The Ghostway (1984)

Also spelled hand axe. In modern times, a hand ax is a short-handled metal tool with a sharp head used for chopping objects, such branches, trees, or even limbs of an enemy or animal. In prehistoric times, these tools were made of stone and are known by archaeologists as bifaces, as the stone head had been worked on both sides.

A hormone, also known as epinephrine, that is secreted by the adrenal glands, especially when a person is under stress, because it increases the body's ability to respond to threats. While spelling adrenalin without an extra "e" is technically correct, the more common spelling of this word is adrenaline with the "e."

A small town located in central New Mexico, just north of Interstate 40, about 75 miles west of Albuquerque. It is the county seat for Cibola (formerly Valencia) county. The area was first inhabited by ancient Puebloans in the 12th century, but was left abandoned until European and American settlers arrived in the late 1800s, along with a railroad station. First named Grant's Camp after the three Grant brothers who were contracted to build the region's railroads, the town later changed its name to Grant's Station, and eventually in 1936 to Grants. The community's early economy was based on logging, ranching, and farming but when uranium was discovered in the 1950s the town saw a growing boom as the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission established large mining operations in the area. After the recession of the 1980s, and the ensuing decline of the uranium mining industry, the town gradually developed a more diverse economy. Its history and proximity to national monuments and forests (including Mount Taylor, the Zuni Mountains, Acoma Pueblo, El Malpais, and Chaco Culture National Historical Park) make it an attractive destination for tourists, Route 66 tourists, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts.

One of the most iconic interstates in the U.S, this route followed and ultimately replaced Route 66. I-40 connects the primary urban areas mentioned in Tony Hillerman's Navajo detective stories including Flagstaff, AZ and Gallup, Grants, and Albuquerque, NM. I-40 is also the primary thoroughfare for traveling east-west through Indian Country.

A historically incorrect but contemporaneously common method of referring to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Believing, or hoping, that they had stumbled upon the eastern shores of the subcontinent of India, fifteenth- and sixteenth-century European explorers called the local peoples they encountered "indios" (in Spanish) or Indians; the misnomer stuck and is a vernacular conundrum that persists in the Americas through to the present. Contemporary references to indigenous peoples in the Americas have replaced "Indian" with tribal names, or the terms "Native American" or "First Peoples."

Hillerman's fiction deals exclusively with Native American cultures located in the Southwest region of the U.S., in particular the Navajo, but also the Hopi, Zuni, and other Pueblo groups. In most cases, Hillerman uses the word Indian when referring to members of these various cultures.

Hózhǫ́ is 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, an infection obtained from contact with modern values of the mainstream U.S. culture.

The horse was introduced to the Americas in the 1500s by the Spaniards. While the Spaniards prized the horse for the role it played in travel, exploration, and war, they at times left herds of horses in various locales, hoping that the animal would find ways to establish itself on the continents the Spanish were busily conquering. The horse proved very adaptable and found habitats to thrive in, especially in the Great Basin and Plains of North America. Native Americans, particularly along Spain's northern colonial frontier, emulated the Spaniards' use of the horse for transportation, hunting, labor, and sport, and soon out-mastered the Spanish horsemen in riding, training, and cultivating the beasts the Spanish so prized. The horse took on great significance to many indigenous communities, and in some cases was incorporated into origin stories as a gift from the gods. The horse also occupies a central role in many mythologized frontier narratives about the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States.

In many tradtional cultures, the Holy People are immortal beings who can take the form of ancestor spirits, universal guides, landscape elements, animals, plants, and celestial bodies. When things become imbalanced and sickness or discord manifests, the Holy People can be summoned through ceremonies with rituals and prayers. If the ceremony is performed in the correct way and the Holy People are pleased, then they, through the concept of reciprocity, feel obliged to right the wrong that is disrupting the harmony the Navajo seek in their daily lives, restoring order, health, and hózhó.

The police division of the state of Arizona that is responsible for enforcing laws and regulations concerning driving, transportation, and road safety.

The Hero Twins, Born of Water and Monster Slayer, are the twin sons of Changing Woman and were born to rid the earth of the monsters who were killing the Diné, or the Navajo people. Monster Slayer is the elder twin, known as Nayénzgan in Diné, and Born of Water is the younger twin, known as Tobadzîschíni in Diné.

They begin by visiting their father the Sun and, after passing through many trials, are given weapons. The younger twin, Born of Water, is given prayer sticks and told to watch them as the older twin Monster Slayer goes out to fight the monsters. If the prayer sticks begin to burn, he will know that Monster Slayer is in danger and needs help. Monster Slayer goes alone to kill some of the monsters and Born of Water accompanies him while killing others.

Sometimes Monster Slayer is referred to as The Hero Twin (singular), probably because he does most of the fighting. However, because of their perseverance, both twins become warriors and so serve as a model for young Navajo men today.