Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
A Journey to the Heart
Part One. In the Navel of the Moon: Mexico
The Gulf of California
The Female Soul of Mexico
Coatlicue: An Aztec Creation Story in Two Versions
Mother of the Lord of Near and Far
Corn Mother
Yomumuli and the Talking Tree
The Flower Women
An Introduction to Fundamental Interactions
The Flood: Two Stories
The Red Rose
Jesus as Hopul Woki (Folded Feet)
Radiating in All Directions
The Iron of Their Lances
Bird Killer
The Woman Who Measured Yaqui Country
The Snake People
A Line on the Earth
Head of a Cow and Other White Men from Heaven
Throwing Fire at the Sun
Columbus Dies in Two Ways and It’s Still Not Enough to Change History
Amongst the Most Barbarous and Fierce Peoples
Vairuba and the Snake
Ceremony of Adoption of Orphaned Children
The People Are Kind
A Cloud of Arrows
Oh, My Grandfather
We Came This Way
In the Land of the Restless Yaquis
Vildósola’s Decrees
Rabbit and Coyote
Indian Vices (in the Persona of Father Och)
Red at Bacum
Gifted with a Spirited Imagination
Legal Persecution
Mexican Gifts
Letters: Word Bullets
Another Trail of Tears: The Massacre of Mazocoba
Part Two. Cuentos di Mi Familia / Stories of My Family
Coyote Woman
Marking Time
The Esperanza Sisters
Honey
Estefana’s Necklace of Bullets
Bones Resembling My Grandfather
Grandfather Sun Falls in Love with a Moon-Faced Woman
The Esperanza Sisters, Continued
Angelina
La Morena as the Sad-Eyed Jaguar Priest
Anonymous Is Coyote Girl
The Sharp Smell of Burnt Sugar
Lost River
My Little Sister’s Heart in My Hands
The Other Story
Chief Red Feather
Bamboo Angels
La Morena and Her Beehive Hairdo
La Virgen de Trent Avenue
Why Coyote Girl Quit Being a Jesus Freak
The Esperanza Sisters, Continued
La Llorona, the Crying Woman
Dream-Walkers from the Flower World
The Walking Stone
A Good Journey Home to Vicam
No Me Recuerdo las Palabras Ahora
The Humming of Stars and Bees and Waves
Appendix: The Family Tree
Notes
For Further Reading