Some experiences should stay human.  —  A 501(c)(3) preserving authentic Native American + Southwestern silversmithing.
Co‑Op
A Field Guide to Southwest Jewelry · by Mateo James

Water Lines, Rain Clouds, and Wave Symbols in Pueblo and Navajo Jewelry

← Field Guide

Water Lines, Rain Clouds, and Wave Symbols in Pueblo and Navajo Jewelry

Water & Rain Symbols · Field Guide · Symbols & Iconography

Water is the defining scarcity and the defining prayer of the arid Southwest. Pueblo and Navajo jewelry encodes this relationship in a recognizable vocabulary: the stepped cloud terrace (rain clouds), falling-rain vertical lines, horizontal zigzag (running water), sharp lightning zigzag, and water fauna — frog, dragonfly, water bug. These general motifs appear in T.Skies designs. The avanyu water serpent of the Tewa pueblos is a restricted sacred symbol that requires special permission and is not used in our work.

Mateo's Field Notes

The connection between line patterns and water in Pueblo tradition runs deep into the pottery record. As palmstrading.com documents: "Line patterns painted or etched into Pueblo pottery also symbolize rain and/or running water." The same source notes that "lightning is commonly associated with water in Pueblo culture, as can be seen in the similarity between patterns representing rain and lightning." This is not metaphor — it is meteorology as religion in a landscape where summer thunderstorms deliver the year's survival. Rain lines and lightning bolts are not separate motifs that happen to look alike; they are expressions of the same elemental relationship.

The water motif family in jewelry covers a range of forms. The stepped cloud terrace — sometimes called the rain cloud stair — represents cumulus clouds building over the mesas before a monsoon. Falling vertical lines below a cloud form indicate rain itself. The horizontal zigzag represents running water, particularly relevant in the Southwest context of arroyos and seasonal rivers. The sharp angular zigzag, with its more electric quality, reads as lightning. Water fauna — frog, dragonfly, water bug — complete the vocabulary, representing the creatures whose presence signals water nearby.

The avanyu (water serpent) of the Tewa pueblos occupies a different category. As described in Pueblo tradition, "the Avanyu is a powerful mythological being, a water serpent that dwells in rivers, springs, and underground sources — a guardian of water." Santa Clara Pueblo painter Margarete Bagshaw speaks to its ongoing living importance: "The Avanyu is who I pray to, by painting, when our mountains have fire caused by severe drought." The avanyu is a sacred symbol of the Tewa pueblos — a symbol The avanyu (water serpent) is a sacred symbol of the Tewa pueblos — a symbol T.Skies does not have permission to use in our designs. This page addresses the general water and rain motif vocabulary, not the avanyu. Parallel water serpent beings — Kolowisi (Zuni) and Paaloloqangw (Hopi) — are similarly restricted sacred figures not discussed here.

Collector's Handbook

  • Reading the stepped cloud: The stepped or terraced cloud form appears across pottery, textiles, and silverwork. It represents rain clouds building over the desert plateau — not a generic geometric. When you see the stair-step form in Southwest jewelry, it is almost always water-related.
  • Lightning vs. water zigzag: Both motifs use a zigzag line, but lightning is typically sharper and more angular; water/running-river lines are softer and more horizontal. In Pueblo tradition, these are understood as related — not identical.
  • Water fauna: Frogs, dragonflies, and water bugs in Southwest jewelry are not purely decorative. They signal proximity to water — in the landscape, in the cosmology, and in the prayer the piece carries.
  • Avanyu provenance: If you encounter a piece described as featuring the avanyu (water serpent), ask whether the artist is from a Tewa-speaking pueblo and whether they have community standing to work with the design. T.Skies does not use this symbol without proper permission.

Artists in Our Directory

Browse our Southwest Silversmiths Directory for artists working with water, rain, and related Southwest motifs across Pueblo and Navajo traditions.

Related

References

  • Palms Trading Company. "Water Symbol in Pueblo Jewelry." palmstrading.com.
  • Bagshaw, Margarete (Santa Clara Pueblo). Quoted in Southwest arts sources on the avanyu.