Part Ten: Cultural Cross Currents
The Navajo use colorful and symmetrical arrangements in the sand as a representation of the position of planets and stars. These sandpaintings are used to attract a particular healing power on a sick person. Curing ceremonies in which sandpaintings are drawn help restore hózhó, which is variously translated as beauty, balance, harmony, or holiness. Navajos try to live in harmony with Mother Earth and Father Sky, and all of nature. But they also believe that hózhó is difficult to maintain because of witchcraft, evil spirits, violated taboos, and the fact that the Holy People are sensitive and easily offended. If hózhó is lost because something bad happens, the unfortunate person visits a Singer, also called a hataalii or Healer, to restore the cosmic balance. Ceremonies can last up to nine days, with four or more sand paintings created in that time.
The man knelt on the sandpainting facing East, the direction from which the Holy People come. The painting serves as the pathway for humans and gods to interact. The chanting began with the first part of the Blessing Way:
Navajo Blessing Way Prayer
In beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.
With beauty may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me, may I walk.
With beauty all around me, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
The hataalii dribbled yellow pollen dust on the kneeling figure. Pollen was used to bless a person. It was the opposite of corpse powder used to curse. The family of the man and their extended clan were outside. Purification rituals began with smearing black char on the man and making him drink an emetic to purge out the evil spirits. Now he knelt to pray for a cure because he had been witched, probably by an outsider.
When the ritual was completed, members of the audience approached the painting and rubbed sand on themselves, thus participating in the healing ceremony and bringing harmony to themselves. The sandpainting was then ceremonially destroyed in the reverse order of its creation, and buried to dispose of all absorbed evil, preventing it from angering the Holy People. After each sandpainting and ritual chant concluded, the same would be done each day of the cure for the painting cannot last more than from dawn to dusk.
The Navajo like their hataalii to be old and wise. Hosteen Jim Nakai was old enough. And he now had fame. For this hataalii had seen a skinwalker twice and lived. Word had spread across the Reservation. Everyone who could attend did. And so did Colonel O'Neill and SG-1.
"I like colorful native rituals as much as the next guy, but when do we get to question the medicine man, Daniel?" Jack had lost his patience a long time ago. It was the third day Ellie was missing. And they were not even close to finding her. Every moment she remained gone made it more unlikely she would be found alive.
"He's not called a medicine man, Jack. I wish you would keep your voice down. They don't like outsiders to see all this anyway. Don't offend them." Daniel tried to usher Jack toward the cooking area where great pots of lamb stew were bubbling. "Great, lamb again. Um, could we try some of that?" Daniel gestured with his chin. Jack looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"Got a twitch there, Danny boy?"
"Uh, no, Jack. And if you would pay attention, you would know that pointing is extremely rude. So you gesture with your head and chin. Like I just did. Try it. Ask for some stew and use your chin."
"My chinny chin chin? Oy. Fine. Um, may we please try some of that lovely stew?" Jack thrust his lantern jawed chin toward the pot.
Teal'c walked up at that moment and asked Jack, "Did you injure your back again, O'Neill?" He mimicked the chin throw. Jack glared at Daniel.
"That's the last time I fall for it, DOCTOR Jackson."
"No, no, Jack it's true. Just do it. Please. If you want to find her, don't piss off these folks." Daniel smiled and thanked the woman handing over a bowl of hot stew. "They are being very generous to share all this with us. It costs a lot to hold one of these sings. They have to slaughter some of their sheep and buy supplies to feed a big crowd. They have to pay the hataalii. This one is especially famous so his price is very high. And they are not exactly wealthy." Daniel watched Jack accept a bowl and nod graciously in thanks to the cook.
"Fine, but how much longer. We have got to move on this." Jack sniffed at the food. He was hungry standing around in the cold. A hot meal was welcome.
"It takes as long as it takes. You know that." And the two men ate in silence after that.
Captain Tsosie shook his head. Belacani, sheesh. No manners whatsoever. The one with the glasses was at least trying but the others were a sorry sight. He wondered how they would feel if folks acted out in their living rooms.
"Yes, sir. I know it's expensive. It can't be helped. We need those satellite images ASAP. And we need another two UAV's. One got damaged in a tight canyon. Right." Sam hung up the phone in the Crownpoint police station. She was coordinating the manhunt efforts there. With such a huge area to cover with such difficult terrain, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The phone rang.
"Carter. Oh, yeah, Janet. Sure." Sam listened on the secured line to Dr. Fraiser's report.
"I finished the autopsy review on the staff blast case. That's definitely what it was. And we are hearing rumors that there is another case like this up near Page, Arizona. The coroner's report describes a similar wound on two Paiute Indians."
"How did you find out?"
"We put out a call for any anomalous injuries causing death in all the regional medical facilities. The coroner up there described a staff blast injury to a 'T' and so we had photos emailed here. I just got back by chopper from viewing the bodies in Page."
"That was fast."
"Yes, all this support makes it easy. Thanks, Sam. But you should hear this. Most probably the coroner noticed because it's unusual for Paiutes to be found so far inside the Navajo Reservation. They usually fish Lake Powell from the Northern shore. They were found well inside the Navajo Reservation on Rainbow Plateau by some hikers trying to reach Rainbow Bridge from the land. Normally, you do it by water. And there were these two bodies. So they called the National Park Service Rangers after they reached Rainbow Bridge and made it to Dangling Rope Marina with help from some boaters."
"When did the deaths occur?"
"Two days ago."
"That's just after she disappeared."
"Right."
During the night, the spy satellites rearranged their orbits to make passes over the Four Corners area. The name Four Corners results from the only point in the United States where four states come together perfectly to touch their corners. Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all touch their edges at a point near Shiprock on the Navajo Reservation. The Navajo like to joke that they move from Arizona to their summer homes in Utah having to travel a whole three feet.
Shiprock has another Navajo police substation. The name Shiprock comes from the gigantic plug of an ancient volcano whose exterior has eroded away over time. Just the hardened lava core remains in a shape reminiscent of a 19th century Clipper ship. The Indians consider it sacred ground. Their name for it is Tse' bi t'ai (Rock's Wings). The Navajos do not want any one to climb Shiprock Peak for fear of stirring up the ch'indii, or rob the corpses of ancestors who supposedly died there. Shiprock Peak has a number of myths attached to it. But it is definitely associated with the Enemy Way Ceremony.
Jack went up to Captain Tsosie who was chatting with one of the clan elders at the Enemy Way sing. He could see Shiprock in the distance and the Chaco mountains beyond. It was blowing cold and he had had enough. If Ellie was out here somewhere, she was in danger from the elements. Time to get serious.
"A word, there Captain?" Jack received the dirty looks one gets for interrupting clan elders or speaking to them first before they address you. He didn't care anymore. Enough was enough. Tsosie didn't try to hide his annoyance.
"You know, I was getting good intelligence there. Now they probably won't tell me anything more." He gave Jack a hard look. He hated outsiders thinking he couldn't do his job.
"It's not that I don't appreciate everything you are doing, but every moment gone and she's in worse trouble."
"You think I don't know that? Listen to me. You are an outsider. You asked for our help. Now you don't like how you are getting it?" Tsosie huffed and looked off in the distance. "I knew guys like you in 'Nam." He shook his head.
"Um so what regiment?"
"Based out of Da Nang, Marines."
"I was in Da Nang, too. For a short time in 1972."
"I was there from 1966-1969, Military Police."
"Oh. Look, I'm sorry. I won't interfere again." Jack scuffed some sand on the ground feeling awful about being so gruff.
Tsosie thought about it and remembered this was the Colonel's woman. So, quietly he began his report. "They say that the singer saw the Skinwalker up near one of the sacred mountains, Navajo Mountain. It's in Utah bordering Lake Powell. Seems someone was herding sheep in one of the canyons. There's an off-road trail that goes to Rainbow Bridge near there. Sometimes the tourists will try it. But it's a difficult track even for an SUV and then you have to hike in. At this time of year, there're rarely any tourists there. Anyway, he says that one night he saw a meeting with the Skinwalker and a group of Paiutes. That's another tribe. They have no business there, not their land. Seems there were belacani there too. That's white folks. And he says he saw a white woman being carried. He thought she was just sick and going home from too hard a hike. But then he saw the Skinwalker's eyes glow. One of the white guys pointed a long rod at the Paiutes. And then he said he heard the echo of an explosion really loud. He didn't wait to see more." Tsosie saw the understanding in Jack's eyes. Yes, this was what was secret.
"Captain, can you show Major Carter where this area is. She will have the UAV's do a search and redirect the rescue teams." Jack looked over at Teal'c. "And would you take him," Jack pointed with his chin at Teal'c. Tsosie looked doubtful. "I know he's sorta different. But he knows what he's doing. You couldn't ask for a better tracker."
"You want to tell me what all this is about?"
"Because you are ex-Marine, I'll say this much. You've heard of classified?"
"Yeah." Tsosie stalked off.
Jack blew out his cheeks to relieve the tension. Well that was the best lead yet. He hoped it would be enough.
