Arizona Dust Devils Bring More Than Dirt. Some Tribes Say They Bring Spirits

In Arizona, dust devils are a common spectacle. Before we developed ways to explain this phenomenon, communities across the region understood these spiraling dust columns as spirits. To many, dust devils are believed to be signs that carry meaning, sickness, and warnings from spirits.

Dust devil swirling in a rural area

What is a Dust Devil

According to the National Weather Service, dust develops when hot air from Earth's surface rises and creates an air pocket as it passes through the cooler air. The sudden change in the air creates a vortex that pushes air at the bottom of it into a circle. As it rotates, the air picks up dust and debris from the ground.

Dust devils can reach a spinning speed of 60 miles per hour or higher. The average height of a dust devil is between 500 and 1000 feet, sometimes even taller!

FUN FACT: Mars also experiences dust devils, with the largest one being over 12 miles tall!

READ: 3 Things You Might Not Know About The Grand Canyon.

U.S. Navy, Getty Images

Sinagua Indians

In many indigenous cultures across Arizona, dust devils are much more than a natural phenomenon. Sinagua Indians believed dust devils were evil spirits that emerged from underground.

They called them "Siwulogi" and would place their hats on the ground in front of them when they saw a dust devil. They believed keeping their distance from dust devils would protect them from spiritual harm.

READ: How The Lehner Mammoth Site Connects Us To Ancient Hunters

David Gray, Getty Images

Navajo

Navajo also have spiritual ties to dust devils, believing that dust devils hold entities called "Chindi". A clockwise dust devil is a good spirit, and a counterclockwise one is a bad spirit. Chindi are believed to be the ghost of the deceased who were unable to bring about harmony during their life,

The Navajo believe that Chindi, passing through in the form of a dust devil, can cause "ghost sickness" when you get too close. These beliefs are still widely held in Navajo cultures, and many tribes have special ceremonies to ward off ghost sickness and the negative effects of Chindi.

Get our free mobile app

brown field under white sky during daytime

Dust devils are sighted in many cultures across Arizona, and they still hold spiritual meaning to many today. Whether or not these dust vortexes are spirits or a sign of things to come, the stories from the past still carry weight today. So, what do you think, are dust devils just a normal part of Arizona weather, or do they also symbolize something bigger?

CONTINUE READING: What Ancient Cultures Thrived In The Grand Canyon's Depths?