The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (1972)

The long, malleable branch of a tree.

This Zuni term refers to a group of men chosen by the tribe to perform as runners of the sacred dance in public ceremonials. Zuni communal rituals are closely aligned with the seasonal cycle of planting, growing, and harvesting grain, especially corn, and these agile runners' task is to carry pouches of grain between certain locations in or around the village, creating a symbolic connection between the people of the village and the spirits and gods that surround them. Zuni sacred gatherings involve interrelated societies that are dedicated to a particular group of spirits, each with its own system of priesthood, codes of conduct, and a unique tradition of worship and rituals. The purpose of these societies' activities and celebrations is to promote harmony with the forces of nature and ensure health, fertility, and abundance of corn and other crops and sources of food.

Sayatasha is the Rain God of the North. According to the Zuni myths, each year, the Sayatasha title is given to a person chosen by the eldest female of the ceremonial host family. This person performs specific tasks that are part of the ritual. He is also responsible for the Zuni religious calendar, reckoned primarily by the position of the moon. He must notify all parties at the appropriate time to prepare for ceremonial occasions.

One of the members of the Zuni Council of the Gods, Sayatasha, or Longhorn, wears a mask that bears a long sweeping horn. The horn is evocative of the trailing walls of rain and virga that accompany the monsoonal flows that swing around from the North in the American Southwest, making the horned appearance of Sayatasha one associated with life-giving force and deep appreciation, rather than one of monstrosity.

Also known as the Little Fire God, Shulawitsi is an important spiritual figure in the Zuni pueblo tradition. Personated by a young boy of the Badger Clan, this figure’s body and mask are painted black with various multicolored dots, and his role is to carry a fire brand during the Shalako ceremony, which marks the end one year and the beginning of another. The ceremony intends to ask the protective spirits to provide the community with rains and sustenance. The Little Fire God also carries a small deerskin bag within which are seeds to be blessed during the fertility rites that are a part of the Shalako ceremony.

It is important to note the use of the word “personate” in the discussion of Zuñi and other Pueblo people’s gods and kachinas. Generally speaking, in Pueblo culture, when a dancer dons a mask for a specific ceremony, that dancer becomes the god represented by the mask, just as the mask becomes animated by the god as it is worn. Masks are sacred objects that facilitate communication and connection between man and gods. Even when not worn during ceremonial dances, masks are revered objects that are fed and taken care of by kiva societies or clans who are responsible for their well-being. These masks are believed to be vital and dynamic objects, if not sentient things. Therefore, the young boy, who spends a year preparing to wear the mask of Shulawitsi during the Shalako ceremony, does not impersonate or merely act like the Little Fire God; he actually becomes--or personates--Shulawitsi during the ceremony itself.

A reference to the holy village beneath Lake Kolhu/wala-wa, where the Zuni go to be with their ancestors after they have died. In Zuni mythology, before settling into permanent pueblos, the Zuni were in search of their final home in the Middle Place or Halona: Itiwana. While they traveled, the Zuni made temporary camps in various places, which later became sacred places. Eventually the groups split up and one group traveled down the Little Colorado River and founded a village at the lake at the junction of the Zuni and Little Colorado Rivers, this was Lake Kolhu/wala-wa. This village is known as Zuni Heaven or Kachina Village, or as recounted in Tony Hillerman's telling of the Zuni myth, Dance Hall of the Dead, as the lake is also the location where Zuni kachina reside when they're not among the people. In the tradition of the Pueblo peoples of the U.S. Southwest, the term kachina generally refers to protective deities that are generally understood to be supernatural manifestations of elements occurring in the natural world, such as weather phenomena, plants, and animals. When kachina interact with the people, they are summoned by the sacred ritual of dance, and they move among the people by dancing.

A bird of prey or raptor that is found on all the continents on Earth except for Antarctica. From the family Falconidae, which includes true falcons (Falco) and aracaras, a genus of falcons that feed on dead flesh. Falcons are unique because their wings are specially shaped to fly at high speeds with feathered plumes on their legs known as flags, and a beak that develops with a tooth specifically designed to kill their prey. All other birds of prey kill with their talons, not their beaks. Falcons are one of the fastest animals in the world and when they dive steeply they can reach speeds of 200 mph.

A shallow saline lake located about 50 miles south of Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico. The Zuni understand the lake to be their sacred mother, Ma’l Oyattsik’I or "Salt Woman," and the lake is also a sacred site for the Navajo, Apache, Laguna, Acoma, and Hopi peoples as well. Each of these groups make annual pilgrimages to the lake to conduct ceremonies and harvest salt used in rituals throughout the year. Because the site and the salt it provides is so significant, the lake and the network of pilgrimage trails surrounding it are considered neutral and protected, as the salt, the lake, and the ceremonies associated are believed to sustain the spiritual lifeways of the peoples of the region.

The Zuni Salt Lake has also been at the center of contemporary controversies over water and mineral rights, as utility companies continue to submit proposals for coal mining, water pumping, and infrastructure development that would all severely impact the sacred site as well as its connecting cultural landscapes and associated ecosystems. The Zuni Salt Lake Coalition, an alliance between tribal grassroots organizations and the Sierra Club, succeeded in getting the lake limited protection under the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, although the struggles to maintain the spiritual, cultural, and environmental integrity of the lake and its network of pilgrimage trails are ongoing.

The Colorado Chiquito is the Spanish name given to the “Little Colorado River”, a tributary of the Colorado River whose headwaters are in the White Mountains of Arizona. This river primarily drains into the Painted Desert region and the Mogollon Rim. The Little Colorado River is 315 miles in length and is perennial, getting strong year-round flows at its headwaters and intermittent flows elsewhere. This ecologically-rich area has historically been populated by the Apache, Diné, and Hopi peoples.

This word could not be translated with any reliability. It's closest counterpart is the word "do'ninne," meaning rope. It could mean that dragonfly is crying out to be released from the threaded loop of hair holding him captive but there is no way to discern the exact meaning.

An enduring despondency and sadness causing the loss of hope for a positive futurity.