The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (1972)

Corn is a cereal plant, found throughout the Americas, that yields large grains, or kernels, set in rows on a cob. What we call corn today, however, has traditionally been referred to as maize. For many indigenous cultures in the Americas, corn is symbolic of life itself, and everything from its pollen, to its silky tassels, to its husks has symbolic significance. Thus, it becomes possible for a small boy to take scraps of corn husk and create an imaginary insect that turns into a messenger to the gods, which occurs in a Zuni myth retold by Hillerman as "The Boy Who Made Dragonfly." Even the smallest piece of this special plant is powerful enough to not only sustain but also to generate life.

Several of the other ceremonials described in Hillerman's fiction also use corn, its husks and pollen, in order to complete the rituals as per the Navajo Way as the Holy People prescribed.

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.

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.

An device meant to contain a living creature. Often, a cage is in the shape of a cube, with the sides, top, and bottom of the cage being constructed in a such as to let in light and air.

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.

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 plant common to the U.S. Southwest, cactus grows in habitats that regularly experience drought. Most cacti are considered succulents, meaning that they store water above ground in their flesh, water they scavenge from their harsh climate with their extensive, wide-spreading root systems. As a result, many cacti grow spines, which are modified leaves, which can prick to the touch. These spines protect the plant against herbivorous predators on the hunt for water during the brutal dry spells that help to characterize their desert environs.

A vernacular reference to the North American bison, large herds of which once roamed the North American plains in seemingly endless waves. The bison was an integral component of North American indigenous lifeways throughout the interwest regions. In addition to being a major source of direct subsistence, it also served indigenous communities indirectly in terms of a supporting a thriving economy of exchange founded on bison by-products. The bison was one of the most revered animals in the spiritual belief systems of Native American peoples, and its cultural and material significance cannot be over-emphasized.

Before Anglo-European settlement and the transcontinental railroad, there were approximately thirty million bison roaming the Great Plains. By the mid-19th century, the bison population was depleted to about 100,000 animals because of non-Native profit-driven mass hunting. To those tribes that saw the bison as integral and sacred, this mass hunting was a desecration. Recently, efforts to bring back the numbers of the endangered species have increased the overall bison population to about 250,000.

Buckskin is soft leather made from the skin of a deer, or other kind of horned animal, which has been treated to make it pliable. After the skin has been removed from the carcass of the deer, the subcutaneous material is scrapped off, and then the skin is tanned in a solution that contains tannin, a bitter substance present in bark, acorns, and other plant materials. The tanning process is a preservation process and is what converts animal hide into long-lasting leather. Modern buckskin is tanned, dyed, and then softened with chemicals, but traditionally, natural oils from the deer’s body are used to make the skin supple and moldable after the tanning process.

Some cultures use buckskin for clothing; however, buckskin is used by Navajos only for ceremonial purposes.

The Bow Priests are conspicuous in Zuni cosmology and in the first world, it was the Bow Priests who planted the prayer stick that allowed the people to climb out into daylight, provided corn for eating and carved the hands, feet, mouth and anus of the newly emerged people. Priests of the Bow Society arbitrate all masked rituals, sprinkling corn meal as the dancers depicting gods are escorted into the plaza.

As members of the war society, the Bow Society is a group of priests attending to secular matters, and taking direction from the Chief Priest of the Bow, the Sun Priest, or Pekwin, and leaders of other priesthoods. The influence of the Bow Priests is prominent in matters of crime, witchcraft and warfare. Responsible for both external aggression and internal dissension, the Bow Society Priests enforce religious law within the Zuni pueblo of Ha'wi-k'uh. Considered the executive arm, Bow Priests recommend for members of the tribal council and deliver the cane of office to the Chief Priest of the Bow who generally serves as governor.