The Southwestern Indian culture extends from the southern fringes of present-day Utah and Colorado southward through Arizona and New Mexico, including parts of Texas, California, and Oklahoma, into the Mexico region (Ortiz, 2001). From this arid landscape, an essential Indian lifestyle …show more content…
These artifacts have significant meaning and connect, preserve, and unite the past to the present (Zuni, 1999). The Zuni also hold unyielding attachment to ancient religious rituals. In my culture “rituals” seems to carry a negative definition, but it is much deeper than a surface definition. I was raised to pray before each meal, before going to bed, and when I feel I need a little more direction in life. Though they are not as rich in history and as formal in …show more content…
Many instructive stories in the Zuni culture tell of men and women who acted vainly, attempting to assume power as if they were separate from or superior to A'wonawil'ona (Ortiz, 2001). Those who did so were punished in some way, their punishments ranging from lack of luck in the hunt to significant droughts, which caused many deaths among their people (Ortiz, 2001). This type of philosophy can be compared to humbling yourself before God and giving him all the