Ní
ch'i is normally translated
as wind, although this does not adequately convey the totality of the
concept associated with the word for the Navajo. Ních'i refers to the air, the atmosphere in its
entirety, when still, and when in motion. It is conceived of as having a
holiness and powers that are not acknowledged by European based
cultures. The term could perhaps as well be translated as Holy Spirit.
The translation Holy Wind Spirit has been suggested{*}.
Because ních'i suffuses all
of nature, it is responsible for giving life, thought, speech and the
power of motion to all living things. Ních'i is also the means of communication between
all elements of the living world. The ních'i enters (and leaves) humans through the
whorls on their fingers and toes and the whorl pattern in the hair on
the top of their heads. It sits on the tips of their tongues allowing
speech, which indeed is carried by air. Small ních'i sit at the ears of the Diné advising them on the
proper actions. Those who repeatedly ignore this advice are abandoned by
their ních'i. These
ních'i also report back to
the Holy People [diyin diné]
on the behavior of the earth surface people, therefore enforcing
morality.
Ních'i was one of the
original Holy People [diyin diné] to emerge into this World with
First Man [Átsé hastiin]. Ních'i lives in the
four cardinal directions [da'níts'áá'góó], as
do the light phenomena,
Dawn [Hayíík
],
Midday Sky [Yák dihi],
Twilight [Nahootsoii] and Darkness
[Chahahee].
The Ních'i was instrumental in
the creation of the Holy People
[diyin diné] and their instruction. Ních'i
entered Changing Woman
[Asdz nádleehé] to give her life.
For the Navajo [Diné], ních'i is
believed to enter at the moment of conception. Its movement and growth
produces the movement and growth of the fetus. When the baby is born,
with its first cry, taking in air by itself, the surrounding Ních'i is
added to the child and it becomes a complete being. The growing child is
believed to be under the influence of the Ních'i all around him. The Ních'i is breathed in at
all times. His growth is governed by the Ních'i. Speech and the ability to
stand upright and to maintain balance are also attributed to the Ních'i.
The Ních'i enters and departs a person through the lungs and the whorls mentioned
before.
The final act in Blessingway
[Hózhó
jí] is to stand up and breathe in the
air at Dawn [Hayíík] to reinfuse the individual with the Holy Wind.
This is true of other ceremonials as well.