Earth Movements/Jewed I-Hoi [Audio CD]

Ofelia Zepeda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2005

This audio CD is a bilingual collection in O'odham and English. All of the poems originated in the O'odham language. Written Tohono O'odham is a relatively new phenomenon; For the most part, the Tohono O'odham language is still an oral language.

The poems in this collection include pieces about basic phenomena of the desert such as rains and rainclouds and how some O'odham respond to the infrequency of these events. Some pieces are about the poverty that some O'odham people think they have--those that wish to be like others who have satin blouses, or who mask themselves in pretty scents. Still other poems are about desert animals and how I have seen them behave...finally, I write about journeys, again relying on O'odham oral tradition, where the journey is an important event.

--Ofelia Zepeda

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ofelia Zepeda is Tohono O'dham. She was born and raised in the rural farming community of Stanfield, Arizona, just west of Casa Grande. Her poetry reflects both worlds, that of her parents, and her own as a modern O'odham. Her other collection of poetry is _Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert_ (1995). Ofelia lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she teaches at the University of Arizona.

Product Details

• Audio CD: 36 pages
• Publisher: Kore; 1 edition (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888553065
• ISBN-13: 978-1888553062
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,640,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another World Right in Your Back Yard, April 13, 2000

By 

David Harris (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Earth Movements/Jewed I-Hoi (Audio CD)

If you live in or near Tucson or Phoenix, AZ, you may notrealize that there is another world right in your back yard - one thatis very worth your while to explore.

Ofelia Zepeda and others of the Tohono O'odham tribe have spent several years pioneering the art of writing in their native language, and the results are spectacular. This bilingual CD comes with a beautifully designed booklet containing all the O'odham and English texts so that you can follow along as she reads. There are some 16 texts about varied topics, including personal experiences and historical and tribal lore. Each is read aloud in both O'odham and English. If you don't know much about this desert tribe, these poems will educate you in addition to edifying you in that way that only true poetry can.

Zepeda's voice is intoxicating whether she's reading in English or O'odham. O'odham is her native language, so her English is slightly tinged with an accent that is reminiscent of desert rain or maybe that warm, safe feeling that comes from being part of a close-knit family.

This is a great introduction to her work which appears in several volumes of Sun Tracks, a literary series published by the University of Arizona. It offers a window into the worldview of the Desert People that countless volumes of dusty old anthropological tomes could never quite get right.

If, after listening to this CD, you find yourself interested in knowing more about the O'odham language as I did, Zepeda has written a grammar of O'odham (or Papago as it is also known) which is also available from Amazon. It is entitled _A Papago Grammar_.