From Library Journal
This book takes an unusual approach to Native American art, one that ties it directly to the life force of the tribes of the Southwest. To Native Americans in the arid Southwest, rain means corn and corn means life. While times may have changed, the pervasive symbols of rainDdrops, rainbows, lightning, clouds, and water reptiles such as turtles and frogsDhave been used for centuries in Native art. Marshall, who has been affiliated with the Heard Museum in Phoenix for over 20 years, has gathered an impressive array of objects from that museum with the aid of advisers from five tribes of the area. The symbols come to life in the depiction of their use in ceremony, song, prayer, and everyday life. Katchina costumes, pottery, jewelry, baskets, clothing, and every part of life is decoratedDas a form of prayerDwith symbols of rain. Culturally informative and beautifully illustrated, this is as refreshing as, well, a summer rain in the desert. Suitable for extended Native American or art collections.DGay Neale, Meredithville, VA Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
This book explores the synergetic relationship between rain and the indigenous peoples of the arid and semi-arid Southwest. The exemplary collection of the Heard Museum in Phoenix provides rich stores of cultural art objects representing the Hopi, Zuni, and Rio Grande Pueblos, the Tohono O'odham, and the Indé and Diné tribes. Examples include Hopi eagle dancers wearing kilts decorated with cloud and rain symbols, and Hopi water maiden katsinas crowned with rain-cloud headpieces. A Tohono O'odham wine basket is used during the rain ceremony to hold saguaro wine; Diné ceremonial baskets are used in prayer for rain, and Diné storm pattern textiles illustrate the Water Meeting Place at the center of the Whirling Logs, where sacred corn, beans, squash and tobacco are grown. Featuring 160 color reproductions, Rain is a glimpse into the arts of southwestern tribes and a shimmering portrait of the desert's oldest miracle.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the Southwest, where precipitation is light and undependable, native tribes encourage the rain to fall through a variety of ceremonies and creative expressions, each with deep meanings that reflect their culture's unique experience of the world. Those meanings are vividly depicted in the stories, songs, poems, and prayers collected in Rain.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

This book takes an unusual approach to Native American art, one that ties it directly to the life force of the tribes of the Southwest. To Native Americans in the arid Southwest, rain means corn and corn means life. While times may have changed, the pervasive symbols of rain--drops, rainbows, lightning, clouds, and water reptiles such as turtles and frogs--have been used for centuries in Native art. Marshall, who has been affiliated with the Heard Museum in Phoenix for over 20 years, has gathered an impressive array of objects from that museum with the aid of advisers from five tribes of the area. The symbols come to life in the depiction of their use in ceremony, song, prayer, and everyday life. Katchina costumes, pottery, jewelry, baskets, clothing, and every part of life is decorated--as a form of prayer--with symbols of rain. Culturally informative and beautifully illustrated, this is as refreshing as, well, a summer rain in the desert. Suitable for extended Native American or art collections.--Gay Neale, Meredithville, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Nati