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Show 139 d -^ facing east in a sitting position so that he would be ready for the journey to his new home. "Hand me the sheepskin of my childhood, Chua," Apa said. "I will lay his head on it while I prepare him for burial. Chua handed her the old torn skin. "My clan will prepare the grave in the midden," Mongwi said. "Thank you," Apa said. "I'll follow his request for an honorable Hopi burial." "You're kind," Mongwi said. His hand touched the sheepskin. "Where did you get this?" he asked. "It's from my childhood," Apa said. "Why do you ask?" "My mother, Pavati, has an old piece just like this," he said. "It belonged to my sister. She was lost in the desert as a child, and we never found her. There was only the piece of her torn sheepskin dress on the edge of a cliff. We thought she must have fallen and then been eaten by wild animals. My mother has grieved for her daughter all these years. She has kept the sheep skin to remind her of the child she lost." v^ n , ,, A jd- ' Apa^5~eye^jped^dtJvtears. "My sheepskin. . ."/sfle choked a sob, and couldn't speak. Chua answered for her. "My mother was lost in the desert as a child. She fell and tore her sheepskin dress. The wife of the Snake Clan Chief found her and raised her as her own child. My mother has kept the sheep skin to remind her of the clan she lost." |