise “the Hunger People” were allowed to live so that the people will care for food and
know the pleasure of the chase—of hunting.
This is only a small part of the stories of the encounters that Monster Slayer and
Born-for-Water, two hero figures, had with the monsters that were destroying Navajos, the
People. Such stories are told in the winter and you can likely imagine people inside a
traditional Navajo hogan, an eight-sided log structure, huddled around a fire on a cold winter
night, listening to such stories being told. They are not simply “stories,” of course, but
knowledge. They tell of heroic figures who faced very real problems and how they were
resolved.
What is the problem these stories address? The Navajo word for “monster” is nayee
and it means something like “things that get in the way of you living your life.” They are
obstructions; barriers; obstacles; difficulties. The encounters with Old Age, Cold, Poverty
and Hunger tell us that such are not simply the way things are, but a lesson. There are
reasons for old age, winter, poverty and hunger and Monster Slayer followed proper protocol
by announcing his intentions and then talking out the rest with each. He learned that there
are two sides to every situation and relented when encountering the last of the monsters.
Now comes the part where people get confused — taking something concrete and
specific like a story and extracting meaning from it. What are we looking for? We are
looking for norms and they are expressions of duty—of “ought” or “ought not.” When
confronting an obstacle or barrier one should be direct, but also be prepared to learn what is
behind it. I have difficulties with the word because it doesn’t make sense in Navajo, but we
are looking for values. I define them as shared attitudes about a given thing or
situation—we “value” relationships, for example. If we can identify the norms or values we
find in stories, descriptions of what we do and other ways of transmitting knowledge, then we
can go about the business of “law.”
Before I get to “law” as such, let’s start with procedure. If I have a problem with
someone the easiest way to address it is to talk with that person and work it out. Simple
enough. What if I can’t talk to that person—for whatever reason? I might seek out
someone that person respects for help—a common relative; an elder; a civil leader, etc. We
all have people whom we respect for their wisdom, upstanding behavior or other qualities and
we tend to seek their advice. In the event of dispute we might seek the help of some we
respect. Another approach is to take the problem to a group—relatives or people in some
form of community. How might that work?
There will be a discussion of the problem, with an identification of how it affects
people— how it affects me; how it impacts the other; and how it affects the group. As
discussion goes back and forth, and people with various interests join in, norms and values are
flying around all over the place. People are saying how they feel about the situation or