Listening Woman (1978)

Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms when limestone is subjected to heat and pressure underground, for example during the regional shifting of the Earth's crust or during volcanic activity.

The movement of electrons through a substance or material, such as a wire.

Generally speaking, in most indigenous traditions, including the Pueblo and Navajo cultures, 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. The boy or man who prepares to wear a mask for a specific ritual actually becomes, or personates, the god whose semblance is captured by the mask. During the ceremony, the wearer does not impersonate or merely act like the god, but rather, he is the god.

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, for example by Pueblo kiva societies or clans, who are responsible for the masks' well-being as if, and because, they are vital, dynamic, and sentient things.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, for example by Pueblo kiva societies or clans, who are responsible for the masks' well being as if, and because, they are vital, dynamic, and sentient things.

The hollow, cylindrical portion of a gun through which bullets or shot are discharged. Gun barrels vary in length; the length affects the volume, accuracy, and velocity of the shot, as well as the ease of handling of the firearm itself. Depending on the type of gun, it may be loaded from the front or rear of the barrel.

In traditional Navajo belief, a thunderstorm with torrential rain is considered a male rain. A gentle, slow-moving rain, accompanied perhaps by low clouds and mist, is a female rain. In general, male rains are associated with the violent seasonal summer storms known as the monsoons, whereas female rains are associated with the stirring of the seasons when spring rains bring the high desert to life. This duality marks a general structural gendering in Navajo cosmology; whether it's Father Sky and Mother Earth or the male and female sides of a hogan, ultimately it’s the equilibrium between the two forces, qualities, and characteristics that enable healthfulness, harmony, and beauty.

A woman who has not yet married. The word comes from the Old English word mǣden with the same definition.

A sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate, colloquially known as calcite. Limestone can form in two ways: the first occurs when organic remains, such as coral and shell, accumulate as particulate debris on the ocean floor over time. The second method is the chemical precipitation of calcium carbonate, which is when calcium carbonate that may be dissolved in a watery landscapes precipitates, or is removed, from its marine solution to settle onto the ocean floor. The water in which limestone forms is often warm and calm, so that the organic remains or chemical depositions are able to accumulate undisturbed over time, ultimately compressing themselves into layers of limestone under their own weight. As the earth ages, limestone environments that were formerly under water become exposed as prehistoric bodies of water recede. Some of the most extraordinary limestone deposits can also be found underground in caves, like those found throughout the Southwestern United States.

Among the Navajo, a listener is one of three different types of diagnosticians who may be consulted to determine the cause of a indivudual's illness and recommend the proper ceremony to cure it. Hand tremblers and star gazers are the other two types of diagnosticians. Any of these three types of diagnosticians may be consulted about sickness, witchcraft, dreams, lost items, or any unusual happenings; however, diagnosticians are most often called in to diagnose the cause of an illness when the cause, and therefore cure, of the illness cannot be determined by obvious symptoms.

A listener, who is most commonly a woman, might meet with the person seeking a diagnosis and any family members or friends to discuss the problem before beginning the consultation, or she might not. The listener then leaves and goes to a location where she can "listen" for the diagnosis. Different from hand tremblers and star gazers, the cause of an illness and its proper cure reveal themselves to the listener through auditory means. Once the listener has heard and understood both the cause of the illness and the path necessary to correct it, she returns to advise the patient. Frequently, this involves recommending a particular healing ceremonial. The listener may even recommend a medicine man (or hataałii) to perform the ceremony.

In military or paramilitary organizations, such as police departments, a hierarchical organization of personnel exists, often called the chain of command.

The general rankings within a police force, depending on its size, is as follows, in order from highest to lowest rankings:

• Chief
• Deputy/Assistant Chief
• Commander
• Inspector
• Captain
• Lieutenant
• Sergeant
• Trooper
• Police Officer

Tony Hillerman’s use of “Division of Law and Order” as part of the Navajo Nation's tribal authority is an intentional “mistake,” as there is no Division of Law and Order under the Navajo Tribal Council. Rather, the Navajo Nation maintains the Division of Public Safety, under which are several branches, including the Navajo Police Department. In addition, Hillerman makes a distinction between local Law and Order, which occurs at the tribal and agency level, and federal Law and Order, which occurs at the bureau level and emanates from Washington, D.C.

Law and order, as understood from a Western perspective, was established among the Navajo by an 1849 Treaty between the United States and the Navajo. In exchange for Navajo recognition of U.S. authority, access to and passage through Navajo lands, and the establishment on Navajo lands of U.S. military posts, the U.S. would provide "gifts" to the Navajo. Later, from the time the U.S. acquired the territory of New Mexico from Mexico during the Mexican-American War (1846-48), "law enforcement" among the Navajo was handled primarily by the U.S. military or by the Federal Government’s Branch of Law and Order. This included the forced relocation of the Navajo from their tribal lands during the Long Walk and internment at Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

Today, the Navajo Police Department is a law enforcement agency on the Navajo Nation Reservation, originally established in 1872, four years after the Navajo were released from captivity in Fort Sumner. Despite it's initial success, the Navajo Tribal Police was dissolved in 1975. The Navajo Nation Police were not reestablished until 1959 when the Navajo Tribal Council requested its reinstatement.