TURQUOISE
FACTS
Despite
turquoise’s close identification in the US with the Southwest, other parts of
the world have long held turquoise in high esteem.
Non-Indigenous Realm-
Turquoise
was used on the gold funeral mask of King Tutankhamen in Ancient Egypt.
The
oldest turquoise mines in the world, operated for thousands of years, are in
Iran.
The
word “turquoise” comes from the French name for a beautiful blue stone they
thought came from Turkey, but was actually from Persia.
Indigenous Realm-
Turquoise
is formed in arid regions by infrequent precipitation flowing through host rock
and depositing minerals and salts. It is in these same regions – the US Southwest,
central and northern Mexico, Andean South America, Tibet and Uzbekistan – that
it is most valued as a gem stone.
The
Zuni word for turquoise can be translated as “sky stone.” This link between
turquoise and sky is also true outside the Southwest; for example, in Tibet,
the sky is sometimes called “the turquoise of Heaven.”
Pueblo
dancers wear turquoise regalia during the summer growing season to ensure rain.
The
stone’s color ranges from white (called chalk), to deep blue, pale blue,
florescent yellow-green, deep green, and everything in between, but it’s the
color and shape of the matrix, the veins of the host rock that run through
turquoise, that contribute to its prestige and value.
Turquoise
is a soft stone and changes color as it is worn, becoming darker and greener.
In many parts of the world it is believed that turquoise absorbs poisons and
protect the wearer, or alternatively, that its color reflects the health of its
wearer.
Shell
and turquoise are often used together. Both allude to water, one based on
origin and the other on color, with the pairing intensifying the water
symbolism
Navajo thought-.
The
Navajo link turquoise to protection and health. At birth, babies receive their
first turquoise beads. The stone, in both whole and crushed form, is also
included in puberty rites, marriage and initiation ceremonies, in healing
ceremonies and other rituals. With the stone so intertwined with every stage of
Navajo life, it is no coincidence that they are famed for their turquoise
jewelry.
Source: http://www.indianartsandculture.org/
