Perry Null Trading

Like the other Pueblos, the Zunis have a long and fruitful tradition of pottery making and their historic ceramics are among the best. Zuni Pottery came close to dying out in the last century, but a handful of ladies, including the Tewa, Daisy Nampeyo, began teaching young people the art, and pottery is making a comeback. Many young potters use commercial clay, some even poured greenware, which keeps down the price, but there are several deposits of high grade clay on Zuni lands. This clay is very clean and has high-fire capability.

Fetishes are an important part in Zuni tradition and culture. In Zuni culture a fetish represents the animal spirit thought to reside in the stone. The Frog is believed to be able to petition the spirits to bring forth abundant rain. In Zuni, New Mexico this is a very important thing because the climate is arid, considered "high desert." This is one of the most common fetishes found today, and one of the oldest dating types of fetishes. What is the Frog Zuni Fetish Meaning? The Frog also represents fertility. It is said that keeping a frog fetish next to the bed will allow a woman to become pregnant.

In Zuni culture fetishes play an important role. A fetish is a an animal carved in stone, bone or antler. If the animal's spirit resides in the stone it is considered a fetish and is thought to be very powerful. The fox fetish will look similar to the wolf fetish, but will have an elongated, fluffy tail. Typically the facial features will be delicate with pointed ears and noses. What is the Fox Zuni Fetish Meaning?

What is the Eagle Zuni Fetish Meaning? The Eagle is the guardian and master or prey god of the Upper regions because he flies through the skies without tiring and his coat is speckled like the clouds.  He is the younger brother of the wolf and the older brother of the mole.  The Eagle is the messenger to the gods and his fetish represents power, balance, dignity, vision, higher truth and grace.  In Zuni culture a fetish represents the animal spirit thought to reside in the stone.  The eagle is found in both the healing and the hunter directional fetish sets.

What is the Mole Zuni Fetish Meaning? The Mole is the guardian and master of the lower regions because he burrows through the earth without tiring. He is the younger brother of the Eagle. He protects crops from disease and pests that threaten the harvest. The Mole fetish represents awareness, grounding and introspection. It is included in both the healing and hunting directional fetish sets, and usually carved in black to represent the color of its coat and the color of the holes and caves of the earth. Artists sometimes inlay these fetishes with eyes, but often they are left without eyes. In Zuni culture a fetish represents the animal spirit thought to reside in the stone. Moles remind us that even subtle change is still change.

What is the Mountain Lion Zuni Fetish Meaning? The Mountain Lion is the guardian and master of the North in Zuni culture. He is thought to be the most powerful hunter and appears in both hunting and healing directional sets of fetishes. In Zuni culture a fetish represents the animal spirit thought to reside in the stone. The Mountain Lion is endowed with peculiar powers of sight and smell. He is the older brother of the bear and represents leadership, resourcefulness, cunning and clarity, independence, spiritual intensity, intuition, fierce protectiveness and loyalty. It is carried by travelers to protect them on their journey and also carried by hunters to help ensure a successful hunt.

In Zuni culture a fetish represents the animal spirit thought to reside in the stone. What is the Bear Zuni Fetish Meaning? The Bear is the guardian and master of the west. His fetish represents healing and protection. The Bear is associated with the color blue and known for his curative powers. Though all bears are healers, white bears are particularly powerful. Characteristics associated with bears include strength, courage, adaptability, healing and spiritual communion.

The Navajo silver bracelet passed from hand to hand, wrist to wrist, generation to generation; silversmith to mother, mother to daughter, daughter to medicine man and medicine man to the needy. It passed to a trader in Gallup, ended up as dead pawn, was purchased by a Navajo man, given to a young Australian woman, flown across an ocean, stored in a jewelry box, carried up a mountain and then, as if by magic, found its way home again. Each Navajo silver bracelet has a history.

It was the summer of 1949 in the high mountains of the Chuska range. A young Navajo boy sat on an upturned bucket, watching his grandfather melt silver coins in a clay crucible. The grandfather was teaching the six year old the art of jewelry making. The Navajo silversmith knelt on the earthen floor in front of his fire, melting the coins for a tufa cast bracelet; a jewelry process which involved carving out a pattern in tufa stone, lining the mold with a bit of sheep grease, then pouring the liquid silver in.

78 years is a long time, it is pretty much the life expectancy for a US citizen. Navajo silver making is thought to have been around the last 160 years, two lives. Lots of things have happened between the mid 1800s and 2011. We have gone from the horse pulled wagon to our hybrid four-wheel drive SUVs, the telegraph to video chat, digging a hole outdoors to indoor plumbing, but turquoise and silver is still pretty much the same.

If you are a collector of Zuni fetishes you may have a lizard in your collection. Fetishes are an important part of Zuni culture and represent the spirit that is believed to reside within the stone. What is the lizard Zuni Fetish Meaning? It can represent agility and conversation.

Animals such as beaver, lizards and horned toads, while often part of Zuni mythology, are not generally "fetish" animals in the same sense that other animals that are considered prey gods (wolf, mountain lion,eagle, mole, etc) or protection gods (wolf, badger, mole, bear, etc) are, or animals that represent healing or fertility. Their images are not usually kept to provide a specific benefit or blessing to their owner.

Dolomite is a sedimentary carbonate rock similar to limestone, but much harder. It has a unique saddle-shaped crystal made of calcium magnesium carbonate. It is most commonly found in areas of Europe (particularly Italy), Canada and Africa. Not a traditional Zuni carved stone, the carvers that do use it like it for its bone color. It can vary in color though, from white-to-gray and white-to-light brown. Less commonly, colors such as red, green and black are possible.