Creation of the Sun and Creation of the Moon Baskets (1995)

When Áłtsé Hastiin (First Man) and Áłtsé Asdzą́ą́ (First Woman) arrived in this world they needed light. In Betty Rock’s Creation of the Sun, First Man and First Woman bring Jóhonaaʼéí (Sun Carrier) into being.  Notice First Woman wears a blue skirt and a red blouse. Sun Carrier is a young man with a yellow shirt. Look for the rain portrayed by red clouds and falling drops carefully placed at the four directions. Accompanying the rain are powerful bolts of lightning surrounding the radiant disc of the sun in the center of the basket. Betty uses a similar composition in Creation of the Moon. She places the four sacred mountains in blue surrounding Ooljéé’ (the Moon). The rising and setting of the sun and moon are sacred times for many Diné (Navajo) and Sun Carrier is one of the most important figures in stories and sand paintings.