The Navajo Twins also evoke Amphion and Zethos, the builders of the walls of Thebes, in Greek mythology. Amphion was rough and brutal and gigantic like Slayer-of-alien-gods, whereas Zethos was slight, gentle and charming like Child-of-the-waters. The elder twin was born “somewhat precipitately, to the sound of thunder”, whereas the younger one was born “mildly to the accompaniment of gentle thunder”.
Their exploits are also treated in far more detail in those of their counterparts among the South American Indians. There, the twins are called Nanderikey and Tiviry by the Apapocuva Guarani, names that mean, respectively “Our Lord” and “Twin”. The Twins are also worshipped by the other South American Indians, who call them by equivalent names.
As we said above, some tribes make the second Twin a female, as is the case of Jurupari and Romi Kumu. These two are, respectively, the Great Father and the Great Mother of the Barasana Indians. Among other Brazilian tribes, for instance the Ava-Katu-Etê and the Aché, the Twins are identified to the Sun and the Moon, and are actually called Kuaray (“Sun”) and Yacy (“Moon”).
The Primordial Couple of the Barasana Indians of Brazil also closely recalls Yama and Yami, their Hindu equivalents and archetypes. These names mean, respectively, “Male Twin” and “Female Twin”, and their myth and role is highly complex in Indian mythology. An even closer parallel with the Barasana Twins is afforded by Shiva and Brahma. Both gods end up by being castrated, like Romi Kumu and Jurupari. This event takes place repeatedly in different occasions, during which, in alternation, one of the Twins plays the female to the other Twin. In this way they engender Humanity and, indeed the whole of Creation.
Even in Christianism, things apparently accord to this scheme. The figure of Christ s twin is often the one of the Beloved Disciple. This personage is often confused with St. John the Baptist, with St. John the Evangelist, with Thomas Dydimus (“twin Twin”) or even Judas and Mary the Magdalene. For instance, in Gnostic figurations such as the famous one of Leonardo da Vinci, St. John the Baptist is traditionally painted as an androgynous personage, charming and effeminate.
As we point out elsewhere, the “twin” figures of John and Christ, and the peculiar circunstances attending their engendering, their birth and their childhood were copied verbatim from the Hindu Gospels of Krishna and Balarama. Even the puzzling detail which the Hindus call samkarshana the mysterious trading of wombs from one Virgin Mother to the other is not lacking in the Christian version. Actually, these mysterious events are allegories of the Paradisial events having to do with the Mass (Missa) and the Messias, as discussed in the previous footnote. But this theme cannot be treated in more detail here, for certain things may not yet be disclosed.
The Navajo Twins were born in a mysterious spot, covered by six successive veils: darkness; the blues skies; dusk, dawn, mirage and heat. They were reared by the doorkeepers of Changing Woman, Bear Man and Rattlesnake Man. These two doorkeepers apparently correspond to the Polar Constellations of the Lesser Bear and Draco, whereas Changing Woman herself corresponds to Lyra, the third Polar Constellation, which is the female counterpart of the other two, both males.
But we should never forget that the Celestial constellations, just as the personifications of the Heroes and Gods are no more than allegories, symbols and metaphors that stand for an ulterior Reality. This is a complex subject, whose discussion does not fit here, and which has been examined by us elsewhere. It has to do with the alternation of the Eras of Mankind and the sharing of the single phallus between the two deities, who trade roles and sex this way.
Of course, the stellar images are just allegorical, as indeed are the personifications and the luni-solar avatars of both Gods and Heroes. All such, are indeed personifications of nations, races and peoples that fashioned human history and are considered to be our mythical Ancestors. More exactly still, the Twins personify the twin Atlantises, the two Paradises where humanity originally arose and evolved, becoming civilized, and reaching a spiritual and technical development that we are still, despite all our arrogance, incapable of even dreaming about. When we grow up as much as they did, we can perhaps become gods and angels, as Pythagoras said we could.
Navajo Twins are usually referred to as Firstborn and Secondborn, a standard designation of the Twins everywhere. Soon after their birth they grew up in a few days the Twins set out to search for their father, the Sun, in order to be granted powers. Their way is long and difficult, and fraught with dangers posed by all sorts of monsters and perils, which they conquer.
This tale closely resembles the one of the Mayan Twins, told in the Popol Vuh, concerning their return to Xibalba, the mysterious Land of the Dead. The Land of the Dead is indeed Paradise Destroyed and, more exactly still, sunken Atlantis, the former Island of the Sun. In order to get there, the Twins rode a rainbow, which magically transported them across the skies.
Successively, the Twins meet Spider Woman, Clashing Rocks, Cutting Reeds, Burying-sand-dune, and finally reach the Sun s house. There they are resisted by the Four Guardians: Bear, Rattlesnake, Wind, and Thunder, who are appeased when they state their respective names. The Sun, at first, fails to acknowledge the Twins as his own children, and attempts to kill them. But after several unsuccessful attempts, the Sun finally recognizes his children in the two valiant boys. He renders them invisible and immortal, “after his own image”, rendering them “holy forever”.
The Sun also gives his sons lightning bolts for weapons.