Cultural Reference

A variety of live performance where the story is conveyed with body language and facial movements, not spoken words. While the Romans had a form of pantomime similar to dancing, it formally originated in Italy in approximately the 16th century as a type of street theater called commedia dell’arte.

An overwhelming feeling of anxiety, often accompanied by feelings of fear, nervousness, and even dread. When one feels panic, two primary survival impulses manifest in the individual: the impulse to fight for survival, or the impulse to flee, to run away in order to survive. The fight-or-flight syndrome can be very strong, just as panic itself can be overwhelming, leading to irrational, wild, and spontaneous behavior. Strong feelings of panic can be controlled by the mind, by deep breathing, and sometimes by pharmaceutical substances, depending upon the individual and the situtation.

There are two groups of Paiute people, Northern and Southern, and although there are some similarities between them, the Northern and Souther Paiutes are each made up of a number of smaller, unique, nomadic bands with their own specific cultural traditions. The Paiute refer to themselves as "Nuwu," or "person," and have dwelt in the Great Basin region since about CE 1000-1200. Paiute may have meant "Water Ute" or "True Ute" and was used to refer only to the Southern Paiute until the 1850s.

Because the Southern Paiute continue to live in what is now southwest Utah, southern Nevada, and northwest Arizona, Tony Hillerman is most likely referring to them in his Navajo detective novel series, as most of the action for the series occurs in the Southwestern U.S..

A tragedy in five parts written by William Shakespeare between 1603-1604. The full name of the play is OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE. It was first published in 1622, almost ten years after Shakespeare completed it. The play revolves around a black general tormented by racial insecurities who eventually murders his white wife, Desdemona, in a fit of jealous rage and then commits suicide. It is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

A very large hauling truck used in mining operations to transport mined minerals and/or debris.

According to the Navajo Creation Myth, in the process of emerging from the underworlds and settling on their land, the People (Diné) faced many dangers from the natural environment and its harsh conditions, as well as from spiritual beings. These threats figure in the legends as monsters that take the shape of humans, birds, animals, and rocks. The heroic figures of the twin warrior brothers Born of Water (Tobadzîschíni) and Monster Slayer (Nayé̆nĕzganĭ) were engaged in a series of battles with the various monsters, and, as the legends tell it, destroyed them one by one.

One Who Kicks People Over the Cliff (Tséh-ed-áh-eh-delkíthly) is also known as Kicking Rock or Rock that Kicks People into the River. As most accounts tell it, this rock monster lived on the San Juan River in Northern New Mexico, with his head in the bluffs and his feet at the river bank. This rock used to push people over the cliff and into the river. Monster Slayer killed this rock monster by hitting him on the head and cutting off his limbs. Sparing the monster's children, he then proceeded to tame them, turning them into an alligator and a turtle.

A general reference to a people's ancestors, who are typically understood to be a repository of wisdom and experience, upon which the younger generations can, and should, draw, whether through meditation, sometimes prayer, and by learning traditional ways.

In Western folklore, an ogre is a mythical giant beast that eats humans and is often the evil villain in folktales or children’s stories. These creatures are often used to describe tyrants or dictators who behave monstrously and act with brutality and cruelty.

Also known as the Night Chant, the Night Way is one of the most commonly performed ceremonials in the Navajo tradition. The Night Way (Yébîchai in Navajo) is a healing ceremony that lasts for nine days and nights and is performed only in the winter months. Specifically, the Night Way is meant to restore balance, health, and equilibrium for those suffering from paralysis, blindness, and deafness, although it can also be performed to restore social and natural order between the supplicant and the natural environment. In essence, the Night Chant, as with most Navajo healing ceremonials, endeavors to to ameliorate strained relations between Man and the Universe, thereby restoring order, balance, harmony, and health.

The ritual, perhaps the most complex in the Navajo repertoire of healing chants, includes praying, sacred dancing, pollen blessing, and sandpainting. The singer, or spiritual leader of the ceremony, must recite specific healing chants that are intended to provoke a meditative trance or to create the aural context for the ceremonial. Such chants are often comprised of repeated phrases and can be thought of as sung prayers.

In U.S. police departments, officer refers to a low-ranking member of the police force.