The Ghostway (1984)

In the context in which Tony Hillerman tends to use the word "harmony," it refers to the Navajo concept of hózhǫ́, the state in which all living things are ordered, in balance, and walking in beauty. The opposite of hózhǫ́ is hóchxǫ́ǫ́, which refers to disorder and chaos in one’s life. In Hillerman's work, chaos and imbalance manifest as as physical or mental illness, infections of the body and souls contracted from contact with mainstream U.S. culture.

The steep, vertical edge of a mountain, hill, or mesa. Cliffs expose the rock types and different earth sediments of the mountain, and can be created either by erosional forces or by structural forces. Erosional cliffs are created when the rock is weathered down starting at their base. Erosional cliffs are prevalent in areas with mountainous sandstone or sedimentary rocks that are prone to weathering. Structural cliffs are created with fault displacement or when a significant landslide occurs. In most cases, there is a sudden large drop past the edge of the cliff, creating a dramatic change in elevation between the top of the geological formation and the bottom of the cliff.

The flat valley or other ground that is bounded on two sides by steep vertical walls. This almost creates a v-shaped gap in the landscape. Canyons are often formed by rivers and streams, which have cut through the rock of the earth and created a deep valley. A famous example of a canyon is the Grand Canyon in Arizona. This canyon was created by the Colorado River which, through preferential erosion, incised the canyon into the bedrock. Canyons are numerous in the southwestern United States due to the specific environment of the region and the erosion that has occurred there over millions of years.

A flowering shrub (Gutierrezia sarothrae) found in the western half of the United States, often growing in arid grasslands or on mountain sides. This flowing plant is perennial, meaning it grows for more than two years. Often perceived as a weed, snakeweed can be mistaken for Rabbitbrush, which does not flower. Snakeweed can be toxic to sheep if eaten in great amounts; however, American Pronghorn prefer this shrub for browsing.

Snakeweed is often used for medicinal purposes by various Native American tribes. For instance, the Navajo use the ashes of this shrub to relieve dizziness and headaches and use chewed snakeweed on insect stings to reduce swelling and irritation. The Lakota use this plant as a horse laxative. Snakeweed is also used for Navajo ceremonials and chants. In the Mountain Chant Ceremony, for example, snakeweed is burned to charcoal, along with other shrubs, and used to cover the body of the patient. Snakeweed can also be used as an emetic, something that causes vomiting, in night ceremonials and to help deliver the placenta after childbirth.

A trading post is an establishment where goods can be traded. It is also a social center where news and gossip are exchanged. Trading posts have been associated with American frontier culture since the seventeenth century. Over time, trading posts developed into a cultural institution at first funded and backed by empire, later by national interests, and most often by enterprising business men.

Trading posts became centralized hubs in a network of exchange that both participated with and circumvented the burgeoning capitalist system that was imported into the Americas along with settler colonialism. Although trading posts were initially intended to provide support to the European traders and trappers who traced their way across the North American continent, Native American groups were also drawn into the posts' exchange network. Native Americans traded furs, pelts, and even scalps for finished goods such as steel knives, firearms, woven textiles, food stuffs, and alcohol. Although not every post was poorly managed, trading posts earned a nefarious reputation for taking advantage of Native traders by offering poor exchange rates, trading products that were infected with diseases, and promoting the purchase and use of alcohol.

Many trading posts are still in existence. In the Southwest, they still symbolize "the frontier" as they are located as at the dividing line between "wilderness" (Indian country) and "civilization." Today, trading posts can be reached by pickup truck, tourist RV, and even the occasional horse. Many trading posts are also preserved as National Historic Sites.

Witches are people, men or women, who practice witchcraft. In many cultures witches are typically believed to be female. In Navajo societies, witches are most often believed to be male, although older people and women without children are also believed to be witches. These witches cause harm or illness to the people they curse or who encounter them. This sickness can be cured by completing curing ceremonies.

In the Southwest, there are strong concepts of witchcraft for both the Pueblo groups and the Navajo. For the Navajo, witches may also refer to Navajo wolf, wolf, or skinwalker. In some Native American legends, a skinwalker is a person with the supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires. In addition to transforming into animals, the skinwalker has other powers. He or she can read others' minds, control minds, bring forth disease, destroy homes, and even cause death. While Europeans warned of a wolf in sheep's clothing, certain tribal beliefs cautioned against a human in wolf's clothing. Literally, the Navajo wolf, or witch, can also be referred to as a skinwalker.

A large piece of rock that has been detached from a larger rock surface by weathering, whether physical or chemical.

A form of cleansing one’s body using heat to encourage perspiration while in a structure with little to no ventilation. In the Navajo tradition, sweat baths are completed in a sweat house, which is a smaller form of the ordinary hogan, except that it has no smoke hole, as a fire is never kindled in it. Stones are heated in a fire outside and carried into the house, where they may then be doused with water and herbs to produce aromatic, healing vapors.

Also known as a brush hogan, a summer hogan is a temporary shelter typically made of three forked poles and covered with the boughs of cedar or piñon pine. These structures are generally used during summer, when it is too hot to have thick earthen-walled hogans. Summer hogans are also constructed for ceremonial use. When used for ceremonies, summer hogans are constructed with specific materials, depending on their purpose. For example, if a summer hogan is constructed for a ceremony to bring female rain, piñon branches would used, whereas for a ceremony to bring male rain, cedar would be used. Additionally, summer hogans take varied forms, depending on the use or need. If the hogan were being constructed for a ceremony, for example, and only a wind break would be needed, then the hogan might have only one wall.

Also known as Talking God to Be One, Soft Talker, or Dawn Bearer (hastseyalti, yeibeichai), Talking God is a main Navajo deity. One of the four Holy People who live in the mountains, Talking God is associated with the color white, acts as a mentor, guides human life, helps Changing Woman give birth to and prepare the Monster Slayer Twins for their fateful battles, and can travel on rainbows. He plays a very large role in the Navajo creation story, helping create First Man and First Woman among other things .

Talking God is also known for his compassion, being one of the few deities in the Navajo cosmology who is a constant advocate on behalf of The People, which is how the Navajo, or Diné, refer to themselves.