The Bluebird Song
"Bluebird said to me, 'Get up my grandchild. It is dawn,' it said to me." - From the Navajo Nightway Ceremony
This set of photos of an eastern bluebird were taken on my walk on the Leon Creek South Greenway at Rodriquez County Park on Friday, January 11, 2013. This post is specially dedicated to my friend Courtenay "Bluebird."
From 1980 through 1985, I had the good fortune of working with and learning much about Navajo life and culture from Noël Bennett. As I was preparing this set of photos for posting, I recalled that in the Navajo Nightway Ceremony, the bluebird is a symbol for dawn. The Bluebird Song is the concluding chant of the nine day ceremony and is sung just before dawn of the final night.
I probably should mention that, here in South Texas, the bluebirds are all eastern bluebirds. This is about the western extent of their range. From the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas and westward across New Mexico and Arizona there are the very similar western bluebird and mountain bluebird.
Here is a beautiful rendition of the Bluebird Song by Lena Clark:
From 1980 through 1985, I had the good fortune of working with and learning much about Navajo life and culture from Noël Bennett. As I was preparing this set of photos for posting, I recalled that in the Navajo Nightway Ceremony, the bluebird is a symbol for dawn. The Bluebird Song is the concluding chant of the nine day ceremony and is sung just before dawn of the final night.
I probably should mention that, here in South Texas, the bluebirds are all eastern bluebirds. This is about the western extent of their range. From the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas and westward across New Mexico and Arizona there are the very similar western bluebird and mountain bluebird.
Here is a beautiful rendition of the Bluebird Song by Lena Clark:
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