Yéʼiitsoh
Mythological Narrative
The Big Monster, greatest of the naayééʼ, a giant armoured in flint who lived near Tsoodził (Mount Taylor); the first monster killed by the Hero Twins, whose blood became the lava flows near the mountain.
Scholarly Commentary & Evolution
## The Big Monster
Yéʼiitsoh (Matthews's Yéitso), the Big Monster, is the greatest of the naayééʼ, the monsters that preyed on the people after the emergence. He is a giant clad in armour of flint, and in some tellings he is himself a son of the Sun. He comes close to finding the Hero Twins when they are children, and his defeat is the twins' first act on returning from their father's house.
## His death
In Matthews's version the twins confront Yéʼiitsoh at a lake near Tsoodził where he comes to drink. They exchange taunts; he hurls lightning at them and misses; the Sun strikes him first with lightning, and the twins follow with their lightning arrows, shattering his armour until he falls. The twins take his scalp, and the flow of his blood is turned aside so that it cannot bring him back to life.
## In the land
In widely told accounts, Yéʼiitsoh's blood became the black lava flows near Mount Taylor, the malpais of the region, and his head became Cabezon Peak to the east. The story ties the volcanic landscape of the area to the twins' victory. Many Diné families teach that this part of the origin story is told in winter.
Academic Discussion & Critique
Exchange peer-reviewed hypotheses, comparative Indo-European etymologies, and archaeological field interpretations regarding Yéʼiitsoh.
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