Only a Trail Across the Desert SandsPage 332
Only a Trail Across the Desert SandsPage 332
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The teller of tales does not know if this be true or not––all gods can be made strong by people, and it is not good to battle against the god of a strong people:––they can send strange sorceries and wild temptings, and the Navahu maid had such charm she was never forgotten by men who looked upon her face. It is also well known that the bluebird is a sacred bird for medicine, and does call at every dawn on those heights, and the wings worn in the banda of Tahn-té might, through strong love, have become a true charm;––and might have led him at last to the nest of the witch maid in some wilderness of the Far Away;––who can tell?
But all men know that the prophecies of Tahn-té are true to-day in the valley of the Rio Grande––and that his vision was the vision of that which was to be.
Aliksai!
GLOSSARY“Alikasai!”Hopi ceremonial word for a story telling, equivalent to “Once upon a time,” or “Thus it was.”Alvarado, Hernando deA lieutenant of Coronado, 1540.AtokiThe Crane.Ah-koAcoma, N. M., a village of the Queres people.ApacheA warrior tribe of Athapascan stock in Arizona.Awh-we“Mountain Place.”By-otle(see Py-otle).Chinig-ChinikA Pacific coast tribe of Nature worshippers.Chilan BalamIndian priest and prophet. 16th Century.Ci-bo-laZuni, N. M. The only surviving village of the “Seven Cities of Cibola” of the early Spanish, chronicles.Ci-cu-yéIndian village and river. Pecos, N. M.“Cabeza de Vaca”Alvar Nunez:––the first European to cross the land and make record of the natives of the Arizona region. (1528-36).Dok-os-lidNavaho sacred mountain of the west. San Francisco Mt., Arizona.DoliThe blue bird. (Navaho).Estsan-atlehiNavaho Earth Goddess.Go-hé-yahsSpirit People, or mediators between earth people and the Sun Father.“Han-na-di Set-en-dah-nh!”Te-hua ceremonial beginning of a legend or sacred myth story.Hopi or HópitûThe desert people of Tusayan, often named Moki or Moqui by outsiders or tribal enemies.Ho-tiwaArrows (being) made.Kat-yi-tiCochiti Pueblo, N. M.Ka-yemoFalling leaves.Kah-poSanta Clara Pueblo, N. M.Ki-pahA legendary civilizer and prophet of Te-hua people.Kat-yi-moThe solitary “Mesa Enchanted,” three miles north of Acoma.K[=a]-ye-poviSpirit Blossom.K[=a]-ye-fahWings of the Spirits.Koh-péRed shell beads.Khen-yahShaking trail.Lé-lang-ûhThe Spirit Leader of the Flute Ceremony for rain in the desert. He was the first to make prayers through the reed to the Spirit People of the Elements. The gods granted the prayer, and the Sacred Order of the Flute was instituted. It exists to-day in Tusayan.“Lost Others.”Those who have gone from earth life to the spirit land.Lo-lo-mi,A Hopi word indicating that all is good or beautiful.––A blessing.Mo-wa-théFlash of Light.“Mother of the Starry Skirt”Milky Way.“Moon of the Yellow Leaves”September.NavahuNavaho, a nomadic tribe of Athapascan stock in Arizona.Na-im-beNambe Pueblo, N. M.NahualSpirit Ministrant, or unexpressed personal power.Oj-keSan Juan Pueblo, N. M.O-ye-tzaWhite Ice.Oh-we-tahnhIndian writing. (Pictographs)P[=o]-s[=o]n-gé“The river that is great,” Rio Grande.Po-AhtunAn esoteric cult known from N. M. to Central America. The Lords of the Water and the Four Winds.Po-Ahtun-hoThe high priest of the order. The spiritual ruler.Po-se-yemo“Dew of Heaven.” The earth-born Te-hua Christ.Povi-whahMoving Blossom.Po-tzahWhite Water.Po-pe-kan-eh“Where the water is born.” Springs at the foot of Tse-c[=o]me-[=u]-piñ.Po-eh-hin-chaSanta Clara creek, N. M.Po-etseBox Cañon, Santa Clara Creek.Po-ho-géSan Ildefonso Pueblo, N. M.Phen-tzaYellow Mountain.Piñ-pe-yéAn instrument of grooved stone and a reed, by which astronomical calculations were made by the Milky Way and stars.Pu-yéA cliff dwelling on Santa Clara Reservation, N. M.Py-otleA powerful drug known by Indian medicine men from the great lakes to Yucatan.Quetzal-coatlA God of Light of Mexico.Qui-ve raA mythic land of gold in the desert.Queresor Que-ran-na. An ancient house building people of N. M. Their principal pueblo is Acoma––“The sky dwellings of White.”Säh-pahThe Frost.S[=aa]-hanh-que-ahThe Woman of the Twilight.Sea of CortezGulf of California.Se-po-chinehThe Place of Ancient Fire, a sacred mountain, Mt. Taylor, N. M.Sik-yat-kiA ruin in the Tusayan desert, near Walpi, Arizona.Sten-ahtlihanThe supreme goddess of the Apache pantheon.Sinde-hésiThe Ancient Father:––the Power back of the Sun.ShufinneA pre-historic cliff dwelling near Pu-yé, N. M.So-ho-dah-tsaDark Cloud.Ta-ah-queaThe Goddess of the Young Summer.Tahn-téLight of the Sun.Tain-tsain ClanAntelope Clan.Te-hua“Children of the Sun.” A house building people of the Tanoan Group, Rio Grande valley, N. M.Te-get-haTaos Pueblo, N. M. One of the best examples of the terraced, five storied, pre-Columbian architecture, still inhabited.TiguexA ruin near Bermalillo, N. M., called by the natives Po-ri-kun-neh:––“the Place of the Butterflies.”Te-tzo-geTesuque Pueblo, N. M.Tsa-mahA Te-hua village at the junction of the Tsa-mah and Rio Grande, now Chamita, N. M., interesting as the site of the first colony of Spanish pioneers in N. M. 1591.Tsa-fahChicken Hawk.Tsé-yeCañon de Chelle, Arizona. The home of the Navaho Divine Ones.Tse-c[=o]me-[=u]-piñA sacred mountain west of Pu-yé, N. M.Towa Toan ClanHigh Mesa Clan.TusayanProvince of. A territory in Northern Arizona, now the Hopi Indian Reservation.TuyoThe “Black Mesa” of San Ildefonso, N. M.Ui-la-uaPicuris Pueblo, N. M.Ua-lanoJemez Pueblo, N. M.WálpiThe ancient stone village of “First Mesa” in Tusayan.Yahn Tsyn-dehWillow Bird.YutahUte, a Colorado tribe of the sone linguistic stock.
GLOSSARY