Dilyéhé is a constellation of timekeeping and planting for the Navajo people. The name “dilyéhé” is associated with the concept of planting seeds (k’elyéí) and sparkling dancing movement as seen in the stars themselves.
Dilyéhé is a regulator for planting. It is said “don’t let Dilyéhé see you plant your seeds.” This comment refers to the phenomenon of the Pleiades disappearing in early May and reappearing in late June or early July. The Pleiades disappears in the western horizon in the evening in May and reappears as the helical rise in the morning in the latter part of June or the first part of July.
This is the preferred planting time for corn in Navajo country. Along with the disappearance of the Pleiades are other local and seasonal process indicators such as the emergence of certain plants and the runoff of streams from the mountains, as waterfalls. Navajos have lived with seasonal change for centuries and say that if you plant your corn seeds too early they will be destroyed in a late frost. If you plant your seeds too late, the corn will not ripen before the first frost of autumn. Thus the seasonal cycle of Pleiades was of vital importance.
Other Navajo stories of Dilyéhé tell of seven mischievous young boys who fol- low the ones who plant too late and snatch the seeds out of the ground. Another story refers to a group of boys followed by a woman with a buckskin slung over her back. When the group goes over a hill, they are no longer seen in the night sky. This is when the Pleiades disappear in early May.
Another story talks of the Hard Flint Boys (Béésh Ashiké) who represent young warriors who are also healers in one of the traditional cultural summer ceremo- nies.
Other stories refer to the stars as a family: grandparents, parents, kids, and grand- children, representative of the seeds of generations and regeneration. Incorpo- rated in these stories are principles and values of traditional child rearing.
Source: https://starlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/D.-10.-Navajo-Skies-v616.pdf