Tééhooltsódii (Water Monster)
Mythological Narrative
The Water Monster of the lower world whose child Coyote stole, so that the waters rose until the people escaped upward through a reed; the child was returned and the waters receded.
Scholarly Commentary & Evolution
## The flood of the lower world
Tééhooltsódii (Matthews's Tiéholtsodi), the Water Monster, lives in the waters of the lower world. When Coyote steals its child, it searches for the child and causes the waters to rise, until the whole lower world is flooded and the people must escape upward through a great reed into the world above.
## The child returned
When the waters follow the people up, the theft is discovered, and Coyote is made to give the child back. The waters then recede. In some tellings the Water Monster is placed in charge of waters afterward.
## Not simply a villain
The Water Monster is not presented as evil: it acts to recover a stolen child, and the disaster is Coyote's doing. The episode is one of the clearest examples of how Coyote's disruptions shape the world. Many Diné families teach that this part of the story is told in winter.
Academic Discussion & Critique
Exchange peer-reviewed hypotheses, comparative Indo-European etymologies, and archaeological field interpretations regarding Tééhooltsódii (Water Monster).
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