What are some stories of your beliefs according to your culture?
Thanks for the question! One of my favorites…story telling. Now we just need to be sitting around the dinner table sharing some good food. 🙂
One of my favorite stories is one about the Sacred Four Year period. My uncle Kirby tells it like this…
In Zuni tradition, there was a time called the Sacred Four Year Period, when a couple waited to have a child to give them time to develop the roles of responsibilities needed to raise a child. Sometimes couples would trade traditional roles, where the husband may have to learn to cook as well as learn to do laundry. The female may learn what the husband would normally do, like hunting, or cutting firewood. They would learn each other’s roles to better understand each other and to appreciate what the other does for them. This period allows the couple to experience what their needs and wants are before having children, both for themselves, for their partner, and for their family. By that time a couple would have experienced their personal needs and wants for each other and themselves. Once a baby appears those personal needs and wants may create friction thereby creating uncomfortable situations in the household. This is a lesson that is still important today.
I also love hearing stories of Two-Sprit people within the community. This one comes from my Uncle Kirby Gchachu (Zuni Pueblo) and Renee Roman Nose (Cheyenne/Arapaho).
Check out the video of Kirby and Renee telling their story…
