The Silent Ones tells the story of the Keeper of the Breath. The Hopi myth states “a stranger came among the people, when a great whirlwind came and blew all the vegetation from the surface of the Earth and all the water from its courses. He told them he was the keeper of the breath. The whirlwind and the air which men breathe come from this keeper’s mouth” (Mallery). The concentric circle motifs (solstice markers) mark the event. The snake, which symbolizes changes in the cycle of life, returns the land to its previous ample bounty of sheep and water.
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