In Navajo mythology, what is the name of the earth goddess who ages and renews?

The story behind the answer

In Navajo mythology, the earth goddess who ages and renews is Changing Woman.

Changing Woman, or Asdzą́ą́ Nádleehé, is one of the central creation spirits in Diné tradition. Her name means “the woman who changes,” reflecting a cycle in which she grows old and becomes young again. This renewal links her with fertility, seasonal change, vitality, and the continuing renewal of the earth.

She is also associated with the origins of the Diné. In traditional accounts, she created four ancestral couples from material taken from her body and a bundle of mountain soil; these couples became ancestors of the original Navajo clans. She is the mother of the Hero Twins, Monster Slayer and Born for Water, whose deeds helped make the world safer for human beings.

Changing Woman is honored especially through the Kinaaldá, a four-day puberty ceremony for Navajo girls, and through the Blessing Way, a ceremony associated with protection, harmony, fortune, and long life. White Shell Woman and Turquoise Woman may appear in related traditions or accounts, but they are not the single standard answer to this question.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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