Hidalgo’s father was special in his own world. He had performed the Blessing Way ceremony many times. Yet many considered what he did a form of witchcraft. In many ways it was similar to witchcraft but produced opposite results. It was obvious that Hidalgo’s father had a problem with such discussions of shape shifters or skin walkers. “They appreciate your mind, they both fear you and admire you, but you should beware. They have great powers and have singled you out. You are marked. You can bet they will return.”
With that said Hidalgo’s parents simply got up and started to walk out of the restaurant. Hidalgo followed them, asking questions. This all seemed a little strange to Corey and I who were used to long goodbyes and hugs, but they had said what they wanted to say and we were dealing with an entirely different situation and culture.
Hidalgo followed his mother and father out to their old pickup. They piled into it but Hidalgo stood there, leaning on the door, having an animated conversation with his father for quite some time. I noticed that he took some money out of his pocket and tried to give it to his father, but his father just waved it off and started up the old Ford truck.
Aztlan
The sun had long ago set on the horizon and we still had to float down the river to find a camp for the evening. Corey and I went down and finished loading the water bottles and food supplies we had purchased into dry bags and patiently waited for Hidalgo who had been sharing a last word with his folks and who would be bringing a bag full of blocks of ice with him.
The three of us finally launched our canoes making one large bend around the river and immediately began to look for a place to camp. We passed an old miners cabin on river right stopping just long enough to make a fast exploration then continued on down the river looking for a campsite. In the next curve of the river, we found shelter in the form of a large cave like structure where the river had carved an undercut providing ample shade from the midday sun. Mendenhall cave isn’t really a cave at all, but rather a rock overhang that provides ample shade throughout the day and provides a great camping spot. We decided to camp finding ample room for our camp chairs, bedrolls and cooking materials without bothering to set up tents. The problem was we knew that if the river rose suddenly during the night we could awake with water sweeping all our camp gear and ourselves down the river.
Tired from the day’s activities, we all stretched out on sleeping pads under the protection of the megalithic rock and went sound asleep. Corey woke up first as he noticed funny clicking sounds around us. As he sat up he discovered a multitude of ravens had gathered around us. It was a surreal scene. About two dozen of the ravens were walking around our tiny camp with dozens more of them perched on the rocks around us and circling overhead as if waiting for something to happen, but nothing happened. Usually crows avoid people. In fact, on this river one of the things river runners find themselves involved with is tossing rocks at them, purely for entertainment. Crows, being smart birds will usually avoid people, but these birds seemed attracted to our camp.
Without a word, everyone awoke to the scene and watched in amazement at the coven of ravens. Corey tossed some pieces of bread out for them but they ignored the peace offering. As Hidalgo arose from his pad they took flight, circling the camp a couple of times then flying in a large flock back up the canyon toward Mexican Hat.
We, the intrepid river runners, spent the rest of the day in the shade of the canyon walls walking an easy trail up to the miner’s cabin and then floating back to our camp. As we floated back down the river to our camp, Hidalgo explained to me that it wasn’t a natural thing for crows or ravens, to flock as they did. In the canyons they rarely are seen in groups larger than three. What had happened at the camp was a very unnatural event. Something was surely up. Hidalgo was uneasy.
Despite the fact that there was a brief shower during the following night causing miniature rockslides from the canyon walls above us, we stayed dry under the rock cover and fortunately for us the river actually dropped, leaving us high and dry with a much larger beach to play on. It was the perfect place to stay for a day and explore, watch the natives, and contemplate the ravens that had disappeared along with the scraps of bread. Tiny footprints of mice explained what had happened to the scraps of bread.
We saw a large raft party floating down the river. One raft had large blow up toys, Donald Duck, a pink flamingo, etc. floating alongside of them held to the raft by short tethers. Another raft was loaded with a middle aged couple and a dozen or so dogs, each wearing a lifejacket. One raft floated by with no occupants at all; the raft party was all floating alongside the raft in the river on purpose, a way of staying cool.
Unlike all other desert rivers, this portion of the river did not seem to have a trace of Indian artifacts. Not a pictograph or petroglyph was to be found. Due to the sheer cliff walls around us the remainder of the deep canyon offered only short hikes, but from this site it was possible to hike all the way back to Mexican Hat. Instead the three of us went for short hikes up and down the shelf of rock that formed the roof of the cave we were camped in. The true value of the place was the shade and the comical view of people floating down the river.
I found myself pressing Hidalgo about what his parents had said to him about the apparitions that we and Richard had seen. Hidalgo answered me with, “My father didn’t say anything specific about the apparition but he did bring up some interesting points. You see, most Indian stories must be understood from the perspective of the peoples who tell them. For example if you were an Indian living here two thousand years ago in what would become New Mexico and saw a silver disk fly through the sky, you might want to record the event by carving a petroglyph of a bird since birds are the only thing that you know of that flies. But often, those same petroglyphs can be just representations of birds, they are easy to misunderstand.
“Did he make any suggestions,” I asked.
“Yes, but you need to understand that Navajos are very secretive about our traditions. They, he stopped himself and added the word ‘we’ simply don’t feel comfortable sharing our cultural traditions and history with outsiders. My father warned me not to get involved with outsiders, particularly concerning skin walkers. However, I will share a few thoughts with you. He made one very specific suggestion.”
“Navajo Indians have been in the Southwest, migrating here from Canada, only for the last few centuries, since the 1400s. Our people found mostly a deserted land filled with ruins from a previous people. But the descendants of those people were discovered in many pueblos to the south of what is now the Four Corners Area. Our warriors actually made war on those people, the word Anasazi actually means ancient enemy in Navajo.”
Hidalgo continued his explanation, “The earliest people who lived here lived in small mobile settlements as long ago as the last ice age. Finally they acquired skills in agriculture and settled into permanent residences building with the sandstone instead of living in pit houses and skin huts, what you call teepees. By about 1000 A.D. Chaco Canyon became the capital to the world for these people. But let me inform you of a simple fact, it was not a world like many biligannos imagine, it was not an equalitarian society. As in all human societies there were the lions and sheep, the rich and the very poor, social stratification. People were coerced into building out of fear. Everyone contributed to the building of Chaco Canyon as well as any ruin found in this area, but much of it was done because they were fearful of punishment from the masses. During the tenth century this area was a beautiful area, growing food was easy and the population grew. Then what geologist call a little ice age occurred and the climate changed. Suddenly this area dried out. The forest disappeared and the streams turned into dry river beds.”
“So that is why people left this area,” I said.
Hidalgo continued, “The earliest people were Nahuati speaking people who in time would become known as the Aztecs. They began to move south out of what may have been the present southwestern United States in order to settle in Mexico. The pueblos t
hat make up modern New Mexico are the northernmost settlements of those people. There are many theories as to why they left their homes but the most common reason that is given by archeologist is that the area became gripped in persistent drought but there is much more to it than just drought. No one really knows why they left their northern homeland known as Aztlan but by the year 1110 A.D. they had been traveling for almost two hundred years. During this time they roamed throughout what is present day Mexico looking for a place to settle. The empire was controlled primarily by a political body made up of the Acolhua people of Texcoco, the Mexica in Tenochtitlan, and the Tepaneca people of Tiacopan. The Aztec capital was located at Tenochtitlan, which is the site of modern Mexico City. By the year 1500, the Aztecs ruled all of what is now known as Mexico extending down into regions of Central America.
“You do not think it was drought that caused them to move, do you?” I asked.
“No it took a lot more than a severe drought,” replied Hidalgo, “They had experienced droughts before. There was a sickness among the people. They had grown proud and self-absorbed; what you would call arrogant. They had also been influenced by Toltec’s that came up north from Mexico.”
“Toltec’s,” I asked?”
Corey interjected, “They were the precursors to the Aztecs, a very warlike people who practiced human sacrifice among other things.”
Hidalgo continued, “Many archeologists think that all Anasazi people practiced cannibalism, but it isn’t so. They feared the retributions of the leaders of Chaco who were under the influence of the Toltec. Some of the shamans in that culture were cannibals, and like any fad, it seemed to spread out among the people. When desperate, people will eat anything. The people here moved into the most inaccessible places that they could. Which is why, we have been looking at houses built into cliffs. The Indian culture that existed here for thousands of years died of fear. Then, slowly the people migrated to the pueblos that dot New Mexico today; Zuni, Hopi, Isleta, Santa Clara and many other places that can be found on any modern road map.
Corey looked up and said, “That’s only half of the story, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes,” answered Hidalgo, looking a little frustrated. “The other half of the story is the part that my father was so sensitive about.”
I contributed the words, “Skin walkers.”
There was a long pause, Hidalgo thought about changing the subject but then continued with, “The Chacoans themselves became involved in witchcraft and the people moved away. They moved into cliff dwellings to escape the Chaco Canyon witches. It didn’t work, they were always found. Something terrible happened here. In the very ruins that we have been exploring, skeletons have been found in which every bone had been broken in a twisting fashion. All the long bones had spiral twist when found. Those people were alive when those bones were broken. A gang of warriors must have attacked people, one at a time, and holding them down, twisted their bones until they eventually died. It must have been agonizing for them. These warriors enjoyed inflicting as much pain as possible.”
“Some of the people escaped by moving south, joining up with the Kachina Cults that were developing in the communities that now exist. The people who were here before us became intimately involved in those Kachina Cults, but they had a relationship with our apparitions that extended back thousands of years before. My father recommended that we learn from the elders in Zuni. The Zunis are what archeologist defines as an isolationist culture. Even their language is different than any others around here. They are an ancient culture. They may offer us an insight into the apparitions we are seeing.”
Corey who had been relatively quiet up till this moment spoke up, “He is right.” We both looked at him with frowns until Corey began to explain. “We need to learn more about the Kachinas.” He then began to explain.
Zuni Mud Heads
“The summer before my folks died in an automobile accident I spent an entire summer working for Douglas construction, building houses under a government program in Zuni Pueblo. My first exposure was as a boy of fifteen. It was my first great adventure away from home and completely on my own. This was going to prove to be more than just a grand adventure; it was my first glimpse into cultural differences. From a personal perspective, I learned about something called ethnocentrism. This was the first time I began to wonder about my own orientation to life. My whole outlook on life changed as a result of my visit there.”
Hidalgo and I settled down on comfortable sleeping mats, Hidalgo, always sipping his coffee with cream and sugar said, “You must have been a very lucky person to get to live in Zuni for a while. The people there are very particular about who can visit there and that includes my people the Navajos. The Zunis have long memories.”
Corey, who had learned to tell a story as well as anyone, took the stage. “The volcanic plains of extreme western, New Mexico are home to the Zuni. Modern Zunis gain their sustenance primarily from agriculture, cattle and sheep herding, and from the production of jewelry featuring inlayed turquoise for which they are famous. They live in one compact village with three outlying hamlets occupied during the crop-growing season. In a singularly inhospitable environment the Zuni Indians have built up an economy with relatively high standards of living.”
“The “poor man” at Zuni is one without ceremonial connections. They see life differently than other people and a comparison of views shows the differences in the way we see reality. Modern scientific people regard the notion that reality is to be regarded as a process. The world is in dynamic evolution. Time is in the past, present, and future. Pueblo Culture stresses what appears to be a present time orientation. In Indian time, events do not depend upon a clock so much as they do on weather, unpredictable animal stock and their associated problems, ritual, superstition, marital conditions, and in some cases, hangovers. What is important is what is happening now; tomorrow will take care of itself. Most Zuni Indians can adapt to Anglo time, however most would prefer not to.”
Hidalgo entered the story with, “That is true. When I’m on the reservation I don’t wear a watch. I don’t need one, I don’t need one now.”
Corey continued, “Clockwork time can be a deadly master, we all bow to it. On a daily basis most people’s lives are totally structured around it. Any small infringement into that clockwork world creates a major ripple in what was otherwise a smooth continuum. Linear time isn’t so smooth anyway. The typical day I experienced, as a small boy was vastly longer than the days I experience now.”
“Educated, scientific individuals tend to be highly competitive. Often this view makes them appear to be aggressive to others, especially to Pueblo people. Pueblo Culture stresses cooperation and anonymity. They want to blend in, to disappear, and to be invisible within a crowd. The effects of this can be seen in reservation schools where non-Indian and Indian students compete for grades. A good teacher uses a different approach when teaching in those schools. Learning that requires cooperation rather than competition usually produces superior results from the students.”
Hidalgo, who knew exactly what Corey was talking about, looked up from his view of the river and said, “This is beginning to sound like one of those long winded speeches that Penny would make.” I picked up a pebble and threw it at him.
Corey continued anyway, “Scientific living requires a degree in adaptability, a readiness to change as the environment changes. In Pueblo Culture a conservative attitude is retained regardless of changing conditions. Pueblo people tend to follow the ways of the old people. After all, their culture has existed there for thousands of years. It works for them. Pueblo Culture stresses a call to Pueblo authority. Contemporary pueblos have a tribal council with elected officials to represent them. Often, however, solutions to problems are derived through mythology and witchcraft. Often issues are handled in this manner. Even the concept, or mental map, of the environment for example, has a totally different meaning to Zuni people.”
“There is mystery as to where the Zuni pe
ople themselves come from. People who study the language of the Zuni say the roots of their language can be traced back to the Jomon of Japan, who had a maritime culture by the last millennia of the Ice Age. Migrating down the coast of the Americas, always seeking resources, they apparently migrated into the present day region long ago. People have lived in this area for more than ten thousand years, shifting from hunting and gathering, to an agricultural life-style and from dispersed villages to big communities. Zuni is one of the most populated areas of the Southwest. Living there, for me, was an education in itself.”
“The impressions one gains by actually living with people, not necessarily by studying the relics of their past, produces a far better understanding of the people you are dealing with. As every second year archeology student knows; you can reconstruct a ruin and make some educated guesses as to what a people were like, but you cannot reconstruct a collective consciousness.”
“To be honest with you, my first impression, upon arrival at Zuni Pueblo, was that I was going to die. I had a bad case of culture shook. There was only one other Anglo kid, my age, on the entire reservation. I really stood out when doing such mundane things as going to the local Dairy Queen. My fears were dispelled when I realized that the other young people there were as curious about me as I was about them. They weren’t afraid of me, but I was of them. Penny’s saying; ‘Face your fears and they will go away,’ comes into my mind when I think back on this now. After a little exploration I discovered that I was far safer there than in most other localities around New Mexico and particularly in the South Valley of Albuquerque.”
“I remember that soon after my first paycheck, I began prodding the construction boss to let me work overtime. Sure,” he grinned and replied, “But you’ll have to get a crew to work with you.”
The Family at Serpiente Page 37
