Cultural Reference

The smallest uniformed branch of the United States Armed Forces and part of the U.S. Department of the Navy. The Marine Corps is a mobile combined-arms task force for the United States Navy and was created in 1775 by the Continental Congress. The Marines became an official component of the U.S. Navy in 1834. Their motto is Semper Fidelis which means “Always Faithful.”

In its Statement of Purpose, the Marine Corps explains that “The Marine Corps has been America's expeditionary force in readiness since 1775. We [the Marine Corps] are forward deployed to respond swiftly and aggressively in times of crisis. We are soldiers of the sea, providing forces and detachments to naval ships and shore operations.” The Corps has been a part of every landing since the Revolutionary War and is composed of two forces: Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPAC) and the Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic (FMFLANT).

Four distinctions of Latin honors can be awarded to undergraduate, and occassionally graduate, students who have achieved high academic standing. These honors can be awarded either in Latin or in English. These honors inlcude:

cum laude--with honor

magna cum laude--with great honor

summa cum laude--with highest honor

egregia cum laude--with outstanding honor

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.

Magic is the ability to influence natural objects and events through the mastery of supernatural or occult forces. In general, magic tends to fall in the realm of witchcraft, wizardry, and sorcery, where the forces in play, although not necessarily bad or evil in and of themselves, are put to coercive or greedy ends. Magic is more often understood to be about deception and dissembling rather than curing, healing, or helping.

A student pursuing an advanced academic or professional degree. At the end of academic graduate programs, as opposed to professional degree programs such as management, law, or medicine, students are required to submit a thesis or dissertation in some form, which is generally a report on their original research.

A loin cloth, more commonly spelled loincloth, is a piece of clothing, often rectangular, that is placed around the hips and tied with a band to cover the groin. Often considered the first piece of clothing invented, it can be constructed from plant materials, textiles, or animal hide, such as buckskin.

A small, portable safe that has a lock, used for securing valuable objects such as important documents, money, or jewelry against theft or fire damage.

In North America, a short, uncased sausage packaged in cans, with gelatin or some type of sauce. These sausages are usually made from pork, with spices. They are a useful food in environments where refrigeration and cooking are not available.

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.