The Dark Wind (1982)

The Dark Wind (1982)

joint

The anatomical place in the body where two bones meet. A joint can either move or be fused. There are three types of joints. A fibrous joint occurs when two bones are connected by fibrous tissue and does not articulate or bend. The skull is an example of bones connected by fibrous joints. Cartilaginous joints occur when bones are connected by cartilage, which allows limited movement between bones. Examples of cartilaginous joints are the connections between the manubrium, the sternum, and the xyphoid process, the are on the chest where the ribs meet at the breast bone. A synovial joint occurs when bones are not directly connected and are therefore able to articulate through a wide range of positions. This movement is facilitated by the lubricating presence of synovial fluid between bones ends. The bones of the fingers, wrists, shoulders, and knees are all examples of synovial joints.

Interstate 40

One of the most iconic interstates in the U.S, this route followed and ultimately replaced Route 66. I-40 connects the primary urban areas mentioned in Tony Hillerman's Navajo detective stories including Flagstaff, AZ and Gallup, Grants, and Albuquerque, NM. I-40 is also the primary thoroughfare for traveling east-west through Indian Country.

initiate

To formally, if not ritually, bring an individual into a specific group or organization. The initiation process can be triggered by coming of age and reaching a certain societal point of maturation, by accomplishing a series of tasks, or by learning the steps, songs, and procedures of various ceremonials, among many other possibilities. To become initiated into a group suggests that one has passed from one stage of life into another, from one series of responsibilities to another, and from one set of behaviors to another.

Indian

A historically incorrect but contemporaneously common method of referring to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Believing, or hoping, that they had stumbled upon the eastern shores of the subcontinent of India, fifteenth- and sixteenth-century European explorers called the local peoples they encountered "indios" (in Spanish) or Indians; the misnomer stuck and is a vernacular conundrum that persists in the Americas through to the present. Contemporary references to indigenous peoples in the Americas have replaced "Indian" with tribal names, or the terms "Native American" or "First Peoples."

Hillerman's fiction deals exclusively with Native American cultures located in the Southwest region of the U.S., in particular the Navajo, but also the Hopi, Zuni, and other Pueblo groups. In most cases, Hillerman uses the word Indian when referring to members of these various cultures.

hózhǫ́

Hózhǫ́ is the state in which all living things are ordered, in balance, and walking in beauty. The opposite of hózhǫ́ is hóchxǫ́ǫ́, which refers to disorder and chaos in one’s life. In Hillerman's work, chaos and imbalance manifest as as physical or mental illness, an infection obtained from contact with modern values of the mainstream U.S. culture.

Houston, Texas

The city is named after Sam Houston, the first president of Texas and a leader of the 1834-36 struggle against Mexico to win control of the state and annex it as a U.S. territory. Established as a small settlement in 1837, the town grew slowly until the first railroad arrived in 1853, but saw consistent development and expansion after that. In 1863, it became one of the headquarters of the Confederacy, playing a significant role during the Civil War. After the war, segregation led to the development of separate neighborhoods for whites, African Americans, and Hispanics, and growing racial tensions culminated in violent riots in 1917. Today, Houston is considered one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. It is one of the country's largest transportation hubs and is home to many colleges and universities, cultural centers, and leading medical institutions.

horse

The horse was introduced to the Americas in the 1500s by the Spaniards. While the Spaniards prized the horse for the role it played in travel, exploration, and war, they at times left herds of horses in various locales, hoping that the animal would find ways to establish itself on the continents the Spanish were busily conquering. The horse proved very adaptable and found habitats to thrive in, especially in the Great Basin and Plains of North America. Native Americans, particularly along Spain's northern colonial frontier, emulated the Spaniards' use of the horse for transportation, hunting, labor, and sport, and soon out-mastered the Spanish horsemen in riding, training, and cultivating the beasts the Spanish so prized. The horse took on great significance to many indigenous communities, and in some cases was incorporated into origin stories as a gift from the gods. The horse also occupies a central role in many mythologized frontier narratives about the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States.

Hopi people and culture

The Hopi are a Native American tribal people, who comprise a sovereign nation located in northeastern Arizona. They are also known as one of the Pueblo peoples, as named by the Spanish colonizers in the 1500s because of their clusters of modular dwellings, which reminded the Spanish adventurers of their own small towns, or pueblos, back on the Iberian peninsula. Hopi is a shortened version of Hopituh, meaning "Peaceful ones," and in earlier periods were also called the Moqui, most likely named as such by another tribe. As a Puebloan group, the Hopi are considered traditional agriculturalists and farm a mixture of maize, squash, beans, chili peppers, and onions. Hopi life is situated around ceremonials, of which each village has its own variations, that consist of the veneration of some 300 kachinas.

Many Hopi people live on the Hopi reservation, which is encompassed by the Navajo Reservation. The Hopi reservation consists of twelve villages located on three mesas: First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa, all of which are located upon the even larger Black Mesa. The Hopi consider this land sacred and part of their tribal history and origin.

Holy People

In many tradtional cultures, the Holy People are immortal beings who can take the form of ancestor spirits, universal guides, landscape elements, animals, plants, and celestial bodies. When things become imbalanced and sickness or discord manifests, the Holy People can be summoned through ceremonies with rituals and prayers. If the ceremony is performed in the correct way and the Holy People are pleased, then they, through the concept of reciprocity, feel obliged to right the wrong that is disrupting the harmony the Navajo seek in their daily lives, restoring order, health, and hózhó.

Hopi villages, Arizona

On the Hopi Reservation in north-central Arizona, which is completely surrounded by the Navajo Reservation, there are twelve Hopi villages. These villages are not in the exact same places as they were in the 1500s, but the people there still live in tune with the traditional ways. The Hopi are a Pueblo people, named as such by the Spanish colonizers because of their traditional building style, which reminded the Spaniards of their own small towns, or pueblos, on the Iberian Peninsula. The cluster of Hopi villages are located on three peninsular mesas, First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa, that form the southern edge of Black Mesa. Although the customs, language, and rituals of the tribe across the villages and mesa are intertwined and similar, the villages do have their own unique variations and specific customs. First Mesa includes the villages of Walpi, Sichomovi, and Tewa (Hano). Walpi is the oldest village and has had inhabitants since 900 AD. Second Mesa is the home of the villages of Shungopavi, Mishongovi, and Sipaulovi. Third Mesa includes Kykotsmovi (New Oraibi), Old Oraibi, Hotevilla, and Bacavi.

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