The Blessing Way (1970)

The Blessing Way (1970)

Land Rover

A four-wheel-drive vehicle originally made by the British automobile manufacturer Jaguar-Land Rover. These sturdy vehicles were inspired by the use of the American Jeep during World War II and were first designed in the late 1940s to serve military needs. However, over time commercial private models became popular in Europe as well as in the U.S. Throughout the years ownership of the brand name has changed hands, first when BMW took over in 1994, then again when the Ford corporation bought the company in 2000, and most recently when the Indian-based Tata Motors firm purchased both Jaguar and Land Rover.

sheepskin

Also called shearling, a sheep's cured hide with the wool still attached.

compass

A device that uses the Earth's magnetic fields to determine the direction north, for navigation purposes. From the location of true north, other cardinal directions can be determined. The compass was first used for navigation in the 1000s in China.

gallstone

A hard mass, or stone, that amasses in the gallbladder. Consisting of a concretion of cholesterol, gallstone can cause immense pain to the patient.

.30-06 deer rifle

The Remington Model 700, a centerfire bolt action rifle which began production in 1962. The most popular types of ammunition for this rifle are the .30-60 Springfield cartridge, 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge, and the .270 Winchester cartridge.

whip-or-will

Also spelled whip-poor-will, which is a colloquialization of a bird species commonly referred to as the nightjar. The whip-poor-will is a bird from North and Central America, whose name is an onomatopoeia, or the verbalization of the sound, of its song, which, in English, sounds like "whip poor Will." There are two species of this bird in North America, the Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) and the Mexican whip-poor-will (Antrostomus arizonae). The Mexican whip-poor-will, which is found throughout the Southwest, is a medium sized nightjar that lives in wooded habitats and nests on the ground.

bay

A sound an animal makes, similar to a howl or a loud growl. Most often associated with canids, including wolves, coyotes, foxes, and the domesticated dogs.

When one desires to delay something, or to keep some amount of distance between oneself and another, one can work to keep something "at bay." This saying derives from the fraught relationship between a baying hound, for example, and its prey, and the desire of the prey to remain as far away from capture as possible.

Greek myth

A reference to the polytheistic religion of ancient Greek society, which consisted of complex and detailed stories with multiple gods and other heroic figures as main characters. Like that of many societies, the mythology of the Greeks was extensive, believed to be true, and expressed a complex interaction between cultural and environmental conditions and events.

Ancient Greek civilization consisted of a complex group of city states geographically located in the Mediterranean, the area of the modern Greek state. This civilization began in about 1200 B.C. and ended after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Ancient Greek culture is considered the bedrock of Western culture.

arrow

A flying projectile shot using a bow, a curved piece of wood held in tension by string, gut, or plastic tied between the two ends. Traditionally, an arrow consists of a straight shaft, made of wood, with a stone “arrow head” projectile point attached on the front. Additionally, the back of the shaft is hafted (indented) and covered with feathers to facilitate the flight and direction of the arrow once it is shot. The bow and arrow are primarily used for hunting and the use of this weapon in the Four Corner’s region began during the end of the Basketmaker time period (A.D. 300-800).

Because of the important advantages that the arrow gave to those peoples who mastered their manufacture and use, the arrow also gained symbolic value. Worked onto the surfaces of ceramics and into textiles and sandpaintings, arrows can represent strength, virility, defense, protection, and courage.

tallow

A natural material consisting of the processed fat of cattle, sheep, or horses. (The rendered fat from pigs is called lard.) Tallow, or suet, as it is also called, may be used to make candles, soap, and lubricant.

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