A very large bovine found in Asia's tropical and subtropical habitats. Water buffalo spend much of their time submerged in muddy waters of wetlands and creeks. The species has been domesticated for over 5,000 years, and are used in many Asian countries for plowing, transportation, milk, meat, horns, and hides. Due to hunting, loss of habitat, and hybridization, the wild water buffalo is now endangered and living in protected areas in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand.
A county located in central New Mexico. The county used to cover a much larger area than it currently does, but after the creation of Cibola County in 1981 it lost about 80 percent of its territory. The county seat used to be housed in Grants, but after 1981 was moved to Los Lunas.
A radioactive chemical element that was discovered in 1789 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth that was named after Uranus, which was then a newly discovered planet. The element accumulates in the Earth's crust in the form of mineral deposits such as pitchblende, uraninite arnotite, and autunite. These recoverable ores are generally called uranium and are mined and used as the main source of extremely high energy nuclear fuel. The energy extracted from one pound of uranium, for example, is equivalent to that of three million pounds of coal.
Easily accessible uranium reserves are found in large concentration in Canada and the United States, as well as in Africa, Australia, Brazil, and France. Within the United States, New Mexico has the second-largest (after Wyoming) uranium reserves, and mining operations were established in the state, especially in the Grants mineral belt area, in the 1950s. Production continued throughout the 1980s but then declined significantly. Due to potentially harmful levels of radiation, uranium mining and processing are hazardous both to workers and to the environment, and today many organizations call for the closing or limiting of mining operations. The Navajo Nation, whose reservation lands contain the majority of known deposits in the state, currently holds a partial, temporary ban on uranium mining, but since it is a profitable resource, there is an ongoing controversy regarding the benefits and dangers of uranium production.
The soles of many modern shoes and boots are made of crepe rubber, which is composed of coagulated latex that is pressed into sheets, creating a layered material that is durable yet flexible. Crepe-soled shoes are known for being quiet, as opposed to harder rubber or wooden soles that create clicking sounds when walking.
Along with the word "trousers," slacks is a somewhat old-fashioned synonym for the word pants, which is commonly used in the U.S. (but not in Britain) to refer to a two-legged garment meant to cover the lower body from the waist down. Slacks often refer pants that are more dressy or formal than jeans, for example, especially if they have a pleats or knife-edged crease. At the same time, the term excludes pants that are part of a suit. Slacks can be worn by women or men.
A section of a hospital that houses patients with terminal (incurable) diseases. The treatment in terminal wards, which is often referred to as hospice or palliative care, does not include attempts to cure the illness, but instead is focused on managing symptoms, easing pain, and making sure dying patients are as free of discomfort as possible.
The second oldest correctional facility in California (after San Quentin), Folsom State Prison was opened in 1880, following the California Gold Rush. It is located on the bank of the American River, about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento. It is currently one of 33 prisons managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Folsom's original 1,800 inmate capacity grew over time to hold up to 2,314 prisoners, although the actual inmate population often exceeds capacity. Some of its notable prisoners include Eldridge Cleaver, who was a leader of the Black Panthers; the LSD guru Timothy Leary; and the cult leader and murderer Charles Manson. The musician Johnny Cash made Folsom Prison famous by first writing the popular song "Folsom Prison Blues," and then, in 1968, recording a live album of a performance he gave at the prison's cafeteria to an audience of enthusiastic inmates.
In the context of Hillerman's 1980 novel PEOPLE OF DARKNESS, Taylorville appears to be the name of a juvenile reform school in California. Preliminary research reveals that no such institution existed in California. However, the town of Taylorville, California was a small settlement in Marin County, named after Samuel P. Taylor, who was the founder of the West Coast's first paper mill. The community no longer exists and was last recorded in maps in 1914. However, Marin County has housed the Juvenile Services Center, located in the city of San Rafael, since the 1970s. Formerly run as a family rehabilitation center, the center currently serves as the Probation Department's Juvenile Services Division.
A larger town by the same name exists in the state of Illinois, but no reform schools of the same name were found there either. Within the novel's storyline, it is unlikely that Hillerman's character, who grew up in San Diego, would be sent at age fourteen to a correctional facility outside of California. This is one of the unsolved mysteries involved in tracing the origins of Hillerman's work, some of which is based on concrete historical and geographical facts, and some of which is entirely fictional.
Also known as Grandmother Spider, Spider Woman is a powerful figure in various Native American mythologies. In many creation and migration stories she appears as a helpful teacher, guide, and protector. In the Acoma emergence account, for example, she gave the People seeds and showed them how to grow food. According to Zuni legend she helped the warrior twins destroy the Cloud Swallower monster, and in Cherokee and Choctaw tradition she is considered an important hero who taught the People how to make pottery and brought them fire. In Hopi lore Spider Woman assumes the role of the creator of all living things, including humans. In the Navajo tradition, Spider Woman appears in many tales as a heroic helper and wise adviser who protects the innocent and restores harmony. She taught the Navajo People the art of weaving and agriculture. Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly in northeastern Arizona is considered the sacred, legendary home of Spider Woman.
Although in his 1980 novel PEOPLE OF DARKNESS Hillerman refers to Spider Woman as a star constellation (the Navajo equivalent to the Greek/Roman constellation of Aquarius), there is no indication that such a constellation indeed exists in Navajo tradition.
In 1952 the Navajo Tribal Council officially adopted the Great Seal of the Navajo Tribe, which was designed by John Claw Jr., an Arizona Navajo artist. The fifty arrowheads encircling the seal represent the tribe's protection within the fifty states. The lines of the inner circle represent a rainbow, as well as the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation. The opening at the top stands for the East, the place of the rising sun. Below the opening the sun shines on the four mountains sacred to the tribe: Blanca Peak in eastern Colorado, with white representing White Shell Woman in the East; Mount Taylor in New Mexico, with blue representing Turquoise Woman in the South; San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, with yellow representing Abalone Woman in the West; and Hesperus Mountain in western Colorado, with black representing Jet Woman in the North. In the center are a horse, a cow, and a sheep, the traditional livestock of the Navajo. The two corn plant at the bottom are symbolic of the sustainer of Navajo life. The yellow pollen at the tips of the corn plants is used in many sacred Navajo ceremonies.