Lyra

Ship Rock Pinnacle Land View

Shiprock Pinnacle and Albert Mesa were both a haven for a male and female Monster birds that were terrorizing the land many years ago. Navajo Mythology was told of the Hero Twins who have destroyed the monster birds upon Shiprock Pinnacle (Tse’ bi tha’) and the Albert Mesa (Tse’Atsa’). I have overheard this story at a card game when I was waiting on my Grandfather in 1986 I was falling asleep when this story got my attention.

One day the Hero Twins were helping their Mother (White Shell Woman) outside of the Hogan near Dzil Na’oodi’lii (Huerfano Mountain) with firewood gathering some of the wood were tall sagebrush stem. The Crow came over with concerns of fearing a huge Eagle like a Monster bird. Crow was telling the Hero Twins, Monster Slayer (Nayee’ Neeza’nii) and Born for water (To’baajii’shchini’) about this Monster Bird that kept all the Little Singing birds up on top of Tse’Atsa’ (Albert Mesa) and if any of the birds try to escape the Monster bird would eat them.

Crow told the twins that the Monster bird could not sing so he gathered up all the little singing birds to start singing and chirping songs for him. Most of the songs of the little birds were not truly in meaningful harmony which the Monster bird does not know of the songs and just goes along with it.

Monster Slayer (Nayee’ Neeza’nii) started off on his campaign to destroy the Monster Birds, Crow warns Monster Slayer of the female Monster bird that is out and about swooping down to catch her victims with her deadly claws and drops them down to their deaths. Crow offered his help to show Monster Slayer a way to get closer to the Male Monster bird as they made their journey southeast of Dzil Na’oodi’lii (Huerfano Mountain) as soon as they got on top of Blanco mesa Crow’s tribe have meant up with Crow to fight off Monster bird on top of Albert Mesa (Tse’Atsa).

Stevie C. Begaye Drawing of Monster Bird

Over a hundred Crow birds are ready to carry rocks to Albert Mesa and drop them onto the Monster bird’s nest as he sleeps.

Just then the male Monster bird was flying above and started to attack, coming down with a horrible screaming cry, with the excitement all of the Crows flew off in the path of the Monster bird’s attack. Blinding the view of the kill of the Monster bird it gave time for Monster Slayer to draw a quick deadly shot into the throat of the beast with a Lightning bolt arrow. The flying beast flew off toward Chaco Canyon and crash-landed on the end of the West Mesa of Chaco Canyon.

The Monster Bird’s body lays south of the Chaco Wash it is still laying out there to this day. The little singing, chirping birds were set free to fly again the birds flew off all at once singing with joy all in line like a Colored Bird necklace.

The Crow bird tribe dropped off their rocks on the south end of Blanco Mesa and stacked the stone rocks on each other and formed Thompson Mesa and Dufers Point which is now called Crow Mesa.

The Female Monster bird lives with her two children on top of Tse’Bi’tah (Shiprock Pinnacle). When the Female Monster bird was killed by the Monster Slayer (Nayee’ Neeza’nii) the two little Monster birds were spared.

Monster slayer turned the older bird into an Eagle, Hawk, and Falcon. The younger bird was spared too and was turned into the Owl, Wild Turkey and Quails.