Now What Does That Bum Want?

Let me kick this off by explaining the photo at the top of the page. It was shot during one of the most exciting times of my life. Stark and I met in Phoenix and headed to the outback, initially, to gather material and inspiration for her artwork. It didn’t take long to sense that the Southwest has two world’s, one of them belonging to Indigenous People…The Pueblo Indians and the Athabascans…the Navajo and Apache. Our little bulldog of a motorhome could not only fit into a parking space, but with duals in the rear, could traverse terrain usually reserved for Jeeps and Land Rovers. We saw some dizzyingly ancient places. And we took lots of photos of “rock art”…petroglyphs and pictographs. So, one night, while looking at them on the laptop, we came to the conclusion that not all Indians came from the North, as we had always been taught in school. Some definitely came from the South. Now, we knew that the Athabascans came from Asia 10’s of thousands of years ago and settled in the Southwest just before the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century. But, the Pueblo Indians had been there for eons. To this day, they live differently than their larger neighbors, they look differently, and they worship differently. They both have a terrific sense of humor, although generally, not for each other.

The ancestors of the Pueblo Indians did a lot of migrating. They made it to the ice in Canada during the last Ice Age. They made it to both coasts. Although I was unable to determine how far, I was told that they had made it deep into South America. The relatively modern Comanche, who were raiders, made it to Central America and back, on horses. But, the Hopi’s ancestors, the Hitsotsunum (for 'the ones who came before'), had no transportation. But, they did have time. Lots of time. They migrated, primarily for spiritual reasons…to maintain The Hopi Way, which generally meant a hard way of life. When things got lax and The People…The Righteous Ones…got lazy, or started squabbling among themselves, it was time to move on, abandoning their homes and fields. Sometimes a natural disaster, like a volcano, flood, drought, or earthquake would be a sign that Masaw (or Masauwu), the steward of Mother Earth, was angry with them…so they continued on their migration. So life went for eons. They migrated in the four Cardinal Directions: North, South, East and West. In the photo above, I am standing at the crosshairs of these migrations, Three Rivers.

It is a 2-½ mile ridge that rises above the Northern Chihuahuan Desert, between The White Sands and the Sacramento Mountains. Once a mountain, it had eroded to reveal thousands of volcanic out-croppings that varied in size from knee-high, to twenty or thirty feet high. Because of their volcanic origins they were naturally smooth and with their constant exposure to the elements, they took on a desert patina…a thin, dark coating, which made them ideal for etching. As the various clans and bands crossed Three Rivers on their migrations, they stopped to record their stories. This is the world’s largest petroglyph site, with over 21,000 finely etched scenes and, perhaps the largest communication center until Houston Central was built, not to mention, one of North America’s first blogs. We spent nearly three months up there, one of which was during the dead of Winter and had the entire site to ourselves, except for the amazing curators, John and Sherry, who lived there year-round, maintaining this remote BLM property for the few people who were able to find it.

We photographed intricately etched births and deaths, signs of the giants who roamed the area, the seasons, what kind of animals were being hunted and the spirits of the hunted animals being exhaled from their mouths. We saw boats, whales and smaller fish, fantastic birds and other animals, adorned with geometric designs. At the extreme south end of the ridge, one of the first things you will see is an etching of Masaw, Ruler of the Earth, pulling a “mud head" out of the sipapu and into the current Fourth World, after the Third World was destroyed by floods. The picture that I posted to the top left, is the actual petroglyph of Masaw. It may take a moment, but eventually, you will see him bending over to your right and looking straight down, baring sharp teeth, as he reaches out for a "mud head". Standing at the extreme north end of the ridge, you would be facing the Trinity Site, where the first Atomic Bomb was exploded. If you look down at the rock in front of you, you will see a mushroom cloud, thousands of years old.

So, we imagined…a long, long time ago....

One day, a mother is grinding corn, when she sees her very late son approaching. He is dragging a large stone slab behind him.

“Where have you been?!?!?!? It’s been months! I was worried!”

“I stopped at Three Rivers, Mom.”

“So, did anyone call?”

“Yah. Here you go", as he slams the slab down in front of her. "You have a message from Uncle Seccacacu.”