THE EXPLANATORY AND PREDICTIVE POWER OF HISTORY - COPING WITH THE MYSTERY ILLNESS, 1993

In 1993 the now famous ''mystery illness'' swept through the American Southwest, claiming its first Navajo victim on 14 May. Faced with an i llness that kills seemingly healthy people of all ages in less than fo rty-eight hours, national health regulating agencies turned to biomedi cine, while the families of Navajo victims turned to their own history for answers. I analyze several interrelated episodes in the Navajo or al history to show how monsters are metaphors for disease, immorality, and misconduct. The stories provide a cultural context for explaining the mystery illness and demonstrate the power Navajo history possesse s to help contemporary people cope with life.