The Blessing Way (1970)

A rough scrape caused by rubbing or grinding an object against the skin, resulting in an inflamed sore spot. The term abrasive refers to a substance, like sand, that can polish out imperfections and expose the underlying material, or, a gruff and disagreeable personality.

A rhythmic vocal recitation that is usually intended to provoke a meditative trance, spiritual healing, or to create the aural context for a performance such as a dance or other ceremonial. Chants can also be thought of as prayers that are sung and are often comprised of repeated phrases.

According to Navajo mythology, it is on Earth, full of beauty and balance, that First Man and First Woman have a child, Changing Woman, also known as White Shell woman or Asdzą́ą́ Nádleehé in Navajo. She is associated with sacred items that represent speech and thought, both of which are in a medicine bundle that Changing Woman inherits. Changing Woman is the mother of the Hero Twins, Monster Slayer and Born for Water. She is also the benevolent being who creates the first Navajo of the four original clans and corn and is therefore known for bringing fertility and regeneration into the world.

Ceremonials are ritual, sacred, or spiritual practices found in many cultures around the world, including the Pueblo and Navajo in the American Southwest. Pueblo ceremonials are not homogeneous among the various Pueblo groups, but are instead a shared attribute among them, and includes ceremonials associated with their kiva societies. Pueblo kiva societies nurture the traditions affiliated with specific kachina, who are ancestor spirits and spirits associated with natural phenomena.

In the Navajo tradition, ceremonials are performed by a singer, also known as a hataałii, to address symptoms of imbalance that manifest as mental or physical illness. Navajo cures are targeted at body, mind, and spirit, and can last anywhere from one to nine days. Navajo ceremonials include chants, songs, prayers, lectures, dances, sweat baths, prayer sticks, and sand paintings.

Ceniza Mesa is also known as Toh Chin Lini, which means “Water Flowing Out” in Navajo. Ceniza Mesa is located on a western ridge of the Carrizo Mountains in northeastern Arizona.

Central Park is a large, sprawling, architecturally landscaped urban park located in the center of Manhattan in New York City, New York. The idea for the park began in the 1840’s as New York City became more and more urbanized. Two men, William Cullen Bryant and Andrew Jackson Downing, called for a park to be built to give the people of the city a green place. The New York state legislature set aside around five million dollars to create the park. Central Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and encompasses 840 acres. The park opened in 1876 and now is the most visited urban park in the world.

Tony Hillerman's references to "cedar" probably refer to one of the many Juniperus species found throughout the Southwestern United States. Hillerman's cedar references could point to Utah Juniper (Junipers utahensis), Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum), Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana), or Oneseed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma), all of which can be found in or near the Four Corners region.

A small, fully enclosed truck, similar to a pickup truck with a shell, except that the "shell" is part of the vehicle's body./cite>

This an isolated mountain range of extinct volcanoes located in northeastern Arizona within the Navajo Reservation. These mountains are part of the Chuska-Tunicha-Lukachukai-Carrizo mountain chain, the highest peak of which is Pastora Peak. In Spanish, “Carrizo” means “Reed Grass,” whereas the Navajo word for this mountain range is Dził Náhooziłii, which means “Mountain that Gropes Around.” These mountains constitute the lower extremities of the Navajo mythological being Yódí Dziil (Wealth Mountain), whose enormous prone body is comprised of the linked chains of mountains listed above.

In military or paramilitary organizations, such as police departments, captains outrank, or are higher in an organizational hierarchy, than lieutenants and other rank-and-file members of the given organization.

The general rankings within a police force, depending on its size, is as follows, in order from hightest to lowest rankings:

• Chief
• Deputy/Assistant Chief
• Commander
• Inspector
• Lietenant
• Sergeant
• Trooper
• Police Officer