Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Many Native American tribes have legends about secret underground worlds their ancestors once inhabited. In some accounts, these subterranean realms are so pleasant one does not want to leave the place. There are also stories of more gloomy underground worlds where it was hard for people to survive.

The concept there is a vast, mysterious underground world beneath our feet is often encountered when exploring the myths of Native Americans. Several tribes believe in the subterranean origin of man and say certain sacred mountains have secret entrances leading to the underground world that is still inhabited by the most unusual beings.

As previously mentioned on AncientPages, the “Choctaw Indians of Mississippi have a fascinating ancient legend about the Nanih Waiya Cave Mound.

The Indians say their ancestors emerged from an artificial underground world long ago. This underground kingdom was the homeland of their ancestors.

During this time, the Choctaw Indians were invaded by a race of red- and blond-haired, white-skinned giants.” ¹

A Cherokee legend tells that Pilot Mountain is home to an underground civilization. The Cherokee have a fascinating story about “man who was taken to a strange underground place where he stayed and met the mysterious Mountain People.” ²

Among the numerous Native American references to unknown underground realms, there is one slightly different legend. It tells of a time when the Navajo, Pueblos, and the white man lived together in harmony beneath the ground.

“The Navajo sand priest, Hasteen Klah says that the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo nations had a common genesis. They all came out of the Earth, from a subterranean world through caves, vents, and other openings, all connected with the upper world of ours.

Then, they separated into three nations. Everything is given to them by “Holy People” (“Supermen” or “Superbeings”) possessing special powers. Also, their sacred language is a gift to the Navajo.” ³

According to one Navajo legend, their people lived the white men below a mountain named Cerra Naztarny. Despite the difficult living conditions in this underground world, the Navajos and the white managed to coexist peacefully. This world was dark and gloomy, and little food was available. People had to eat the animals they somehow caught in the darkness. The Navajos and the white people lived on equal terms,  spoke the same language, and shared the same views on almost everything. If it hadn’t been for the skin color, one could think they were the same tribe.

As the legend tells, one day, the Navajos accidentally learned about the Upper World. Two dumb Navajo men were skilled at many things, especially music. One evening one of these men, the elder one was a talented flute player, was giving a performance. He was so excited when he played that he stood up and tilted the flute high up in the air. As he did so, he accidentally cracked the musical instrument “against the roof of the cave, producing a peculiarly hollow sound which excited his curiosity.

Determined to discover what lay above their heads, the dumb man called to a raccoon nearby, requesting his ᴀssistance. The raccoon ascended to the roof of the cave using the flute as a ladder and began digging furiously. But after a reasonable length of time, when he became convinced he was not making any progress, the raccoon came back down the ladder allowing the moth-worm to ascend in his place.

It was several hours before the moth-worm succeeded in boring through the roof, but his perseverance was rewarded when at last a tiny stream of light filtered into the cave. Wriggling through the opening he had made, he soon found himself upon a mountain, surrounded by water.

He was more than pleased at the sight, and began throwing up a little mound on which to rest. As he sat there, looking around him more attentively, he noticed four large white swans, placed at the four cardinal points, each carrying an arrow under either wing.” ⁴

The moth-worm returned to the underground world and told everyone above the unknown light world above where creatures were living. The raccoon was sent through the hole in the roof to confirm the story.

As the raccoon “leaped to the ground, he became stuck in the mud almost to his thighs, staining his paws and legs so that the black marks have remained to this day. After a struggle, the disgruntled raccoon managed to free himself and made his way back down to the cave where the dumb man called upon the wind to come forth and blow upon the mud until it had dried out.” ⁴

After the raccoon returned and said all the moth-worm related was true, all underground animals and humans became curious, wanting to explore the unknown world above them. Together they made the hole in the roof larger so they could emerge and see the new world they never thought existed. When the birds and smaller animals emerged from the Cerra Naztarny underground world, they headed for the woodlands. The larger animals took off to the plains. The humans were the last to leave the underground world were the humans. They saw this new world, but the bond between the Navajos and the white men was not meant to survive once they reached the Earth’s surface.

When they made the hole in the roof larger, all the animals and humans could emerge and see the world above. Credit: Public Domain

As J.K. Jackson writes in the book Native American Myths, the people “immediately separated into different groups, each with its own new language. The Navajos, who were the first to appear, commenced a large painting in the sand. The Pueblos cut their hair and began building houses. The white man set off towards the point where the sun rises, and was not heard from again for a great many years.”

It is a beautiful Navajo legend that teaches us that humans of all races can coexist peacefully, even if the living conditions are difficult and danger lurks around the dark corners.

Updated on November 6, 2023

Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com

Expand for references