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Zia-mantics
Discussions are going awry here. At times we must say things w/such temerity
that the two positions are either mousy or roar like a lion.
Maybe PC should not stand for Political Correctness but rather Positing
Conundrums!
Zia is a word used by the Zuni Indians (Native Americans) of the American
Southwest primarily in the state of New Mexico. The best way to characterize
a difference in style of the three primary groups that create jewelry and
Kachinas in the Southwest is that the Hopi (whose history goes back way past
the story of the flood) make undecorated silver ware w/embedded design and
superbly carved Kachina dolls of elaborate and detailed skill.
For people's interest, the kachina represents a supernatural being as exists
in the minds of the people AND a masked impersonator of this supernatural
being AND small carved dolls.
If you look at the Hopi and the Zuni their dolls are very well made with the
Hopi being the least decorated much like their silver jewelry.
The Zuni's jewelry is inlaid w/multiple stones such as turquoise, obsidian
and coral.
On the other hand the Navajo, perhaps due to their arriving late to the
Southwest (in the 1400's), make jewelry half-way between Hopi and Zuni and
that is silver w'bits of turquoise that sometimes borders upon being highly
decorated. Their kachinas are more "fluffy" if you allow me to use such a
term, in that the detail is not there as in the Hopi but a lot of feathers
and leather is used which seems to indicate a more "real" doll like look.
>From all this, one of the most important symbols, particularly to the Hopi
and the Zuni, is the sun because there is a lot of it in that region and
also a lot of dry farming which depends upon heat.
Now, Richard (Dick) Sullivan, who owns Bostick (his wife) and Sullivan sell
various chemicals and kits to make Pl/Pd etc. Since the Zuni live closer to
where he lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in their pueblos, the sun symbol is
represented by a design used in the state flag of New Mexico and it is a
beautiful logo of a circle with three bars emanating from each primary
direction. This Zia symbol is appropriate to use for a name to designate a
product which employs the sun to make it work and also denote the special
quality of it as the sign is really nifty.
Now, whether Mr. Sullivan actually got permission to use this for a
commercial product or not is another question. I do know the Zuni, Hopi and
Navajo get terribly miffed when the 'white man' uses their aspects of
identity for profit and this is what the Ziatype is.
However, one last note here, is that I have used the same symbol for years
in naming my press which produced my only book of my art. It is called
Pencil Press and shows a pencil w/it's point directly in the center of the
Zia sun which is at an oblique angle. Now, I hope Mike Weaver and the house
of Talbot doesn't get after me for that.
Sorry to have gone on so long but I thought what I might write would be much
more interesting that what is going on.
Jack Fulton