The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (1972)

A valley that surrounds the Zuni River in northwestern New Mexico. The Valley of Hot Waters is central to Zuni cosmology.

The largest town on the Zuni Reservation is Zuni Pueblo. Most of Zuni's residents live in the main village of Zuni and the nearby community of Blackrock. Zuni Pueblo is also known as Halona:wa Idiwan'a, or the Middle Place, and has been continuously occupied since at least 700 CE. It is considered one of the most traditional of the surviving Pueblo communities, retaining a unique language, culture, and history.

Prior to using the current pueblo community as their tribal seat, the Zuni people lived at Hawikuh, an ancient pueblo that was considered one of the Seven Cities of Cibola by the early Spanish conquistadors.

War is significant in Hillerman's lexicon, as it is often an expression, if not the cause, of imbalance and physical and psychological illness. However, when it is used literally, war is the state of aggression between two or more groups that often ends with violent attacks against each other.

Bitter, as an adjective, can mean sour, acidic, or biting. Bitter can also refer to emotions or attitude, suggesting that when one is bitter, one is filled with resentment, spite, and maybe even a little anger or jealousy.

Also known as Shulawitsi or Deputy to the Sun, Little Fire God is one of the titles for the role a young Zuni man performs when participating in the Shalako ceremony, which takes place around the winter solstice. The winter Shalako marks several days of concentrated spiritual observance and ritual practice meant to invite protective spirits into the community, so that sustenance and fertility are ensured. The main ceremony lasts a full night, and involves trained dancers wearing masks and personating the kachina spirits. In the Zuni belief system, the dancers do not simply impersonate the gods, they in fact become the gods for the duration of the dance. The Little Fire God is one of these dancers, and his duty is to follow the righteous path laid out by the Sun Father deity, praying for rain, health, and prosperity for the people. The Fire God is usually a young novice being initiated into the sacred rituals of the Zuni. Preparations for serving his duty include purifying the body, the heart, and the mind of interfering influences by observing celibacy and refraining from negative thoughts and emotions such as anger and aggression.

Sedimentary rock consisting of sand or quartz grains consolidated and compacted together, typically reddish in color, although yellow and brown versions are also common. Rock formations composed of sandstone are relatively porous, allowing for percolation of water and dynamic erosion by both water and wind.

Sandstone often forms dramatically colored and shaped cliffs and other geologic formations, such as the iconic stone monoliths in Monument Valley, Utah. The rock outcropping of El Morro, on the Zuni Reservation, is composed of yellowish-gray white sandstone known as Zuni Sandstone.

Typically a small, often rounded object with a hole bored through the center through which a length of fiber, sinew, or gut can be threaded. Beads are formed from stone, bone, seeds, animal quills, and petrified wood as well as more exotic materials such as semi-precious stones, metals, clay, shells, and glass. A variety of beads were used as items of trade among many traditional societies, as they have been used in the production of jewelry and decorated clothing items.

Many Native American tribes in the United States have their distinctive connections to beads and beading. The beading of clothing, baskets, and ceremonial costumes and headdresses is held as a sacred tradition in many tribal communities. Much of this handiwork is very labor-intensive and learning to bead is an important and cherished tradition. Inside and outside tribal communities, beadwork is often viewed as art.

Bead can also refer to the little bead-sized bump used to help sight, or aim, a firing arm. The bead is typically found at the firing end of a gun or rifle barrel.