PAPAGO INDIAN LEGENDS

DeGrazia's "Ho'ok"

This exhibition, painted in 1975, is one of DeGrazia's most popular collections. It depicts his love for Native Americans and the pleasure he got in story telling. The artist chose four myths that depict the Papago, now known as the Tohono O'odham, tradition of story telling: “Creation Of The World”, “The Monster Of Quitovac”, “The Eagle Man” and “Ho'ok, The Witch”.

“Creation Of The World” depicts the earth’s beginnings and the birth of the “just right” Papago people. “The Monster Of Quitovac” tells of a large horned toad that hides in an arroyo waiting for Indians to fetch water in order to eat them. “Eagle Man” is a half man, half eagle creature who marries and has an eagle baby. After the Eagle Man and child begin eating Indians as snacks, his wife decides she can no longer live with them. She calls on the Papago god Eetoi to help her and after he decapitates them she lives happily ever after. The final myth is “Ho’ok, The Witch”. Ho’ok is a wicked witch who goes from house to house collecting children in order to eat them. The children are finally safe once Eetoi captures and kills the witch. Ho’ok can be seen in the image to the right. There are 20 paintings in this collection along with a full representation of items in different media including bronzes, coins, oils, sketches, and watercolors.  

 

Exhibits

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Padre Kino

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Cabeza de Vaca

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Retrospective Collection

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Yaqui Easter

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Bullfight Collection


 

 

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