Listening Woman (1978)

Known as Nayé̆nĕzganĭ in Diné, Monster Slayer is the eldest of the twins born of Changing Woman. In Navajo mythology, the twins Monster Slayer and Born of Water were born to rid the earth of the monsters who were killing the people. They began their task by visiting their father the Sun and, after passing through many trials, were given weapons. The younger twin, Born of Water, was given prayer sticks and told to watch them as the older twin, Monster Slayer, fought the monsters. If the prayer sticks began to burn, Born of Water would know that Monster Slayer was in danger and needed help. Monster Slayer went alone to kill some of the monsters, and Born of Water accompanied him while killing others. The twins serve as a model for young Navajo men today.

The Moenkopi Plateau is located to the west and southwest of the Hopi Mesas in north-central Arizona. Near the communities of Tuba City and Moenkopi, this vast plateau is comprised of flat, sandy, and fairly barren terrain broken by canyon systems filled with colorful rock formations and hoodoos of eroded sandstone. The area is used by both the Hopi and Navajo to graze livestock.

The term was initially used to describe a confrontation between three individuals, each of whom had a gun. In a duel, which occurs between two individuals, the person with the fastest draw, or who can get off the first shot, tends to have the advantage. In a Mexican standoff, however, the second person to fire a shot has the advantage, because unless the first person to draw and shoot is so fast that she can get off two shots before her opponents can draw and fire their guns, the first shooter and her intended target are occupied with each other, leaving the third individual "free" to shoot at the other two who are otherwise occupied, even if only for a split second.

The termis more commonly used to refer to a situation between any number of opponents where outside circumstances create a situation where none of the opponents can seem to gain an advantage, resulting in a stalement.

The Navajo (Diné) tribe is comprised of more than forty family lineages, or clans, that claim common ancestry. According to traditional lore, the T ł 'ízí lání (Many Goats) clan was a group of herdsmen who subsisted mainly on livestock, especially goats.

A fictional canyon mentioned in Listening Woman, published in 1978, the third novel in Tony Hillerman's Navajo detective series. In this novel, Joe Leaphorn drives through Manki Canyon in order to reach the also fictional Short Mountain Trading Post, a major setting of the novel. According to Hillerman, this canyon is close to the real Cow Springs Ranch, a former watering hole on an old wagon route in Luna County, in the southwestern corner of New Mexico.

Also known as Da’ah’eh Halani in Navajo, Many Farms is a small, primarily Navajo community about 15 miles north of Chinle, with a trading post, chapter house, and historic agricultural foundation. Although the community pre-existed the confluence of US Highway 191 and Navajo Route 59, it was only after 1937 and the damming of Sheep Dip Creek to create Many Farms Lake that the community began to develop in terms of emerging infrastructure.

A flat-topped hill or plateau of rock with one or more steep sides, usually rising abruptly from a surrounding plain. Commonly found in arid environments, mesas are formed by the erosion of horizontally layered rocks that have been pushed above the surface of the earth by tectonic activity.

An imprint made by the ridges, crests, and arches that adorn the soft pads aon our fingertips. These imprints are created by ridges that are present on the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin) on the palm side at the tips of every person's fingers. When a person touches something, the naturally-occurring oils produced by the skin leave traces in the shape of the ridges of their skin. These imprints are unique to each person, which allows fingerprints to be used as identification during criminal investigations. Some consistent fingerprint patterns have been identified, including double loops, central pocket loops, loops, plain whorls, plain arches, and tented arches.

Medicine man is an Anglicized term that refers to traditional Native American healers. However, each tribe has unique understandings about the roles and responsibilities of their healers, who may also double as spiritual leaders. In the Navajo culture, there are four categories of healers: listeners, hand tremblers, and stargazers, who may be consulted about sickness, identifying witchcraft, dreams, lost items or any unusual happenings. But it is the haatali, or singer, who fills the position of medicine man in Navajo culture.

Traditionally called a haatali, or "singer," in Navajo, this healer performs ceremonial cures that are targeted at body, mind, and spirit. There are nearly 100 Navajo chants of varying range and intricacy. Originating from the Navajo Creation Story, they are so nuanced and complex that a medicine man learns only one or two sings over many years of apprenticeship. Ceremonies last anywhere from one to nine days and include chants, songs, prayers, lectures, dances, sweat baths, prayer sticks, and sand paintings. In order for a ceremony to be effective, everything must be done as prescribed in the legends.

In the context of Native American belief systems, "medicine" is an Anglicized term referring of a range of concepts that focus on the connections between an individual or group and both the natural and the spiritual worlds. These connections at times seem to be harnessed to affect positive change that is generally discussed in terms of healing or reparation. To work or make "medicine" often entails a holistic approach that promotes balance, harmony, and equilibrium, but that also, and very pragmatically, accepts that balance, harmony, and equilibrium may manifest in a time, place, and manner other than that requested.