Naato'si
Blackfoot · deity · star stories · Recorded classification
Naato'si, the Sun, is the supreme deity of the Blackfoot — 'the Holy One,' chief and ruler of the world and foremost of the Sky Beings, to whom the annual Medicine Lodge (Sun Dance) is offered. His wife is the Moon, Ko'komiki'somm, and the stars are their children, chief among them Morning Star (Ipi'sowaahs). Grinnell reports the Sun was often identified with Na'pi (Old Man) the creator; modern Blackfoot tradition distinguishes Naato'si, who was himself created by the abstract Apistotoke, as the principal — though not the original creator — god.
Domains
- sun
- supreme sky deity
- light and warmth
- sky and celestial order
Powers
- Rules as chief of the Sky Beings and giver of light and warmth
- Grants visions, war-medicine and the Sun Dance to those who sacrifice to him
Epithets
- Naato'si 'the Sun' / 'the Holy One'Grinnell, George Bird (1892). Blackfoot Lodge Tales. (secondary)
Relations
- spouse: Ko'komiki'sommHusband of the Moon, Ko'komiki'somm.McClintock, The Old North Trail (1910) (primary); Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales (1892) (secondary)
- father of: Ipi'sowaahsFather of Morning Star (Ipi'sowaahs), son of the Sun and the Moon.native-languages.org, 'Natosi' and 'Apisirahts' (secondary); McClintock, The Old North Trail (1910) (primary)
- equated with: NapiGrinnell's older informants identified the Sun (Naato'si) with Old Man (Na'pi) the creator; modern Blackfoot tradition keeps them distinct.Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales (1892), Religion chapter — 'the Sun and Old Man are one... Nātōs is only another name for Na'pi' (secondary)
Sources
- existence: George Bird Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales (1892), religion chapter (secondary); Walter McClintock, The Old North Trail (1910) (primary)