The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (1972)

There are six esoteric cults within the Zuni religion, each having their own priesthood, rituals, religious paraphernalia, and special times and places for worship and ceremony. The Cult of the War Gods celebrates the Ahayuda, the twins of A'wonawilona, who came to the people when military leadership was badly needed. The Bow Priests care for the kachinas of this cult, and can be construed as the Warrior-Priests who deal with both religious concerns and the secular issues of war, crime and aggression.

This ancient, mechanical device, found throughout the world in almost every culture, enables the user to produce various textiles by enabling the interweaving of threads that are held in tension. Immobile bars form a frame, and a tool called the shuttle raises the warp, or vertical-running, threads while pulling the filling strand, or weft thread, horizontally back and forth and over and under the warp. Although they were automated during the industrial revolution of the early 17th century, looms retain the original, operational characteristics of their ancient cultural predecessors.

A pale and unhealthy demeanor, especially of the face. Writing of winter's pallor, Hillerman suggests that the atmosphere was gray and gloomy until the onset of spring.

The frosty cold from the breath of this winter god is eased by the return of the Corn Maidens in spring, who bear the scents of flowers and warm mists.

This phrase could not be translated with any reliability.

The White Cliffs are a central reference point in Zuni mythology regarding the food fight and wasteful frolic at Ha'-wi-k'uh. There was enough corn piled about to stuff all the hollow trees, caves and crannies of the White Cliffs yet none was spared for the Corn Maidens who came dressed as beggarly elderly women. The A'shiwi, or Zuni, were not just squandering their abundance but lacking in generosity of spirit as well. The tale "The Origin of the Dragonfly and of the Corn Priests, or Guardians of the Seed" is recounted by Frank Hamilton Cushing in the late 1800s and later written as the children's story The Boy Who Made Dragonfly by Tony Hillerman.

According to the Zuni, the Corn Maidens dwell in a grand forest in the Land of Everlasting Summer. It is their breath that brings spring to the north, with its sweet smell, warm breezes and the rain clouds that nourish the blossoming corn. Each direction, including up and down, is symbolized by one of the Corn Maidens. The Land of Everlasting Summer to the south is represented by the third Corn Maiden sister, and red corn.

Growing on vines in warm regions, the melon originated in central Asia and is prized for its edible, fleshy fruit. The genus melon (Cucumis melo) is in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). The seven cultivars of melons weigh anywhere from two to nine pounds and melons are ripe when they give off a sweet, musky scent. Spanish introduced the melon to North America in the 1600s and today, the pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Santo Domingo and San Felipe all grow their own unique strains of melon.

The sun retains a significant position in most cosmologies, often taking on anthropomorphic features. From Ra, Apollo, Buddha, and the Christ figure, to indigenous appreciations of the creative power and potential of the solar disc, the figure of the Sun God is assigned an importance and range of powers pertinent to the specific needs and value systems of each group. For example, Sun-Father is a Navajo Holy Person, husband of Changing Woman, while in the Kiowa tradition, Sun Boy is the originator of the sacred tribal items.

Often the term "Sun God" is used inappropriately, generally as a blanket term to signify dominant male figures in non Judeo-Christian religions, specifically those of Native American tribes.

In Zuni ceremonial tradition, human dancers wear sacred outfits and masks to impersonate katchinas (spirit beings) that preside over Zuni life and their natural surroundings. Ceremonial dances are performed regularly, following a detailed calendar of seasonal prayers and rituals. Pa'-u-ti-wa is a winter solstice katchina who is considered the most venerable and powerful of the Zuni pantheon. He represents beauty, dignity, benevolence, prosperity, and generosity. As the chief of the spirit village of Kothluala, Pa'-u-ti-wa has many religious duties such as controlling the ceremonial calendar, receiving the spirits of the dead, and answering human appeals and prayers, often by sending various helping katchinas to visit pueblos.