Kachina Earrings

Yesterday in 3rd grade social studies, my students researched the culture of the Pueblo people. One girl became quite fascinated with kachinas, especially a story about how Ogre Kachinas visited the homes of bad children and threatened to eat them. "Like Halloween, sort of!"

So today I wore my kachina earrings, a pair I bought last summer from Kevin Abbott of Jabebo (http://www.jabebo.com/).

"You have kachina earrings? Do you have earrings for everything?"

"Mmm. I'm working on it!"

And I read Gerald McDermott's Arrow to the Sun aloud, a pueblo myth full of kachinas and kivas.

In this Caldecott Award winning picture book, the sun god sends his son to Earth to live in the land of men. He's born to a young maiden and undergoes a series of trials to prove himself to his father. I asked my students whether they knew any other stories that told about a similar situation.

"Hercules!"

"Jesus. God sent him to live on Earth."

"Percy Jackson--his father is Poseidon, the sea god."

Kachinas, mythology, and the struggles of childhood. Lots to think about.