The Blessing Way (1970)

A general reference to much of the Four Corners region of the U.S., whose geological distinctiveness is in great part derived from the riddles of canyons, large and small, that break the terrain of this part of the country into a series of interlinked canyon systems, fragmented watersheds, and iconic geologic formations.

A pickup truck, van, or other vehicle outfitted with sleeping and sometimes cooking facilities. Campers range in sophistication from trucks fitted with "toppers" to luxury recreational vehicles (RVs) and motor homes.

A layer of cells responsible for the secondary growth of perennial plants. Each year the vascular cambium causes plants to grow an inner layer of cells called xylem and an outer layer of cells called phloem. The cambium can also form in the callous tissues, which allow plants to recover after their outer surface is scarred or sliced.

Butte is a French term meaning “hillock,” which is generally a very high hill with a flat top and steep sides. Buttes usually are bordered by flat plains and are common geologic features in the semi-arid American Southwest.

The burrowing owl is a small owl that generally occupies small holes left in the soil by other animals, hence the name “burrowing." The habitat for this owl extends through the western portion of the U.S., all the way down into South America. Their diet consists of small rodents and insects.

Conoco is another name for the Continental Oil Company, a petroleum company founded in 1875. At one point, Conoco had 1,800 wells throughout the Rocky Mountain region. In 2002, Conoco merged with Philips Petroleum Company and became known as ConocoPhillips.

Often seen with the Anglicized spelling of "concho," a concha is a traditional Native American jewelry design that resembles a concha, which means "shell" in Spanish. Conchas are about the size of large shells, and can be flat or domed plaques, usually made of silver. They are used primarily to decorate leather belts, although can be seen in necklaces, bracelets, or pins. The Navajo in particular, using highly detailed silversmithing skills, have created intricate designs for belt conchos that were often studded with turquoise stones.

One of the most significant words in the Joe Leaphorn/Tony Hillerman lexicon.

The term refers to apparently random, often serendipitous, set of occurrences that are seemingly unrelated but that are aligned in a mix of happy accident and/or corresponding incidents. Sometimes coincidence is likened to "fate" or "fortune," events that come into being through forces that are beyond human control.

Joe Leaphorn, a savvy, experienced, and pragmatic lieutenant, does not believe in coincidence. Things happen for a reason, or come into alignment for a reason, and it's up to the perceptive investigator to recognize covert machinations that seem belied by overt, if allegedly random, connections.

An interrelated social group, whose connections derive from parentage as well as kinship. For different indigenous groups, clan structures develop and are expressed uniquely. For example, in Navajo culture, which is matrilineal and matrilocal, after the four original clans were established by Changing Woman, women who came into the tribe's membership either brought a clan name with them, or were assigned a clan on acceptance into the tribe. Some were existing clans from other tribes, while others were created out of circumstance. Today, the total number of clans represented is calculated in to be over one hundred and forty, from twenty-one major groups. K'é—the Navajo clan system—is the strength of the People. It keeps the Navajo people together.

For the Zuni and other pueblo communities, however, clans and kinship are partly expressed through membership in various kiva and medicine societies, although this is not exclusively true, as one can be elected into some kiva societies, while one is born into others. The Zuni clan system overlaps and interlocks with kinship and religious systems to enforce, regulate, and, to a degree, control the socioreligious behavior patterns of the Zuni.

A cigarette, often spelled cigaret in Tony Hillerman's mystery novels, is a small amount of finely cut dried tobacco rolled in small squares of thin paper into a torpedo-shaped tube for smoking.

Quite often, characters in Hillerman's novels smoke together or offer cigarettes to one another. The exchange and shared experience of smoking cigarettes, which is a common cultural phenomenon, is in some ways evocative of indigenous ceremonial practices of exchanging pipes, breath, and words. Not to over-simplify the effects of smoking cigarettes, especially those produced by large companies, Hillerman warns his readers through one of his main protagonists, Joe Leaphorn, that smoking is "never good. It hurts the lungs. But sometimes it is necessary, and therefore one does it" (Dance Hall of the Dead 13).