Zuni
Fetishes and Carvings
Six Directions© 2008 Cherry Hill
©
Copyright Information The
Zuni define their world in terms of directions with their home and village and
its inhabitants at the center of the world. Therefore, they have six directions,
the four cardinal directions (North, South, East West) and the Upper and Lower
Dimensions. Each
region has its own guardian and often fetishes representing the six directions
are placed in the home as a group or set. The
mountain lion represents the North. The
wolf represents the East. The
badger represents the South. The
bear represents the West. The
mole represents the Lower Dimension or the Earth. The
eagle represents the Upper Dimension or the Sky.
Some
Zuni artists carve all six fetishes out of one piece of stone - this is
a very rare Six Directions set. Another
approach is to carve one fetish, say the badger, larger and then to tie the other
five fetishes, carved in a smaller scale, to the badger. A
more common group is a display of the six fetishes, all in the same scale, on
a natural setting such as one made with rocks and wood. |
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