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Title: Pieces of White Shell: A Journey to Navajoland by Terry Tempest Williams, Clifford Brycelea ISBN: 0-8263-0969-0 Publisher: University of New Mexico Press Pub. Date: June, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Full of Earth Wisdom
Comment: Williams has that all-too-rare ability to shed her own shoes and don the footwear of the Dine as she guides us on her journey through Navajoland. We learn about Navajo mythology and ritual. We see how the people respond to their environment, creating themselves in the process.
One of my favorite passages deals with a young woman's coming-of-age ceremony, Kinaalda. A young woman's ability to give life is celebrated through a ceremony that can last up to five days. Blessings are heaped upon her, her jewelry is washed along with her hair while the community sings "Songs of Dawn" and prepares a special cake. How different from American culture. We do not have a cultural celebration, acknowledging the life-giving potential of young women. Adolescent girls may get a clinical explanation of mesntruation during gym class at school. No party here! And more often than not, a girl feels this is something that must remain hidden from the community. If she's lucky, she has a best friend in whom she can confide. Navajo people celebrate the life-giving potential of a young woman. What an empowering message this must send to Navajo girls as they celebrate this ritual communally.
Pieces of White Shell is full of earth wisdom. Landscape--especially the mountains. They come alive through the story of their origins. Yucca. So many different uses for this desert plant. Soap, sandals, baskets, games, food. Stories of animals. Coyote--that border figure on the edge of the profane and sacred. Deer--Deer Gods giving instruction on how they should be hunted and used.
Pieces of White Shell is a book that I savor again and again. And it always satisfies.
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Title: Red : Passion and Patience in the Desert by Terry Tempest Williams ISBN: 0375725180 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 08 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: An Unspoken Hunger : Stories from the Field by Terry Tempest Williams ISBN: 0679752560 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 29 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: Leap by Terry Tempest Williams ISBN: 0679432922 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 02 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Refuge : An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams ISBN: 0679740244 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 01 September, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Coyote's Canyon by Terry Tempest Williams, John Telford ISBN: 0879052457 Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publisher Pub. Date: 22 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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