Four Sacred Mountains

Four sacred mountains surround Dinétah (the Navajo homeland) providing deep connections between the land, spirituality, and culture in the Diné (Navajo) world. Áłtsé Hastiin (First Man) and Áłtsé Asdzą́ą́ (First Woman) placed these sacred mountains in each of the four directions. Each is associated with a color and sacred stone linked to its direction. Sis Naajiní’ (the White Shell Mountain), or Mount Blanca is located in south-central Colorado and represents the east. Tsoodził (the Blue Bead Mountain) or Mount Taylor northeast of Grants, New Mexico, represents the south. Dook’o’oosłííd (the Yellow Abalone Shell Mountain), or the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona, represent the west. Dibé Nitsaa (the Obsidian Mountain), or Mount Hesperus located near Durango, Colorado, represents the north. The four sacred mountains are the locations of many important events in Diné sacred stories. They are also tied to the creation of the first hogan and can be viewed spiritually as forming a hogan that contains the Diné universe.