Cultural Reference

The religion preached by the fictional Buffalo Society, a militant group invented by Tony Hillerman in his 1978 novel Listening Woman. In the novel, the Buffalo Society broke away from the American Indian Movement in order to engage in more violent activities, while the buffalo religionsplintered from the Native American Church.

Buckskin is soft leather made from the skin of a deer, or other kind of horned animal, which has been treated to make it pliable. After the skin has been removed from the carcass of the deer, the subcutaneous material is scrapped off, and then the skin is tanned in a solution that contains tannin, a bitter substance present in bark, acorns, and other plant materials. The tanning process is a preservation process and is what converts animal hide into long-lasting leather. Modern buckskin is tanned, dyed, and then softened with chemicals, but traditionally, natural oils from the deer’s body are used to make the skin supple and moldable after the tanning process.

Some cultures use buckskin for clothing; however, buckskin is used by Navajos only for ceremonial purposes.

The bony protuberance above the eye sockets, often adorned with eyebrows. The ridge exists to protect the eyes from blunt force, the sun, and even moisture, as eyebrows are supposed to prevent sweat or precipitation from dripping off the forehead into the eyes.

A translation of the Kiowa word "Tah'-lee-da-i" which refers to one of the twin boys in the Kiowa origin story who transformed himself into the ten medicine bundles sacred to the people. Because the word "tah'-lee" meaning boy is similar to the word "taw-lee" for paternal grandmother, the medicine bundles have often been mistakenly translated into English as the ten grandmother bundles.

The origin story goes that a couple had a beautiful baby girl who escaped form her cradle and climbed into the sky, by which point she was a beautiful woman who married the Sun. She soon missed her people and dug a hole under a bush the Sun warned her to stay away from. She saw her people below, and taking her son, whose father was the Sun, on her back, she dropped a rope down to Earth. The Sun found out and threw a ring out to kill his wife. Even though the motehr was killed, the boy survived, and carried the ring to Spider Grandmother who raised him. Spider Grandmother warned him to never throw the ring into the sky for fear of the wrath of his father, but Tah'-lee-da-i did so anyway and it fell onto his head, breaking him into twins. The twins fought and destroyed many monsters together until one of the twins turned himself into the medicine bundles and the other disappeared into the water./cite>

The Bow Priests are conspicuous in Zuni cosmology and in the first world, it was the Bow Priests who planted the prayer stick that allowed the people to climb out into daylight, provided corn for eating and carved the hands, feet, mouth and anus of the newly emerged people. Priests of the Bow Society arbitrate all masked rituals, sprinkling corn meal as the dancers depicting gods are escorted into the plaza.

As members of the war society, the Bow Society is a group of priests attending to secular matters, and taking direction from the Chief Priest of the Bow, the Sun Priest, or Pekwin, and leaders of other priesthoods. The influence of the Bow Priests is prominent in matters of crime, witchcraft and warfare. Responsible for both external aggression and internal dissension, the Bow Society Priests enforce religious law within the Zuni pueblo of Ha'wi-k'uh. Considered the executive arm, Bow Priests recommend for members of the tribal council and deliver the cane of office to the Chief Priest of the Bow who generally serves as governor.

The name of the small, forty-square-mile reservation that the Navajo people were forcibly moved to in 1863-1864. Kit Carson and his New Mexican army led approximately 8,000 Navajo away from their traditional home and onto this designated land to be shared with the Apache, in what is now known as the Long Walk. The site is a place of trauma and symbolizes the violence of U.S. colonialism against the Dine.

In Navajo mythology, Born of Water, also known as Water Child, is one of the twin sons of Changing Woman born to rid the earth of the monsters who were killing the People. Born of Water is the younger twin, known as Tobadzîschíni in Diné.

The twins are set a series of trials and, with the completion of each task, they get that much closer to achieving their final goal, which is gaining the tools and knowledge they need to save their People. After successfully completing many initial challenges, they are given weapons. The younger twin, Born of Water, is given prayer sticks and told to watch them as the older twin, Monster Slayer, goes out to fight the monsters. If the prayer sticks begin to burn, Born of Water will know that Monster Slayer is in danger and needs help. Monster Slayer goes alone to kill some of the monsters, and Born of Water accompanies him while killing others.

Also known as the Hard Flint Boys, the Blue Flint Boys are playful characters that work as intermediaries between Black God, who controls the sky, and the Navajo. Sometimes represented as whirlwinds and dustdevils, the Boys run back and forth, playfully sharing healing knowledge, while their parents, Hard Flint Woman and Man, attempt to assert control over their children. The Boys are credited with passing on advice from Black God to Monster Slayer, for example, and have a ceremonial role in various Navajo curing ceremonials such as the Enemyway.

The Blue Flint boys are also recognized in the night sky as the constellation Pleiades, adorning the forehead of Black God, appearing during planting season.

Commonly spelled Blessingway. As opposed to the other Navajo (Diné) Chant Ways, which are used to effect a cure of a problem, the Blessingway (Hózhójí) is used to bless the "one sung over," to ensure good luck, good health, and blessings for everything that pertains to them. It is also thought of as being "for good hope." Blessingway ceremonies can be performed for expectant mothers shortly before birth is due, or young men leaving for the armed forces. The Blessingway ceremony is performed frequently.

The name of the rite, Hózhójí, is translated Blessingway, but that is certainly not an exact translation. In the Navajo language (diné bizaad) the term encompasses everything that is understood as good, as opposed to evil, for man. The root of the Blessingway ceremony, hózhó, encompasses such concepts as beauty, harmony, success, perfection, well-being, order, and ideal.

Blake's Lotaburger is a popular local chain of fast food burger restaurants found throughout the state of New Mexico. Blake Chanslor served his first Lotaburger -- the signature sandwich of the restaurant -- from an Albuquerque hamburger stand in 1952.

The menu also features the mini version of the Lotaburger, called Itsaburger, "special recipe" red chili and beans, pulled pork sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and hot dogs. Additionally, Blake's uses green chili on its burgers and other menu items, an ingredient known throughout the United States as unique and special to New Mexico, with the best chilies coming from Hatch Valley.