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WHIRLWIND IS A GHOST DANCING by Natalia Belting

WHIRLWIND IS A GHOST DANCING

By

Pub Date: Aug. 30th, 1974
Publisher: Dutton

In the latest of Belting's poetic transcriptions of metaphoric American Indian origin lore, the earth is a cake made of the dirt from Turtle's nails. . . the rainbow is a serpent rubbing his back against the sky (an upturned bowl of ice) and shedding his skin as snow and rain. . . the clouds are smoke from Moon's pipe. . .the mountains were raised to fence out the sun after it had burned bear's white coat black. . . and the sun's rays, which are Earth-Maker's eyelashes to the Northwest Bella Coola, are porcupine quills to the Crow. Perhaps it's the Dillons' decorative illustrations -- graceful and elegant as usual, but without the primitive force that the elemental subjects and the Indian cultures call for -- that makes these notions sometimes seem more charming than compelling. But such reservation is not to deny that their Indian based designs are attractive and their more pretentious full page montages accomplished -- or that BeRing's images are repeatedly sharp and pleasing.