The Hopi Indians associate ILLNESS with evil spirits.
The evil spirit re- sponsible for an ILLNESS is identified by the medicine man, and the remedy for the malady resides in the treatment of the evil spirit (Leek, 1975, p. 16).
According to legend, the Navajo people originally emerged from the depths of the Earth—fully formed as human beings. Before the beginning of time, they existed with holy people, supernatural beings with supernatural pow- ers, in a series of 12 underworlds. The creation of all elements took place in these underworlds, and there all things were made to interact in constant har- mony. A number of ceremonies and rituals were created at this time for “main- taining, renewing, and mending this state of harmony” (Bilagody, 1969, p. 21).
When the Navajo people emerged from the underworlds, 1 female was missing. She was subsequently found by a search party in the same hole from which they had initially emerged. She told the people that she had chosen to re- main there and wait for their return. She became known as death, sickness, and witchcraft. Because her hair was unraveled and her body was covered with dry red ochre, the Navajos today continue to unravel the hair of their dead and to