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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2017)
4 Wednesday, October 25, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon From the Zuni Pueblo: Mystery, artwork, and love By Chris Morin Correspondent Discussing an unfamiliar subject without background, Zuni artwork for instance, is like telling a newcomer from the Amazon about powder conditions on Hoodoo and snowboarding. Art or an exotic outdoor event can be a portal for visu- alizing the beyond — but only if context about what’s viewed is provided. There are times, however, when contex- tual facts are sparse, as is the case with both the history and culture of the Zuni Pueblo. This type of paradigm then offers something rare: a true enigma. Indigenous cultures typi- cally hold a different per- spective from ours regarding sharing, privacy, and what we call “transparency,” both at the individual and societal level. The Zuni people of New Mexico have an obscure origin; they prefer to remain mute on understandings about various topics. So-called facts about their spiritual mat- ters are recorded but are far from complete, to the dismay of researchers. An example of all this is their language, A:Shiwi. It has no known lin- eage or family member, thus making it a language isolate. They have been “their own People” for at least 7,000 years, similar to the Basques of Western Europe. Facts that we do know about the Zuni can be fairly peculiar to us. They are a matriarchal society; women own all property and mate- rial wealth along with lin- eage rights. When a marriage occurs, the husband moves to, lives with, and becomes part of the wife’s family. Estimates are that 80 percent of all households have at least one family member who is a New Mexico. She became a stone/wood carver, jeweler, painter and has taken the Zuni potter, or painter; most have image making — first done more than one. in with colored pencils and This makes the commu- within a Realism context 70 nity, per capita, one of the years ago — into a deeper and richest artist enclaves in the joyful reflection of her mod- United States. ern world. Elroy Natachu, Jr. The people that the Zuni is the nephew of Jayne and identify with culturally and Lynn. Through contemporary spiritually are the Hopi, yet, perspectives, he has dedicated the languages are altogether himself to the preservation of different. Finally, the Zuni the culture and in particular have long had the reputation the Zuni Kachinas. Together, of being exceptional, proud warriors and protec- tors of ancient trade routes. They fended off incursions for millennia, and most recently turned back the Navajo, Apache, and Spanish. So nothing intrudes with any depth upon them, their PHOTO PROVIDED lands or the culture — with they have formed the art part- the possible exception of love. nership, Natachu Ink. Today, collectors of Forty years ago, a young Navajo woman attend- Native American art often ing the University of New have a special stone carving Mexico went to the Pueblo of an animal, bird or icon for a weekend stay with a they may have purchased in Zuni girlfriend. There, the the Southwest. These well- Navajo woman, named Jayne known carvings, or fetishes, Quam, met a Zuni man named demonstrate both a Zuni art- Lynn — and she never left. ist’s skill and deep cultural Considering that the Navajo connection with the natural are also a matriarchal soci- world. Depicting these embel- ety, it does not happen that a lished objects or amulets—in wife goes to live where the particular mountain lion, coy- husband is. But it did hap- ote, wolf, badger, eagle, and pen. And she’s still there. mole, each one serving as Jayne Quam not only stayed the hunter/guardian at one of and made a life with Lynn, she learned from him how to make the centuries-old tradition of small stone carv- ings depicting animal spirits, known as Zuni fetishes. Their daughter, Kandis, earned a degree in anthropol- ogy from the University of the six directional regions of Zuni cosmology — has been occurring since pre-Colum- bian times. Two types of Zuni fetishes are carved today. Traditional fetishes are of local stone, which are simply shaped, and then carefully kept while respecting the living object represented. Not to be con- fused with good-luck charms or magic amulets, these par- ticular Zuni stone fetishes offer a more complex and ceremonial purpose: to assist humans with blessings, natu- ral balance, and focus — since we are considered the most vulnerable of living crea- tures in Zuni culture. A r t market fetishes, more styl- ized and embellished, are prized items for collectors of Native American art, animal lovers, and tour- ists to the Southwest. These Zuni sculptures are created either from stone, fossil, or antler. Particular animals, birds or icons may reflect a special bond or connection that a carver has with the natural world. For instance, one highly prized carver makes salmon and trout pieces, though he’s spent his entire life in the des- ert Southwest. Other carv- ers become renowned for their unique forms and styl- izing when depicting our world’s creatures, Jayne and Lynn Quam being two of these acclaimed artists. Jayne’s fetishes have the unique feature of mosaic inlaid stonework, a style more commonly seen in Kewa (Santo Domingo Pueblo) jewelry. Lynn mostly carves buffalo. Which can be like saying Bob Dylan writes songs. Many Zuni art- ists have carved buffalo, but Lynn’s are it. A quiet man, his health can be up and down at this point in life, so he has to be careful about travel- ing. Jayne, Kandis, and Elroy will be in Sisters for a three- day in-person show at Raven Makes Gallery, October 27-29, coinciding with the Fourth Friday Art Stroll. WILDFIRE CERAMIC SHOWCASE OVER 25 OF OREGON’S PREMIER CERAMIC ARTISTS Sat., Nov. 4, 10am-5pm • Sun., Nov. 5, 10am-4pm Westside Village Magnet School • 1101 NW 12th St., Bend n d • • • Free Admission/Parking Raffl es Demos Kids Clay Area e a clayguildofthecascades.org
