‘Everything will teach you’

Medicine man shares animal stories, songs at Navajo Nation Zoo

WINDOW ROCK

Does the coyote mean to bring bad luck to travelers on the open road? Where does the creamy taste of the piñon come from? Where is a good place locally to see wolves in the wild?

Medicine man Anderson Hoskie, 42, of Tsayatoh, N.M., provided answers to these questions and more on Saturday at the “Winter Stories and Songs: Serenading Our Sacred Animals” event at the Navajo Nation Zoo.

Anderson started his presentation inside the hogan at the zoo. He explained elements of building the hogan for the guests. He said the juniper can offer special protection as a construction material rather than other wood.

“Even the lightning won’t strike a juniper,” he said.

After some of the basic elements of the hogan and the origin stories according to Navajo tradition, he brought guests around to each of the animal enclosures and shared traditional knowledge of each creature, told a story, or sang a song dedicated to the particular animal.
He said asking permission is central to being in touch with animals, plants and the larger world in the Navajo tradition.

“That’s how it works with everything. You have to ask permission,” he said.

At the golden eagle enclosure he noted that the Navajo only wear feathers when a medicine man puts one on a person. He said repeatedly throughout the walk not to touch dead eagles and to wash any feathers gathered. He said if someone does touch the dead eagle or does not wash the feathers, they could become sick. But, he said the eagle and the hawk hold a special connection to the sky.

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