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Furry Badger Necklace


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Furry Badger Necklace   The Necklace includes:
*Picasso jasper badger by Zuni carver Terry Aisetewa
*Picasso jasper rainbird by Zuni carver Daryl Shack, Sr.
*Pyrite, Picasso jasper, abalone and turquoise beads
*Fabricated sterling bezel and spacers
*Turquoise cabochons, coral cabochon (reverse)
*Sterling beads and findings
*Signed, numbered, dated

Length:  255." - 31" (65 cm - 79 cm)
Badger length:  3.25" (8 cm)
Weight:  6.6 oz (188 gm)

Photo: Melinda Holden

  Item #431                       SOLD
 
It was with some trepidation that I purchased this beautiful badger with her inlaid turquoise eyes and gorgeous fur. She seemed incredibly fierce to me and I fretted about how I could possibly use her in a necklace. Indeed, the Medicine Cards (see below) assign aggressiveness to Badger and say "Badger is vicious, and attacks with powerful aggression... The very thought of facing Badger makes other animals run for cover..." Because of this fierce, aggressive aspect, I considered using this badger in a bola tie for a man. For some reason I kept setting her aside, putting her back with my other carvings, admiring her and petting her frequently, trying to make friends with her so I could see how she wanted to be used. Curiously she seemed to grow happier and when it came time to use her in a piece, I thought she didn't seem nearly so grouchy. She won't suffer fools gladly of course, but I think she likes her new setting.

Her fur is extraordinarily beautifully carved. The sterling setting which holds her is open so that you can see her beautiful tummy fur. It's interesting that according to Wood (see below) apparently the Biblical references to badger are mostly in relation to the creature's gorgeous fur and its use in the Tabernacle. At least when he wrote his marvelous text in 1875, Wood considered that the Hebrew word Tachash most likely refers to the badger and he spends quite a bit of time refuting opposing arguments. Perhaps he had a bit of badger in him?

McManis states that in Zuni tradition the badger is the protective and healing animal of the south. Among other things, the badger with its vast knowledge of underground food resources assists medicine women in using roots and herbs.

Andrews mentions badger's powerful jaws and so links the badger to the mysteries of the "word" and the magic of story telling. Paterson shows what he thinks are badger images from rock art sites in the southwest.

For some reason, I've never run into a badger in all my years of hiking. This may be due to their nocturnal preferences, but also it appears there aren't huge numbers of them in my area. Reading a Southern California camping site today, I found that relatively infrequent sightings of badgers occur here, mostly on private land in coastal foothill valleys near Ramona, Pamo Valley, Santa Ysabel, Witch Creek, and Sweetwater Reservoir. Writing this only a couple of weeks after the containment of the Witch Creek and other fires in the massive "Firestorm 2007" here in San Diego, I can only hope the badger population survived.

Please note the beautiful Picasso jasper rainbird who keeps the little badger company and who sings to her about the rain.



One-of-a-kind, subject to prior sale

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