THE FOURTH WORLD: SUN, MOON AND STARS
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The people had the same light as they had had in the worlds below, but they wanted a stronger light to awaken them in the morning; and they wanted a light at night. Also, the people wished to straighten out the night and day and the seasons so that there would be some order in their lives.
They laid stars on a blanket on the ground. Haashch'eeshzhini (Black God) placed the So'tsoh (North Star). First Man placed the Nahookos (Big Dipper) while First Woman put the Nahookos (Little Dipper) into the sky. First Man also placed the Dilyehe (Seven Stars) which Black God claimed represented parts of his body. When First Man and First Woman had named the main stars and placed them in the sky, they instructed the stars to guard the sky and man.
Before First Man was finished placing each star in a particular, preselected place in the sky, Coyote came along and asked what they were doing. Coyote picked up a star and put it in the south and said it was his So' Doo Nidizidi (Morning Star). Later, Coyote saw how slowly the naming and placing of the stars was progressing, so he took a corner of the blanket and flipped the remaining stars into the sky. First Man scolded Coyote, but Coyote felt he had done a good job.
After the stars had been placed in the sky, First Man and First Woman still wanted to make, something that would give strong daylight. They spread six unwounded buckskins on the ground. On them they placed a large, perfect, round turquoise. They marked the great turquoise with a mouth and nose and eyes. They made a streak of yellow below the mouth, across the face. They then placed another layer of six more unwounded buckskins. This became Johonaa'ei (the Sun).
The different Beings discussed where they would put the Sun. Some thought it should be placed on the highest mountain, but they finally decided to place it in the sky. The next question was how the Sun should move. Should it move up and down? Should it move in a circle without going down? It was decided that it would pass from east to west to give light all over the world.
Next they placed a perfect white shell on a buckskin. This large, perfect white shell was to become TI'ehonaa'ei (the Moon).
After some difficulty, the Sun and the Moon moved and were placed in the sky. A carrier was selected to carry the Sun and another carrier was selected to carry the Moon.* The Sun Carrier and the Moon Carrier declared that every day, as they went on their journey from east to west, someone would die. This would be the price for carrying the Sun and the Moon. Mankind walks the earth at a price and that price is the death of people every day and every night.
* In some of the stories the Carrier of the Sun was a man on a horse; in other stories the carrier was Turquoise Boy. There is no agreement on this point. The same holds true for the Moon Carrier. In some stories the carrier is a man on a horse; in others, White Shell Girl.
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