Race to the Sun

Roanhorse’s Race to the Sun parallels various events in the creation tale of the Navajo, or Diné, people. Part of this story discusses the triumph of the Hero Twins, Naayéé’neizghání (Slayer of Monsters) and Tóbájíshchíní (Born for Water), over the monsters that threaten the Navajo people. The twins journey though the perilous, monster-ridden land to seek their father, the Sun, which necessitates a journey down a perilous road in which they face four trials: a rock wall that slams shut, threatening to crush them; a field of slashing reeds that threatens to slice them; a field of thorns that threatens to ensnare them; and boiling sands that threaten to swallow them (Carey, Harold Jr. “Navajo Mythology Twins – Born From Water.” Navajo People, 13 Nov. 2009).

In the legend, the twins reach the house of the Sun, Jóhonaaʼéí, who tests their true identity as his sons by asking them to overcome several trials, including spending time in a boiling sweat lodge. The twins overcome this trial by digging a tunnel to evade the heat. The twins receive weapons to fight four monsters: Yé’ilitsoh, the Big Giant; Déélgééd, the Horned Monster; Tsé Nináhálééh, Monster Eagle; Tsé dah Hódziiłtáłii, the Monster Who Kicks People Down the Cliff; and Binááʼ yee Aghání, the Monsters That Kill With Their Eyes (Zolbrod, Paul G.