Shalako

I know I've neglected this blog, and unfortunately it's going to be neglected for a little while longer. I'm still busy at work and considering it's now the second week of December I've realized how much there is I need to get done. I'm very close to being done with the quilts for my nieces, but aside from that I really need to start packing up my apartment. So much to do, so little time!


But for a super quick update, this past weekend was pretty amazing. I went to the Shalako Ceremony at Zuni. Zuni is a tribe about 3 ½ hours SW of here, only about 15 miles from the Arizona border. Shalako is a ceremony where 6 families are selected to “host” it – which involves building a new house, decorating it with donated/borrowed things (Native American blankets, jewelry, animal heads, etc.) and the festivities last for about a week or 2. As at all Native American ceremonies food is a big deal – the hosting houses have tables and chairs set out and feed anyone who comes – on Sunday, which was the main day, they probably fed around 600-900 people. On Saturday night/Sunday morning from about midnight to 8 am are the Shalako dances. Each house has its own Shalako and there are different dancers that go from house to house – one is a Fire God, some are Warriors, and then there are the Mud Heads. The Mud Heads are kind of like clowns – they are there to kind of taunt the Shalako. There are some images of it.

The tall ones are the Shalako Kachinas, and the normal-sized ones are different types of Warrior Kachinas.

Again, the tall one is the Shalako Kachina. The polka-dotted one is a Fire God Kachina, and the other one is a Mud Head Kachina.

Oh, and my boss helped one of the families design the house, that’s why we were invited. Not that you have to be invited to go though. On Friday and Saturday we helped out the family by keeping the tables clean and full of food and washing dishes. It was pretty cool.