Knifewing

Knifewing, also Knife Wing, is a half man, half eagle Zuni spirit with razor sharp feathers made of flint. He is the ultimate warrior.

Anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing, who lived with the Zunis from 1879-1884 described Knifewing this way:

“This curious god is the hero of hundreds of folklore tales, the tutelary deity of several societies of Zuni. He is represented as possessing a human form, furnished with flint knife-feathered pinions, and tail. His dress consists of the conventional terraced cap (representative of his dwelling place among the clouds). His weapons are the Great Flint-Knife of War, the Bow of the Skies (the Rainbow), and the Arrow of Lightning. His guardians or warriors are the Great Mountain Lion of the North and that of the upper regions. He was doubtless the original War God of the Zunis.”

Horace Iule (also known for his crosses) is credited with creating the first Knifewing design in the late 1920s, cut and filed out of wrought silver. Afterwards, other Zuni, Navajo and Pueblo began producing Knifewing designs. The Knifewing became one of the first designs that the Zuni inlaid with stones.