Question

the wind pulled at the priest’s brown franciscan robe and swirled away the corn meal and pollen that had been sprinkled on the blanket. they lowered the bundle into the ground, and they didnt bother to untie the stiff pieces of new rope that were tied around the ends of the blanket. the sun was gone, and over on the highway the eastbound lane was full of headlights. the priest walked away slowly. leon turned to look up at the high blue mountains in the deep snow that reflected a faint red light from the west. he felt good because it was finished, and he was happy about the sprinkling of the holy water;
what other red item or element might be connected to the red light in the west?

Explanation:

This excerpt is from Leslie Marmon Silko's The Man to Send Rain Clouds, a story blending Indigenous Pueblo and Catholic traditions. The red light in the west is the sunset, a symbol tied to Pueblo spiritual beliefs about the cycle of life, death, and renewal. A red item connected to this is red ochre (or red pigment), a sacred material in Pueblo ceremonies used for rituals honoring the dead, linking to the sunset's red light as a spiritual bridge between the living and the deceased. Alternatively, a red candle (used in both Catholic and Indigenous rituals for the dead) also connects, as both the sunset's red light and the candle represent spiritual presence and transition. The most culturally specific tied to the text's context is red ochre.

Answer:

Red ochre (a sacred ceremonial pigment used in Pueblo death rituals, linking the sunset's red light to spiritual renewal for the deceased)