Merry Meet! My name is Troy, and my girlfriend and I are adding another member into our family! We’ve been searching for a Mother and Child symbol but are unable to locate any. Do you know of any? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time and help. Troy– Navajo-Choctaw-Pueblo

Hello there my dear,

There are many examples of mother and child symbology out there and thus it really depends on what tradition you are wishing to find said symbol from, or in relation to….

Obviously, in Christianity, the most prevalent mother and child symbol is that of the Madonna and Child, which has been memorialized in art hundreds, if not thousands of times by many of the greats (Rembrandt for example)….

One of the places you might wish to look is the creation myths of the the cultures you associate yourself with….

The Navajo creation story centers on the area known as the Dinetah, the traditional homeland of the Navajo people. This creation myth forms the basis for the traditional Navajo way of life. The basic outline of the Navajo creation myth begins with the Holy Supreme Wind being created, the mists of lights which arose through the darkness to animate and bring purpose to the myriad Holy People, supernatural and sacred in the different three lower worlds. All these things were spiritually created in the time before the earth existed and the physical aspect of humans did not exist yet, but the spiritual did.
In the first world the insect people started fighting with one another and were instructed by the Holy People to depart. They journeyed to the second world and lived for a time in peace, but eventually they fought with each other and were instructed to depart. In the third world the same thing happened again and they were forced to journey to the fourth world. In the fourth world, they found the Hopi living there and succeeded in not fighting with one another or their neighbors, and their bodies were transformed from insect forms to human forms. Eventually, however, they fought with each other again, and again were instructed to depart.
First Woman and First Man physically appear here formed from ears of white and yellow corn, but they were also created back in the beginning. There is a separation of male and female humans because each did not appreciate the contributions of the other, and this laid the groundwork for the appearance of the Monsters that would start to kill off the people in the next world.
Coyote also appears and steals the baby of Water Monster, who brings a great flood in the third world which primarily forces the humans as well as Holy People to journey to the surface of the fifth world through a hollow reed. Some things are left behind and some things are brought to help the people re-create the world each time they enter a new one. Death and the Monsters are born into this world, as is Changing Woman, who gives birth to the Hero Twins called “Monster Slayer” and “Child of the Waters” who had many adventures in which they helped to rid the world of much evil. Earth Surface People, mortals, were created in the fourth world, and the gods gave them ceremonies which are still practiced today.