Coyote, The Trickster!
Labeled a Trickster by ancient Navajo,
Coyote is intelligent, but he is often tempted to test the bounds of possibility and authority
You'll typically see Coyote wondering around during the twilight hour (after sunset) and very early in the morning. They are just passing thru, but remember: They are wild. Do not engage with them or feed them, just be happy that you got to see them.
I, myself, have seen the coyote at twilight go behind a rock, and when I went around the other side of the rock to spot him - he had disappeared - into the night.
Can you hear the
Coyotes at Night?
That yipping sound that coyotes make is orchestrated to make you believe that their numbers are greater than they actually are. It's probably just 2 or 3 coyotes, but they're trying to sound like a pack of 15!
Typically they are yipping to tell the others in their group where they are - and usually that means that dinner ready! (so, you are safe!)
...And it's meant to make your skin crawl...
navajo legend
The Coyote and the Milky Way
In ancient times, the night sky was pitch black.
The darkness made it very hard for anyone to find their way at night. The Navajo Fire God decided that he would create Stars and place them in the night sky so that travelers could find their way. To do this, the Navajo Fire God created a bunch of stars in his village and then he carried them out into the desert at night in his blanket so that he could illuminate the night sky.
Coyote, the trickster, followed the Navajo Fire God out into the darkness.
The Fire God began placing the stars into the night sky one-by-one - lighting each star on fire as he placed it. The Fire God also made the constellations this way, by carefully arranging the stars in the sky to form patterns which travelers could follow during their travels. He lit the constellation stars on fire in the same manner. With each star the Navajo Fire God placed in the sky and lit, the night sky got brighter, and brighter, and brighter!
But, Coyote became very impatient
with the Fire God.
Coyote decided that it was taking way too long to light the entire night sky - one-star-at-a-time! So, Coyote sneaked up behind the Fire God, grabbed his blanket and tossed all of the remaining stars into the night sky - all at once! - thus forming the Milky Way - the path of stars across the night sky.
The Fire God was unable to light all of the stars that Coyote had tossed into the sky. That is why some stars in the Milky Way are dimmer than others, still to this day.
Now, Coyote is always getting into trouble,... but I'm not sure whether we should thank Coyote this time - or not! You'll just have to go outside on a star-filled night - look up - and decide for yourself! And while you are out there, in the desert, under the stars - listen carefully - and maybe you'll hear Coyote - he still likes to roam the desert at night...
...under the light of the Milky Way.
And now you know!