Adobe Gallery Blog

The Shalako Ceremony is conducted at Zuni in late November or early December every year.  Although a Zuni ceremony, it is attended by members of other pueblos, Navajo, Anglo tourists and others who enjoy seeing the reenactment.  It is not unusual for artists of Navajo or non-Zuni pueblo to paint scenes from the ceremony as it is attractive, exciting, and inspiring.  Pablita Velarde (1918-2006) Tse Tsan - Golden Dawn took the occasion to paint an encounter between a Mudhead Katsina and a Shalako God.

The painting was executed in Pablita's style using mineral earth paintings which she painstakingly made by grinding materials on a metate using a mano.  This was a labor of love as Pablita could have purchased commercial paints and finished the job in much less time, but it was her dedication to the art that made her spend countless hours making her own paints.

Read more about this painting here..