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A Field Guide to Southwest Jewelry · by Mateo James

The Healing Hand Symbol in Southwest Jewelry: The Coriz Family Legacy

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The Healing Hand Symbol in Southwest Jewelry: The Coriz Family Legacy

Healing Hand Symbol · Field Guide · Symbols & Iconography

The Healing Hand is a petroglyph-rooted Southwest motif: an open hand with a spiral at the palm representing the Universe and eternity. In the Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo tradition, it carries specific meaning — protection, creativity, and all of the different races coming together as one. Red pipestone is the material specifically associated with healing in this tradition. The Coriz family of Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico, is the most recognized lineage working with this design.

Mateo's Field Notes

The spiral-palmed hand appears across the petroglyph record of the Southwest — carved into canyon walls and mesa faces by Ancestral Pueblo peoples long before European contact. In its contemporary jewelry form, the hand pendant carries meaning summarized in the Kewa context as: protection, creativity, and the coming together of different peoples. Red pipestone — a material specifically associated with healing — is the signature material for the motif in Kewa work.

No family has done more to define the Healing Hand in Southwest jewelry than the Coriz lineage of Kewa Pueblo. Leo Coriz (Santiago Leo Coriz) is the originating figure — his work in Kewa silversmithing established the design vocabulary that his descendants carried forward. His daughter, Mary Coriz Lovato (born 1936, Corn Clan), became an award-winning master of the form. Her relationship with the work she makes is inseparable from her spiritual practice: "I'm praying for everybody... I talk to my jewelry when I make it." She blesses each piece after it is completed — a practice that means the objects she produces carry intention from creation through to the wearer.

Isaac Coriz (born 1977), Mary's son, continues the family design. He has added his own signature: making the thumb into an eye — a personal variant that marks his work within the lineage. Three generations, one motif, each artist adding their voice without abandoning the original form. The Healing Hand arrives today as both a Southwest symbol and a documented family story.

The motif appears across jewelry forms: pendants, ring tops, earrings, and cuff focal-points. Red pipestone remains the material most associated with healing intent within the Kewa tradition.

Collector's Handbook

  • The spiral at the palm: The spiral — not the hand shape alone — is the distinguishing mark of the Healing Hand. A hand without the spiral at center is a different motif. Authentic Healing Hand pieces carry the spiral as the focal point of the design.
  • Red pipestone signals healing intent: Within the Kewa tradition, red pipestone specifically carries healing associations. A Healing Hand pendant set with red pipestone in the palm follows the tradition more directly than one set with turquoise or another stone.
  • Coriz family markers: Mary Coriz Lovato blesses each piece at completion. Isaac Coriz's thumb-as-eye is a personal signature — it identifies his hand within the lineage. When buying a Coriz piece, ask about provenance: all three generations are active in the market and the attribution matters.
  • Petroglyph lineage: The Healing Hand traces to carved rock imagery across the Southwest canyon country. Pieces that reference this ancestral origin — through material, design purity, or artist lineage — carry more historical depth than commercial adaptations.

Artists in Our Directory

Leo Coriz (Kewa Pueblo) — originator of the Coriz Healing Hand lineage. Mary Coriz Lovato and Isaac Coriz are named here as central figures in this tradition and are Leo's direct descendants. Browse our full Southwest Silversmiths Directory.

Related

References

  • Palms Trading Company. "Healing Hand Symbol." palmstrading.com.
  • Coriz, Mary Lovato. Oral statements, cited in Southwest jewelry biographical sources.