Like yesterday, we’re not talking about corruption of the country’s youth; quite the opposite, in fact. For this part of Indian Country, today’s subject is the exact opposite: It’s about respect and reverence for tradition, about adherence to the old ways.
Yesterday, we looked at the Hopi Longhair Katsina, the Bringer of Rain, as envisioned and evoked by Josh Aragon (Hopi/Laguna). Today, we’re going to look at another of Josh’s carvings, another Longhair — but this one comes from another tradition, and epitomizes some slightly different qualities.
Despite the fact that it’s in another state, Zuni Pueblo is not, as the crow flies, very far from Hopi. Even driving it, it takes only about two and a half hours to cover a highway distance of just under 160 miles. The state lines, of course, are thoroughly artificial borders in the temporal scheme of things; these are peoples who historically moved freely back and forth along a well-established and centuries-old network of roads and trade routes. They traded various goods, of course, but in the process, they wound up sharing blood and spirit, as well.
It should be no surprise, then, that there are significant similarities in their spiritual traditions, down to the names and basic roles of some of their spirit beings. But, as should also be expected, there are some significant differences, too.
At Zuni, as at Taos Pueblo, spiritual matters are largely closed to the outside world, and that is as it should be. There is a great deal of information, probably much (perhaps most?) of it better labeled misinformation, about Zuni spiritual traditions floating around the Internet and elsewhere. Some of it seems to be fairly well established as accepted, if only because it’s thoroughly “out there” (and has been for too many years, thanks to invasive intruders who told what was not theirs to tell). Much of it, though, I view with a jaundiced eye, because anytime a non-Indian writes with complete authority and assurance on any Native matter, you can be sure that they’re getting it wrong. More, I don’t want to promulgate misinformation, nor to encourage a colonialist consumption of what is not the province or property of anyone but Zuni’s own people. To those ends, I’ll be keeping the specifics in today’s post fairly limited. People who want to read what purport to be detailed accounts of Zuni spiritual and cultural traditions can certainly find them, but I wouldn’t put much stock in either their accuracy or their propriety.
Before we go further, another caveat: No one should regard today’s post as in any way a rescission of Wings’s recent decision to stop selling work by Zuni (and Navajo) artists as long as their tribal leaders continue to take money and perks from an anti-Indian billionaire bigot who uses blood money to buy cover for his racist exploitation of our peoples. Today’s piece was made “in the Zuni style,” in terms of certain visual details of the spirit being it represents. It was not made by a Zuni artisan, but by a Hopi/Laguna carver. Wings’s commitment remains firmly in place, and that will not change until the conduct that prompted it changes.
Back to today’s featured piece:
As we saw yesterday with Hopi, the Longhair is a largely benevolent spirit being, one who brings the rain that sustains life in this harshly beautiful desert climate. Whereas Hopi sits in northern Arizona, adjacent to the Navajo reservation, Zuni rests on the New Mexico side of the state line. It, too, is near Navajoland, both the Big Rez and Ramah, further south. Zuni itself just a short drive south of Gallup, at an elevation of a little under 6,500 feet. Rainfall levels are reportedly a bit better than at Hopi, averaging not quite 13 inches annually (compared to fewer than ten). I’ve been to Zuni during the monsoon season, and the clear, clean smell of wet sage on the air is quite literally breathtaking.
Zuni’s big annual ceremonial — one of the few that outsiders can attend — was held just within the last couple of weeks. Shalako, as it is called, is held on a specific schedule that puts it in early December, although not on the exact same date every year. It’s a veritable pageant, an all-night display of stunningly beautiful traditional dance, of culture and celebration. [As an aside, Josh has in the past made a Shalako katsina for us; it sold on the first day.]
There are other dances at other times of the year, some of which involve the obvious need for the blessings of rain. One of the Zuni spirit beings is a horned water serpent known [with spelling variants] as Kolowisi. This spirit being, associated with water, provides a significant piece of the instruction of young boys who are being initiated into their kiva societies. And it is only upon initiation that young boys are introduced to the fact of adult personification of the katsinam, including the sacred masks.
This means, of course, that the katsina Josh has created here would be personified by a young boy who is, in actuality, in the process of becoming a young man: one who has undergone his initiation and is permitted to know of the practice. From its description in the Other Artists: Katsinam gallery here on the site:
This smaller “Young Boy Longhair” katsina is done in a traditional style found at Zuni Pueblo. By master carver Josh Aragon (Hopi/Laguna), the carving is done the traditional Hopi way, of a single piece of cottonwood root, and is painted in symbolic colors and patterns. Carving stands 12-1/8″ high, including 3/4″-high base and tip of feather; figure is 2″ wide; base is 3-1/4″ wide (dimensions approximate). Reverse shown below.
Hand-painted cottonwood root
$355 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Fragile; extra handling charges apply
As you can see from the close-ups above and below, he wears much simpler ceremonial regalia than that of his elders: a blanket of natural earth tones, with the fringes of a white sash peeking out and only a bit of edging in traditional symbols at the bottom of his robe. Those symbols, of course, include traditional thunderhead patterns in water’s deep turquoise shade; the face of his case mask is similar in color, as are many of the old-fashioned heishi beads around his neck and wrist. He is also beardless, a bit of fitting attention to detail.
It’s a beautiful, and beautifully symbolic, piece that draws on the interrelatedness of multiple traditions in this area. It’s also a reminder, simultaneously subtle and direct, of the importance of keeping our ways alive through our youth. Longhaired or no.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
