Five Items Representing Natural and Cultural Elements
The objects displayed in this Nicho represent our UU shared value of interdependence, whereby “We honor the interdependent web of all existence and our place in it.”
Earth Web selected five items for its Nicho representing Cultures of New Mexico – either natural elements esteemed by current or last cultures or cultural items made from natural elements.
The Red Rock Trail of the Walatowa Red Rocks, Jemez Pueblo
Left to right: Corbel, chile ristra, petroglyph, framed photo of Red Rock Trail at Jemez Pueblo, coyote sculpture
The photo shows Red Rock Trail of the Walatowa Red Rocks at Jemez Pueblo. The rocks are the record of ancient desert sand dunes from about 275 million years ago and are the same layers that are famously scenic at Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley in northeastern Arizona.
The photo was taken by local award-winning photographer Gary Smith. (This and other work can be viewed at Mr. Smith’s website, SmugMug.com. We purchased the window frame second-hand. We ordered the corbel from Groff Lumber Company in Albuquerque.
Both functional and decorative, corbels have been present in New Mexico at least since 1621, when Spanish Franciscans adorned the mission church at Pecos. They are a defining feature of New Mexico’s Spanish Colonial and Pueblo-Revival architecture.
Chiles and coyotes
New Mexicans consume more chile than any other group in the U.S., and ristras, the pretty strings of sun-dried chiles, can be found everywhere in the state. Native Americans were growing chiles before Spanish explorers arrived. The word is derived from the Nahuatl (Aztec) ‘chil.’ Dried chiles can be used for cooking or making into spice or simply enjoyed as a decoration.
Coyotes are part of the culture and lore of many indigenous peoples of North American since time immemorial. In New Mexico, they appear prominently in the traditions of the Jicarilla Apache and Diné.
Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs are scattered throughout the world. In New Mexico, they range in age from about 400 years to 3,000 years and were primarily created by ancestral Puebloans.
Our handmade rendition features two designs (though only one at a time can be seen), both fashioned after petroglyphs in Three Rivers Petroglyph Site near Tularosa.
Handmade replica, courtesy of Earth Web
