author
Comalk-Hawk-Kih
A revered Akimel O'odham (Pima) storyteller from Arizona, remembered for preserving traditional stories and songs that might otherwise have been lost. His voice lives on through early recordings and through Aw-aw-tam Indian Nights, a landmark collection of Pima myths and legends.
1 Audiobook
Aw-Aw-Tam Indian Nights: Being the Myths and Legends of the Pimas of Arizona
by J. Wm. (John William) Lloyd, Comalk-Hawk-Kih
About the author
Known also as Thin Buckskin and William Higgins, Comalk-Hawk-Kih was an Akimel O'odham traditionalist on the Gila River Reservation in Arizona. Early 20th-century records describe him as a professional keeper of traditional knowledge who learned ancient stories from his father and passed them on through oral storytelling.
In 1903, ethnographer J. William Lloyd recorded songs sung by Comalk-Hawk-Kih, with translation help from his grandnephew Edward H. Wood. Those collaborations helped preserve Akimel O'odham stories and songs in written and recorded form at a time when much Indigenous oral tradition was at risk of being lost.
He is best known to many readers through Aw-aw-tam Indian Nights: Being the Myths and Legends of the Pimas of Arizona (1911), a book based on stories told by him. Though the published version came through translators and editors, the work remains an important doorway into Akimel O'odham storytelling and a lasting record of his role as a cultural guardian.