PIECES OF THE WHITE SHELL. A Journey to Navajoland
New York: Scribner's, 1984. Clifford Brycelea. First edition. Hardcover. Signed by Williams on the half-title page. The author is our guide to Navajo country, and tells of Navajo creation myths: Coyote grows impatient watching First Man and First Woman placing each star carefully into the sky, he heaves upward an entire blanket of stars, creating the Milky Way. Yucca, born of the head of Tracking Bear, becomes a basket, a toy, soap--bathing with yucca suds is integral to the the Navajo Way. On the Western horizon heat waves dance in front of a large blue mountain--Sleeping Indian who will rise again with the power of the People. The natural world takes on new dimensions. Legend and ritual are the stories by which the Navajo have lived, by which they have understood their place in the universe. This book illuminates these stories and, using them as a point of departure, shows us how we can find our own history, our traditions, our sense of how to live well. It is in this way that we may retain our integrity in a world that is ever-changing. 162 pages. Illustrations by Clifford Brycelea. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket. Item #14626
ISBN: 0684182327
Price: $125.00