The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O'Odham CountryLongtime residents of the Sonoran Desert, the Tohono O'odham people have spent centuries living off the landÑa land that most modern citizens of southern Arizona consider totally inhospitable. Ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan has lived with the Tohono O'odham, long known as the Papagos, observing the delicate balance between these people and their environment. Bringing O'odham voices to the page at every turn, he writes elegantly of how they husband scant water supplies, grow crops, and utilize wild edible foods. Woven through his account are coyote tales, O'odham children's impressions of the desert, and observations on the political problems that come with living on both sides of an international border. Whether visiting a sacred cave in the Baboquivari Mountains or attending a saguaro wine-drinking ceremony, Nabhan conveys the everyday life and extraordinary perseverance of these desert people in a book that has become a contemporary classic of environmental literature. |
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The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in Papago Indian Country Gary Paul Nabhan No preview available - 1987 |
Common terms and phrases
A'al Waipia agriculture Andrew Weil arid Arizona Baboquivari Baboquivari Peak Baptisto birds border boys canyon Carl Lumholtz cave century chapter charco chile Coatimundis cotton Coyote Coyote's crops cucurbits cultivated Desert Smells devil's claw diabetes diet drink earth Ecology fiesta floodwater fields Folk Taxonomy friends Gary Nabhan Gary Paul Nabhan gathered gourd ground grow harvest Henry Dobyns introductory quote irrigation Isidro José Juan Julian Justicia Ki:towak l'itoi land looked Madrugada Magdalena Manny Marquita medicine mesquite Mexican Mexico miles nutrients O'odham Organ Pipe Cactus Orosco Papago and Pima Papago country Papago fields Papago Indian Religion Park Service pee-churs pickup Pima Indians Pipe Cactus National plants pond Proboscidea Quitobaquito Remedio Reservation runoff saguaro cactus season seeds shrine smells like rain soil Sonoran Desert Southwest species squash story tepary bean trees Tucson Underhill University of Arizona vomit walked wash wild wine feast