Lullaby

1. Yeibechei song (proper noun):

a song performed by masked dancers near the end of the Nightway ceremony, a Navajo healing ritual

“She [. . .] faced east and listened to the wind and snow sing a high-pitched Yeibechei song.” (Page 43)

2. arroyo (noun):

a dry creek bed that fills with water during heavy rains and is commonly found in the American Southwest

“By the light of the snow she could see the dark outline of the big arroyo a few feet away.” (Page 43)

3. hogan (noun):

a domed structure traditionally built by Navajos to serve as their dwelling place

“Ayah remembered sleeping warm on cold windy nights, wrapped in her mother’s blankets on the hogan’s sandy floor.” (Page 44)

4. Navajo (adjective):

describing a people native to the southwestern US who now live primarily in Arizona and New Mexico

“It was back in the days before they hired Navajo women to go with them as interpreters.” (Page 45)

5. Canoncito (proper noun):

a community located in Sante Fe County, New Mexico; the former, Spanish name of a section of the Navajo reservation located in central New Mexico

“She had seen him at the children’s clinic at Canoncito about a month ago.” (Page 45)

6. black lava rock (noun):

extremely old rock found in the southwestern US that formed from cooled lava following volcanic eruptions