Migrations: Human in the Maze

In searching for a graphic to adorn the advertizing and programs for the Migrations debut, I quite by accident came across this symbol. It is generally called the "Man in the Maze," and is common to many of the indigenous peoples of the American Southwest, including the Hopi, Pima, Zuni and Navajo. The human figure can bespeak the First Ancestor, but it can also speak to each of us. Life is about twists and turns, about making your way through the sometimes difficult, often obscure world we live in. But just around the next corner, there's an amazing discovery or insight to be had. Of course, the whole thing's a great adventure. And we do seem to go back whence we came, even when we don't mean to.

And indeed this symbol takes me back to a beginning in my own personal migration. My aunt is a Dominican nun, and years ago was sent by the Church to Arizona, of all places. Her best friend in the convent taught school on the Pima reservation, and one of the children there made pendants of this design for her. I remember Sister Caroline, on a visit home, presenting the gift and explaining the symbolism and culture to me as a young boy. It was my first encounter with Native America. When I came across it searching the web for images of migration, I knew I had come around a corner in the maze.