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Big
Fly from the Male Shooting Chant
Holy
Boy went out side and Big Fly landed on
his shoulder. Big Fly told him he should
try to take down the Sun before noon.
(Reichard: 1939)
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By Susi Nagoda
Bergquist
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Flies play a surprising part in the mythic
thought of several Native American
groups.Fly, as Big Fly, is very important
to the Navajo Indians in Northern Arizona
and New Mexico. In the Piman speakers of
Southern Arizona and Northwestern Mexico,
Blue-Green Fly makes a casual appearance
in piman myth, however he teaches theSeris
of the Son oran coast how to make fire.
Robber Fly is a hunter in Chiricahua
Apache lore. Read on and find out a bit
more about Fly in myth.
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Big Fly, do'tsoh, is an intercessor,
mentor and advise giver. He appears to
have much of the capacities of the Spider
Woman figure in the Navajo except to men,
especially Holy Man. He is the guardian of
the east side of the sand painting and a
major figure in the Hail and Wind chants.
In the day time Big Fly can be
represented
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as Wind's Child or Sunbeam. As a mentor,
Big Fly differs from a god in that he need
no offering or payment. Big Fly is part of
the Sum-Sky complex, (Reichard:1950) . Big
Fly is representative of speech, and as
the daytime messenger of the Sun, he some
times is identified with Talking God. Bat
is the counter part of Big Fly at
night.
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In real life, Big Fly is probably the
Tachnid fly, Hystricia pollinosa. This
species often alights on the shoulder or
chest of a person an seems very friendly.
They are known as the guardians of the
Balance of Nature, as the larva is
parasitic on insects detrimental to
agriculture such as the Gypsy Moth and the
Squash Bug, (Lutz:1948).
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All the above
material text and Illustrations are under copyright
by Susan Nagoda Bergquist c 2000 to
2003.
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