Wind

spirit · United States · North America

Winds figure as living, personified spirits across many Native American traditions. In Navajo belief, Holy Wind (Nilch'i Diyin) is the life-breath that animates all beings; winds guard the four directions at the sacred mountains and appear as spirit people who advise heroes. The Lakota number wind among the aspects of Wakan Tanka, and many Plains peoples revere the four directions.

Open in the interactive archive →