They came from
Life giving Waters,
emerging from a Lake
at the Beginning of time.
Avanyu –
Serpent,
Spirit of the River
pecked into stone
or painted
on canyon walls
embodies their story.
The Tewa settled above
the Great River Banks.
Roaring water flowed
through tributaries
mountain gorges.
The People gave thanks.
Water meant Life.
Each village was the center
of the Tewa’s First world.
Bound together by
Women who tended
holy household shrines,
prayed for rain,
created fires,
gathered seed,
ground food,
grew babies,
dug clay to shape
earthen pots.
This was the Second world
of the Tewa.
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