Marilyn Bridges Photography


Ha-ak, Blythe, California, 1982. Native America. copyright photographer Marilyn Bridges.

Ha-ak, Blythe, California, 1982. This 170-foot “human” intaglio was created by removing the gravel covering of the desert pavement to expose the lighter subsoil, which constitutes the image. The figure is a female (a gravel furrow once indicated female genitalia, but this was destroyed and replaced with male genitalia in this century); its extended belly is further evidence of its female sex. Created by Mohave or Pima shamans between AD 1000 and 1500, the drawing may have depicted Ha-ak, a monster that devoured children, and was destroyed by Mastamho, the creator god. Near its feet is a cleared circle with thin arms radiating towards the four cardinal directions. Vehicles seriously damaged the figure before the US Land Management Bureau fenced it in.


The Sacred and Secular: A Decade of Aerial Photography  
Photograph from The Sacred and Secular:
A Decade of Aerial Photography
BACK
All contents of this site Copyright © Marilyn Bridges. All rights reserved. Contact for Licensing and Prints.