Dance Hall of the Dead
Encyclopedia
Dance Hall Of The Dead is the second of the Navajo Tribal Police
series of crime fiction
novels by Tony Hillerman
. Centered around the character of police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn
, Dance Hall of the Dead is, like many of Hillerman's books, set on the Navajo Reservation in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Themes of the book include the Zuni religion
and hostility between the Navajo
and the Zuni.
Other characters introduced in this novel include:
Navajo Tribal Police
The Navajo Nation Police is the law enforcement agency on the Navajo Nation in the Southwestern United States. It is under the Navajo Division of Public Safety. It is headed by a Chief of Police, six Police Captains and eight Police Lieutenants...
series of crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novels by Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels...
. Centered around the character of police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn
Joe Leaphorn
Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is a fictional character created by American mystery writer Tony Hillerman, one of two officers of the Navajo Tribal Police that feature in a number of novels. The other officer is Jim Chee.- Profile :...
, Dance Hall of the Dead is, like many of Hillerman's books, set on the Navajo Reservation in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Themes of the book include the Zuni religion
Zuni mythology
Zuni mythology is the oral history, cosmology, and religion of the Zuni people. The Zuni are a Pueblo people located in New Mexico. Their religion is integrated into their daily lives and respects ancestors, nature, and animals. Due to a history of religious persecution by non-native peoples, they...
and hostility between the Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
and the Zuni.
Plot summary
When a young Zuni boy and his Navajo friend go missing, Lieutenant Leaphorn is called in by the Zuni Tribal Police to search for George Bowlegs, the missing Navajo boy. When Ernesto Cata, Bowlegs' Zuni friend, is found murdered, the search for Bowlegs takes on even greater significance.Characters
On-going series characters appearing in this novel include:- Joe Leaphorn, Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant
- Emma Leaphorn, Leaphorn's wife and a NavajoNavajo peopleThe Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
traditionalist
Other characters introduced in this novel include:
- Baker, drug enforcement agent
- Cecil Bowlegs, George Bowlegs' younger brother
- Chester Reynolds, Professor or Archaeology and graduate advisor to Isaacs
- Ernesto Cata, young Zuni boy
- Father Ingles, priest at the Saint Michael's Mission School which George attended
- George Bowlegs, young Navajo boy, friend of Cata
- Halsey, leader of the HippieHippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
commune where Suzanne lives - John O'Malley, FBI agent
- Shorty Bowlegs, George Bowlegs' father
- Suzanne, a caring young woman, friend of George Bowlegs, living in a HippieHippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
commune - Ted Isaacs, a rather homely graduate student of archaeology, excavating Professor Reynold's Folsom sites
See also
- McKinley County, New MexicoMcKinley County, New Mexico-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*15.2% White*0.5% Black*75.5% Native American*0.8% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*4.6% Other races*13.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
- Painted Desert, ArizonaPainted Desert, ArizonaThe Painted Desert is a area of badlands located in Northern Arizona in the United States. The Arizona desert stretches from the Grand Canyon National Park into the Petrified Forest National Park and runs roughly astride and just north of the Little Colorado and the Puerco Rivers...
- Ramah, New MexicoRamah, New MexicoRamah is a census-designated place in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 407 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ramah is located at...