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