Gathering of Nations

Ms. Dee had hoped that we would go to the Indian Cultural Center in Albuquerque during the school winter break.  Unfortunately, it looks like they are closed for the break and her hopes of getting me dancing with the Native Indians who live in the area aren't very high.

But don't be sad!  That created a great opportunity for Ms. Dee!  She decided to look up some information to share with you all and came across some wonderful information about the Gather of Nations! 

The Gathering of Nations is an event for Native Indians throughout the United States to gather together in celebration to honor and share their similar yet diverse culture.

The Gathering of Nations permits Native Indians to not only sales their artistic products but to also participate in contests, many around song and dance.  There are numerous dances and age categories from tots, to teens to adults both male and female.  There is the Jingle Dance and Fancy Shawl Dance for Women; the Grass Dance and Fancy Dance for Men and both have the Northern and Southern Traditional Dances.

Dance is very important to the Native Indian people, here is a passage from the Gathering of Nations website that explains the importance of dance.

Why we Dance by and © MariJo Moore

Why we dance: To dance is to pray, to pray is to heal, to heal is to give, to give is to live, to live is to dance.

These lines express my belief that the dances of American Indians are beautiful metaphors for celebrating life to the fullest. I dedicated this short poem to a friend, Reggie Brewer (Lumbee/Tuscarora), who has been a traditional dancer on the powwow circuit for over 10 years. 

Reggie dances for the old people, showing them respect and honor by keeping the breath of Native ways alive. When I asked if he prays when he dances, Reggie answered, "Yes, because sometimes the other way of praying just doesn't seem to work.

"Music and dance are representatives of the full range of life for American Indians. They are integral fuels that have always fed the fires of honor and traditions.

Dances for victory were often held by each team before stickball matches, and always in preparation for war.

Many of the Southeastern American Indian dances, such as the Quail Dance and the Guinea Dance, were named after animals in the belief that the movements affect the animals and their relations with humans.

Rituals, such as the Cherokee Green Corn Ceremony held each year to signify rebirth, forgiveness, and new beginnings, includes interludes of dancing. The Ribbon Dance is an annual ceremony that praises and reaffirms the role of women in the Creek (Muskogee) tribe.

American Indian dance is not a form of mindless amusement. It is a form of praise, worship, and a way to experience interconnectedness through motion. Dancing is an art that was here before the conception of art ever existed. It is a necessity for Indian people. A necessary spiritual action requiring dedication and a devout sense of reverence.

When American Indians dance, whether it be at powwows or other gatherings, all senses become heightened as cultural chants, drummings and songs fill the air. These haunting, mystical sounds transport the imagination to other times and places.

The drum - its round form representing the shape of the sacred universe - emits strong, steady heartbeats that bring entrancement through repetition. This enables the dancers to put to rest the distractions of worries and cares of everyday life so that they may become one with all. 

Dancers from different nations in splendorous regalia dance the spirituality of their cultures into being as they pay homage to an ancestral tradition as sacred and important as rain. Agile and full of purpose, their artistic movements bring chills to the soul. In his book, The Primal Mind, author Jamake Highwater states, "Dance is the inclination of primal peoples to idealize action as a magical force. They believe that dance can shape the circumstances of nature if it can focus its contagious powers on animals and supernaturals. Through their dances they touch unknown and unseen elements which they sense in the world around them."

In other words, serious dance is prayer that can open a doorway to a connection with the total universe. A way to find that "inner being" who recognizes and appreciates the spiritual essence of interdependence and gratefully ask Creator for recognition of the needs of his or her people in return.

There seems to be a renaissance of the spirit of dancing in most Indian nations these days. Some dances that were thought forgotten are being danced again. Many American Indians travel the powwow circuit not only to earn a living, but also as beautiful representatives of their nations. Of course, there are those who dance mainly for the onlookers and attention they may receive.

These dancers are easily spotted by sensitive Indians, and it is my hope that they will come to realize that ego has no place in honoring the spirituality of traditions.

Those who dance as an offering to Creator are keeping traditions alive and setting reverent examples for the young people of their nations. They are the ones who realize that to dance is to pray, to pray is to heal, to heal is to give, to give is to live, and to live is to dance.

To these dancers, I say "Dance on and on and on ...we need your rhythmic, heartfelt prayers."

 

Petroglyphs - also known as Rock Carvings.....

What are Petroglyphs ?  Well, this information is taken directly off of the Petroglyphs National Monument Website - it explains it much better than I can and also have some really terrific facts about Albuquerque and it's history.


Petroglyphs are rock carvings (rock paintings are called pictographs) made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and a hammerstone. When the "desert varnish" on the surface of the rock was pecked off, the lighter rock underneath was exposed, creating the petroglyph. Archaeologists have estimated there may be over 25,000 petroglyph images along the 17 miles of escarpment within the monument boundary.

It is estimated 90% of the monument's petroglyphs were created by the ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians. Puebloans have lived in the Rio Grande Valley since before 500 A.D., but a population increase around 1300 A.D. resulted in numerous new settlements. It is believed that the majority of the petroglyphs were carved from about 1300 through the late 1680s.

The arrival of Spanish people in 1540 had a dramatic impact on the lifestyle of the pueblo people. In 1680 the Pueblo tribes rose up in revolt of Spanish rule, and drove the settlers out of the area and back to El Paso, Texas. In 1692 the Spanish resettled the area. As a result of their return, there was a renewed influence of the Catholic religion, which discouraged participation by the Puebloans in many of their ceremonial practices. As a consequence, many of these practices went underground, and much of the image making by the Puebloans decreased. A small percentage of the petroglyphs found within the park pre-date the Puebloan time period, perhaps reaching as far back as B.C. 2000. Other images date from historic periods starting in the 1700s, with petroglyphs carved by early Spanish settlers.

Now, I'm not just writing you about it!  I went there!!!!  It was awesome.

Here is a picture of the Sandia Mountains from right near the Petroglyphs.  It is located on the other side of town from where Ms. Dee lives.  The mountains sure seem far away - and check out those crazy clouds in the sky - it was creepy.

The Petroglyphs are on just the other side of that mesa!  Mesa means Table in Spanish - so one side of town has the Mountains the other side has the Mesas.....lol.

Another picture of the Sandias.  

We are here!  That is the Visitor's Center.

 

Inside the Visitor's Center, Ms. Dee spoke to a park ranger - we were getting a little board, so we took a picture!

 These are outside Kiva's that were used for many years!

Our first Petroglyph sighting at the Visitor Center!!!  It is actually carved in, you can see that it lays beneath the surface of the rock.  Amazing!

We had to drive to another section to walk the trail.  All those rocks up there are lava rocks!  There is a dormant volcano not too far away.  Dormant means it is inactive - so we didn't have to worry about that at all.

 But then we saw this!!!!  MacRae believes it is a Coyote paw print.  Now, we were worried!

Here are some closer shots of the lava rocks.

These holes may be for rattlesnakes, prairie dogs or rabbits.   We didn't see any of them, so we don't know.  But we were happy not to see any rattle snake tracks.

 There weer numerous holds in the rocks like little caves, we have no idea what was in them - if anything.  So, we didn't stay much longer after finding these.

Here is a picture of a petroglyph - it is just above the brush to the right - can you see it?  It looks almost like a turtle.

 Here is another one, this may have been a picture of a lizard.

 We kept looking up the hill, we wanted to make certain we weren't being followed - or hunted!

 Here are a few other pictures of the rocks close up - I hope you can see the petroglyphs in them!

Another animal paw print, MacRae - the animal guru here thinks this might be either a fox or a small dog.  I hope it was a dog!

 And this is a dog print.  The sand in the trail was extremely soft.  It is probably an arroyo when the rain comes.

 This is a Coyote print, you can tell by the claw marks because they dig into the ground more than the above dog paw print.

 We left after seeing the Coyote print!  Here is a picture at the end of the trail - that is Ms. Dee's car.  Can you see her silly antlers on it?

 She thinks her car is Rudolph!

  I hope you enjoyed our trip to the Petroglyphs!  We did, even though we were a little scared at times.....

red or green; Red or Green; RED or GREEN? - Christmas!

Well, I got a special treat last night.  Ms. Dee and Mr. Stu took me out to dinner with them.  We went to a locally owned restaurant.  The cuisine; New Mexican!  Bet you haven't heard that before.  In Albuquerque there are plenty of restaurants that you'll be familiar with; McDonalds, Taco Bell, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, IHOP, Olive Garden, Apple Bee's and even Denny's.  They have Italian, Greek, French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Mexican and Native American foods here.

One of the special foods of the area is New Mexican.  It is a blend of Mexican with beans and rice but added to that is the 'heat' from the Southwest.  You may be familiar with Tex-Mex type of food, and this is similar, but very different.  In New Mexico the 'heat' that is added is chile.  It is a type of pepper like a bell pepper, but much much hotter, not quit as hot as a jalapeno pepper, but you can still feel it!

Here we are, entering Los Cuates (The Twins).

Chips and Salsa - and VERY HOT Salsa at that.  Ms. Dee forgot how hot it was here, it is homemade in the restaurant.  She needed water right away.

Closer look and you can even see the Red Chile Pepper seeds in the sauce.  This is more of a sauce than a salsa, but they still called is salsa.  Chips are made here too, not prepackaged.

Trying my first taste of chile salsa.......yowee that is hot stuff!!  Ms. Dee only dips in to about the amount I have here, Mr. Stu....he likes about 10 times more - ouch....

 Stuffed Sopaipilla, Mr. Stu sharing his meal with me.  A Sopaipilla (soap-a-pee-ya) is like a triangular shaped bread, this was stuffed with chicken, cheese and green chili.  Lettuce and tomatoes come with the meal.  It was pretty good.

Ms. Dee shared her meal too.  It is a Blue Corn Chicken Enchilada with re-fried beans and Spanish rice.  Ms. Dee doesn't get any chili, she says the chip sauce is enough for her.  And yes, I said Blue Corn Enchilada.  It really is blue, you can see just a tiny bit of it peaking out of the sauce at the bottom center of the dish.  It is like a corn taco shell, only it is soft and not crunchy.  This is Ms. Dee's favorite meal and Los Cuates is her favorite restaurant too.

Ahhhh, my favorite was the Sopaipilla.  Yes, Mr. Stu had a Stuffed Sopaipilla, but you can just have them like a side dish or roll for dinner too.  And this way - you eat them nice and warm with HONEY!!!  Yummy, yummy honey.  Boy was that ever good.

So, the only thing left to ask is - Red or Green?  Chili in the Southwest can be either Red or Green.  Green is usually hot and more flavorful, Red is just very hot!  So which do you like, hot or very hot?  Or - would you like a combination of both - Red and Green - making it Christmas!!!  Yes - they really say that; all year round - Red, Green or Christmas?  LOL - good thing I came here in December, otherwise it might be confusing.

Snow is almost gone......

Well, even though we had the excitement of it snowing 2 days ago, the warm sun of the Southwest helps move things quickly back to how they were - and snow-free.

All the snow, ice and slush that was on the front pine tree is melting off.

Though some is still there, most will be gone by the end of the day.

Just like in this picture, doesn't look like it snowed at all.

This is just in front of Grandma Hente's house.  She lives about 7 minutes south of us, just on the other side of I40.  She had more snow than we did - they even had to plow. 

 As you can see, the road is clear, the snow melting and the weather nice enough to go without a jacket.  Do you see MacRae behind Fletcher?  He is pretending to be a statue.....he is so silly!

Head West on I40 and guess what you can find........

This area is a Geologists dream!  Inactive Volcanoes, Ice Caves, Mesas, Mountains, Desert, Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater, Painted Desert and Fossils galore!

There are so many natural wonders in this area.  Just West of Albuquerque is the Mesa, as Spanish word that means 'table'.  And that is what it looks like, a flat table top.  There is an Ice Cave and an inactive valcano just about 1 hour west of the city. 

Keep going west on I40, and go over the board of New Mexico into Arizona you can see a Meteor Crater.  Here are 2 pictures of it.  This crater was formed about 50,000 years ago!

Not to far away from the Meteor Crater is the Petrified Forest.  Right next to that is the Painted Desert.  The colors are enchangint!  Ms. Dee doesn't know if we'll have time to get there, but in the meantime, she really wanted to you all to see these beautiful pictures of it. Another thing to remember is the fossils that are in the Southwest.  There is a place called Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico and you can go and dig up your own fossils!  Isn't' that cool?

 Here is a piece of petrified wood.  It looks like wood, but is a rock!  Over many many years, the wood part of the tree was replaced with minerals that now have caused it to become petrified.  Did you know that petrified wood is considered a fossil?

 Ms. Dee said she went to the Petrified Forest once with her mom, and that her mom didn't realize that the forest wasn't like a normal forest.  She explained that the trees don't stick out of the ground, but are buried in the ground with parts and pieces above the ground.  Here mom was looking for a nice shade tree to sit under I guess.  LOL.

 This is a picture of the Petrified Forest with the Painted Desert in the background.

These pictures are of the Painted Forest.  lSo many of these pictures remind me of the Grand Canyon!  But this is small compared to that.  What do you think of the colors?  Does it look painted to you?

Here is some neat information about the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.  If you come to see one, you should really think about seeing both!

The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert gets its name. Beginning about 60 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau, of which the park is part, was pushed upward by tectonic forces and exposed to increased erosion. All of the park's rock layers above the Chinle, except geologically recent ones found in parts of the park, have been removed by wind and water. In addition to petrified logs, fossils found in the park have included Late Triassic ferns, cycads, ginkgoes, and many other plants as well as fauna including giant reptiles called phytosaurs, large amphibians, and early dinosaurs. Paleontologists have been unearthing and studying the park's fossils since the early 20th century.