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 Inde and Dine 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; Dine ceremonial baskets are used in prayer for rain, and Dine 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.

144 pages, color illustrations