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The Great Seal of the Salt River
Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is an ancient pattern
of the Southern Arizona tribes. The pattern represents
the MAZE, or house of "Se-eh-ha" (Elder Brother).
The legend of the "Man in the Maze" helps children
understand the meaning of life. The maze depicts
experiences and choices we make in our journey
through life. It illustrates the search for balance
- physical, social, mental and spiritual. In the
middle of the maze are found a person's dreams
and goals. Legend says when we reach the center,
the Sun God is there to greet us, bless us and
pass us into the next world. |
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"The Man in the Maze" as
told by Alfretta Antone*
"Elder Brother lived in the maze ... and
the reason why he lived in the maze was because
... I think how I'm gonna say this ... magician
or oh, medicine man that can disappear, and that
can do things, heal people and things like that
... that was Elder Brother ... Seh huh ... they
called him ... he lived in there ... but he had
a lot of enemies so he made that, and to live
in there people would go in there but they couldn't
find him ... they would turn around and go back.
"But in real life ... when you look at
the maze you start from the top and go into the
maze ... your life, you go down and then you reach
a place where you have to turn around ... maybe
in your own life you fall, something happens in
your home, you are sad, you pick yourself up and
you go on through the maze ... you go on and on
and on ... so many places in there you might ...
maybe your child died ... or maybe somebody died,
or you stop, you fall and you feel bad ... you
get up, turn around and go again ... when you
reach that middle of the maze ... that's when
you see the Sun God and the Sun God blesses you
and say you have made it ... that's where you
die.
"The maze is a symbol of life ... happiness,
sadness ... and you reach your goal ... there's
a dream there, and you reach that dream when you
get to the middle of the maze ... that's how I
was told, my grandparents told me that's how the
maze is." |