Anasazi Legends: Songs Of The Wind Dancer

"Anasazi Legends", by Lou Cuevas, is a collection of folk tales, spiritual legends, and Native American stories originally created more than five hundred years ago. From his grandfather Lou learned the chants which related the origins of many creatures such as the prairie dog, the golden eagle, the Joshua trees, and how they mirrored the spirit race often referred to by his grandfather as the "Ancient Ones" or Anasazi, predecessors of the Apache.

With fond enthusiasm Cuevas vividly recalls his early childhood living with his Apache grandparents on a remote reservation near Lemitar, New Mexico. He was nurtured by his grandfather, the tribal medicine man, and his equally knowledgeable grandmother, who was the tribe's curandera, or medicine woman. The author has translated into written form the oral chants of his grandfather, which evoke reverence for Native American beliefs and the noble values they impart. Realistic narratives capture the imagination and transport the reader into the world of the ancient American Southwest, where a magical ceremony can turn boys into birds that fly and a youthful romance takes on new meaning. The explanations of nature and human behavior were taught to Indian children so that they might learn to respect the power of life.