In the beginning A'wonawil'ona alone filled the wide vessel of the universe. This androgynous, omnipotent, soon to be creator god encompassed the blue vault of space--hence the sometimes title "All Container." With the breath of his-her heart he-she created the great clouds and great waters. To the Ashiwi the great clouds are the assurance and symbols of A'wonawil'ona's existence. Such puffy black and white clouds they call "smoke clouds." We call them "cumulonimbus." The symbolism is portrayed in the black and white band that girds the blue vault of the universe portrayed below.
A'wonawil'ona is the Blue Vault of the Universe. By the Breath of His-Her Heart, He-She Created the Great Clouds that Symbolize His-Her Existence
and Sustain the Ashiwi in Their Life Endeavors.
Through innate knowledge, the He-she Container that filled the universe would also become the all-encompassing creator-parent. To accomplish this, the transmutable and ever-changing A'wonawil'ona thought into existence Yatokia, the Sun Father. The Sun Father did then create Apoyan Ta'chu, the Sky Father and Awitelin Tsita, the Earth Mother thereby facilitating the procreation of the Ashiwi, in the fourth under womb of the earth. These parents were Surpassing Beings who were also transmutable in their nature. .
The Face of Yatokia the Sun Father Depicted in a Dry Painting Created for the Initiation into the Shi'wannakwe (Fire Society) ca 1880. Yatokia is the most
Direct Transmutation from A'wonawilona so there is a Strong Spiritual
Connection between the Two in Ashiwi Theology.
Creation of the Flesh--the Ashiwi
In the morning of creation A'wonawil'ona with the Sun Father and Moon Mother existed above. Shi'wanni and his wife Shi'wano'kia existed below. To demonstrate his own creative powers, Shi'wanni brought into being the great stars and constellations that there might be light in the night sky when the Moon Mother sleeps. Unwilling to be outdone Shi'wano'kia created A'witelin Si'ta, the Earth Mother with her infinite fecundity. Shi'wanni and Shi'wano'kia are referred to as the superhuman parents of the Ashiwi--the Flesh, but in reality it was the Sky Father and Earth Mother who actually performed the fertilization and gestation resulting in the birth of the Flesh.
Following fertilization, the Earth Mother repulsed the Sun Father and sank into warm ambiance
of the oceans which surround the earth. In this protective environment, parturition was immediate. There in A'witen Te'hula, the Fourth Underworld, she gave birth to a multitude of precursor Ashiwi. Here terminology of the grand saga of creation becomes ambivalent, A'witen Te'hula also means "Fourth Underwomb." In any case the primitive Ashiwi along with other races of mankind and the myriad of animals were confined within the underworld darkness. Safe it may have been, but it was a miserable, uncomfortable existence. Unable to see in the sooty darkness, the Ashiwi trod upon each other's toes and tails. The webs between their fingers and toes were a hindrance. The Ashiwi pleaded for relief.
The Sun Father, being mindful of their angst, created the Divine Ones. He armed them with rainbows and lightning arrows. He gave them cloud shields for protection. Then he instructed them, "Now go to A'witen Te'hula, the Fourth Underworld, and bring out my children."
With great power and skill the Divine Ones drew lightning arrows across their rainbows. The arrows hurtled downward with great force renting the earth and creating a passageway through the various underworlds to the undermost, even the abode of the Ashiwi. It was so dark that the Divine Ones threw a line of sacred meal toward the north to light the passageway for the Flesh to make their way upward. Finally in the first underworld they beheld wings of light through a lens of water from the Light of Day Place. They called it the Wing World. Here they received instructions from the Divine Ones and their own Rain Priests. Their tails were cut off and webs between their fingers and toes severed.
The coming Through Place
They were required to pass through that magical aperture in which the water would separate to facilitate their entrance into the Light of Day Place. It was Chimik'yana'kya Deya--The Place of Coming Through--The Place Where Newness Was Made.
So now you ask where is this wondrous place through which the Ashiwi had to pass in order to reach the Light of day Place? Where else but the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River? Check it out on the video below.
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