Desert Bounty, Desert People

There is something in the desert that brings out a sense of spirit more than other, temperate areas. Perhaps it's the awe of a land so exposed to the sun, or the many specialized ways in which life has adapted to the dry, sun-drenched heat.

We helped celebrate the desert last night at our neighbor's annual desert bounty pot luck dinner featuring foods harvested from the desert. Saguaro fruit sauces, sauteed palo verde peas, tepary bean humus, mesquite flour flavored flan, cholla buds, and margaritas. Oh, and grilled chicken and filet mignon.

With us was a traditional spiritualist from the Tohono O'odham, the Desert People. The sun having set, our small gathering sat outside by the pool in the warm air. Joseph is what I would call a shaman, an elder with deep Catholic roots. He sang a traditional song for us from the Akimel O'odham (River People) who live by the Gila River. That song and his voice, accompanied by the oscillating sound of a gourd rattle shaken in circles, resonated with the vibrations of every land and every people. Thai Buddhist chanting was there, as were ancestral voices, Tibetan shamans, dream-time spirits, and plain song prayer.

We each spoke something about what the desert means to us, then he sang another traditional chant, this time from the people the Spanish named after the butterfly, Spanish "mariposa", which became Maricopa. The sounds and vibrations coaxed from the rattle were even more varied and provoking. All juxtaposed over a warm evening, bare feet dangling in the swimming pool. It's like stepping away from time and place.