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47-504: Hopi mythology (and similar traditions in other Pueblo cultures such as the Zuni and Acoma ) states that this is the hole from which the first peoples of this world entered. As they stepped outside of the sipapu , they changed from lizard-like beings into human form. It is from this point that the "First Peoples" of the Earth began to divide and separate, becoming tribes. The original sipapu

94-469: A few population centers, Oraibi being one of them. As Oraibi's population grew considerably, it became the most influential of the Hopi settlements. By 1890, the village was estimated to have a population of 905, about half of the 1,824 estimated to be living in all of the Hopi settlements at the time. Oraibi remained unknown to European explorers until about 1540 when Spanish explorer Pedro de Tovar (who

141-603: A great drought, they heard singing and dancing coming from the San Francisco Peaks . Upon investigation, they met the Kachinas who returned with the Hopi to their villages and taught them various forms of agriculture. The Hopi believe that for six months of the year, Kachina spirits live in the Hopi villages. The nine day Niman or Going Home ceremony concludes the Kachina season with an outdoor Kachina Dance where

188-573: A hummingbird brought them a fire drill . Two main versions exist as to the Hopis' emergence into the present Fourth World. In one version, after evil broke out amongst the people in the Third World, with the help of Spider Grandmother, or bird spirits, a hollow bamboo reed grew at the opening of the Third World into the Fourth World. This opening, sipapu , is traditionally viewed to be

235-483: A large bamboo shoot, climbing to the top, and looking about. Spider Woman then told the people to make boats out of more reeds, and using island "stepping-stones" along the way, the people sailed east until they arrived on the mountainous coasts of the Fourth World. While it may not be possible to positively ascertain which is the original or "more correct" story, Harold Courlander writes, at least in Oraibi (the oldest of

282-727: A more traditional Hopi way of life and has resisted the adoption of the more modern culture visible in Kykotsmovi. While visitors to the pueblo are welcomed (a short road connects to Arizona State Route 264 ), the residents tend to be very private and do not allow photographs to be taken in the town. Old Oraibi is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Oraibi features prominently in an extended essay by Aby Warburg , Schlangenritual: Ein Reisebericht ,

329-520: A short skirmish at Awatovi before the Hopis capitulated. The 1982 art film / avant-garde opera Koyaanisqatsi references both the Hopi term Ko.yan.nis.qatsi ("life out of balance"), and three Hopi prophecies —i.e. warnings or eschatology . David Lanz and Paul Speer 's 1987 new-age album Desert Vision has a track named "Tawtoma." The novel by Tony Hillerman , The Dark Wind , first published in 1982, discusses Hopi mythology throughout

376-648: A transcript of a lecture given in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland in 1923 (English translation "Images from the Region of the Pueblo Indians of North America"; also translated into many other languages). Warburg visited Oraibi in 1896 and with the help of Henry Voth attended a ritual spring dance. He found in the symbolism of the Hopi, in particular the snake symbol, a key to understanding similar symbols in other cultures. Warburg took several pictures of Oraibi and of

423-422: A unified community, but almost inevitably a disagreement would occur, the clan would split and each portion would go its separate way. However, as the clans traveled, they would often join together forming large groups, only to have these associations disband, and then be reformed with other clans. These alternate periods of harmonious living followed by wickedness, contention, and separation play an important part of

470-510: Is difficult to definitively state what all Hopis as a group believe. Like the oral traditions of many other societies, Hopi mythology is not always told consistently and each Hopi mesa , or even each village, may have its own version of a particular story, but "in essence the variants of the Hopi myth bear marked similarity to one another." It is also not clear that the stories told to non-Hopis, such as anthropologists and ethnographers, represent genuine Hopi beliefs or are merely stories told to

517-580: Is said in Hopi and some other Uto-Aztecan Puebloan mythology to be located in the Grand Canyon . This religion -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to the Indigenous peoples of North America is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hopi mythology The Hopi maintain a complex religious and mythological tradition stretching back over centuries. However, it

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564-579: Is still visible today as a ruin. Hopi interaction with outsiders slowly increased during 1850–1860 due to missionaries, traders, and surveyors for the US government. Contact remained sporadic and informal until 1870 when an Indian agent was appointed to the Hopi, followed by the establishment of the Hopi Indian Agency in Keams Canyon in 1874. Interaction with the US government increased with

611-521: Is the Mother in the truest sense that people take in the corn and the corn becomes their flesh, as mother milk becomes the flesh of the child." Barry Pritzker writes: "According to Hopi legend, when time and space began, the sun spirit (Tawa) created the First World, in which insectlike creatures lived unhappily in caves. With the goal of improvement, Tawa sent a spirit called Spider Grandmother to

658-511: The Grand Canyon . According to Barry Pritzker, "the people with good hearts (kindness) made it to the Fourth World." The other version (mainly told in Oraibi) has it that Tawa destroyed the Third World in a great flood. Before the destruction, Spider Grandmother sealed the more righteous people into hollow reeds which were used as boats. On arrival on a small piece of dry land, the people saw nothing around them but more water, even after planting

705-525: The ancient Egyptian god Thoth ) discusses the reluctance of scientists to accept evidence of pre-Columbian visitors to the Americas, and refers to the sipapu story as historical fact: "Heaven knows what'll happen if they ever actually find the Hopi emergence tunnels. That'll shake a few things up, you just wait." In the Jordan Peele film Us , Addy as a little girl in 1986 walks up to and into

752-727: The 16th century, and some believe that European Christian traditions may have entered Hopi cosmology at some point. Indeed, Spanish missions were built in several Hopi villages starting in 1629 and were in operation until the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. However, after the revolt, it was the Hopi alone of all the Pueblo peoples who kept the Spanish out of their villages permanently, and regular contact with whites did not begin again until nearly two centuries later. The Hopi mesas have therefore been seen as "relatively unacculturated" at least through

799-511: The Fire Clan worried that his people would not recognize the Pahana when he returned from the east. He therefore etched various designs including a human figure into a stone, and then broke off the section of the stone which included the figure's head. This section was given to Pahana and he was told to bring it back with him so that the Hopi would not be deceived by a witch or sorcerer. One of

846-482: The Fourth World, the Hopis divided and went on a series of great migrations throughout the land. Sometimes they would stop and build a town, then abandon it to continue on with the migration. They would leave their symbols behind on the rocks to show that Hopi had been there. Long the divided people wandered in groups of families, eventually forming clans named after an event or sign that a particular group received upon its journey. These clans would travel for some time as

893-460: The Fourth World. "Back Door" could refer to the Bering land bridge , which connected Asia with North America. The Hopi were led on their migrations by various signs, or were helped along by Spider Woman. Eventually, the Hopi clans finished their prescribed migrations and were led to their current location in northeastern Arizona. Most Hopi traditions have it that they were given their land by Masauwu,

940-729: The Hopi ceremonies. Hopi life in Oraibi is also described in Don C. Talayesva 's autobiography, Sun chief, the Autobiography of a Hopi Indian . Talayesva was born in Oraibi in 1890, where he was raised as a traditional Hopi. Talayesva started working in 1938 with a Yale University anthropologist, Leo Simmons, who helped him write his autobiography. Hopi educator, writer, and potter Polingaysi Qöyawayma (1892–1990) related stories of growing up in Oraibi in her 1964 autobiography No Turning Back . The social anthropologist Sherry Ortner uses

987-464: The Hopi mythos. This pattern seemingly began in the First World and continues even into recent history. In the course of their migration, each Hopi clan was to go to the farthest extremity of the land in every direction. Far in the north was a land of snow and ice which was called the "Back Door", but this was closed to the Hopi. However, the Hopi say that other peoples came through the Back Door into

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1034-462: The Hopi religious societies is the katsina society. According to Barry Pritzker, "Reflecting the close association between the world of the living and that of the dead, spirits play an integral role in the land of the living. They are associated with clouds and with benevolent supernatural entities called katsinam (the plural of katsina), which inhabit the San Francisco Peaks just north of Flagstaff, Arizona ." According to Susanne and Jake Page,

1081-495: The Hopi villages), little children are often told the story of the sipapu , and the story of an ocean voyage is related to them when they are older. He states that even the name of the Hopi Water Clan (Patkinyamu) literally means "a dwelling-on-water" or "houseboat". However, he notes the sipapu story is centered on Walpi and is more accepted among Hopis generally. According to Barry Pritzker, "In this Fourth World,

1128-507: The Lost White Brother. Other important deities include the twin war gods, the kachinas , and the trickster, Coyote . Maize is vital to Hopi subsistence and religion. "For traditional Hopis, corn is the central bond. Its essence, physically, spiritually, and symbolically, pervades their existence. For the people of the mesas corn is sustenance, ceremonial object, prayer offering, symbol, and sentient being unto itself. Corn

1175-459: The Shaman's Vision Quest attraction, the entrance of which is topped by a Native American man with a headdress on and his right hand pointing at potential questers. Underneath him, just above the entrance, light bulbs form the words "FIND YOURSELF" and an arrow slowly flashing on and off. Although difficult to hear, closed captioning makes clear that a recorded narration on the speaker system for

1222-428: The Spanish were not the Pahana based upon the destruction of a Hopi town by the Spanish. Thus when the Spanish arrived at the village of Awatovi , they drew a line of cornmeal as a sign for the Spanish not to enter the village, but this was ignored. While some Hopi wanted to fight the invaders, it was decided to try a peaceful approach in the hope that the Spanish would eventually leave. However, Spanish accounts record

1269-459: The Spirit of Death and Master of the Fourth World. Hopi tradition tells of sacred tablets which were imparted to the Hopi by various deities. Like most of Hopi mythology, accounts differ as to when the tablets were given and in precisely what manner. Perhaps the most important was said to be in the possession of the Fire Clan, and is related to the return of the Pahana. In one version, an elder of

1316-483: The attraction is recounting aspects of the Hopi creation story: Decades later, when the adult Addy, with her husband and children, return to the same boardwalk where Shaman's Vision Quest was, it is now called Merlin's Forest. Oraibi Oraibi , also referred to as Old Oraibi , is a Hopi village in Navajo County , Arizona , United States, in the northeastern part of the state. Known as Orayvi by

1363-468: The coal mining interests in 1939, provides each village with a seat on the tribal council, Hotevilla, where most of the traditional Hopi settled, has declined to elect a representative and maintains independence from the tribal council. Kykotsmovi Village is now the seat of the Hopi tribal government. In spite of the "friendly" ("New Hopi") outcome of the Oraibi Split, Old Oraibi has since maintained

1410-423: The continued harmony and balance of the world. It serves the further and vital purpose of bringing rain to the Hopi's parched homeland. The true Pahana (or Bahana) is the Lost White Brother of the Hopi. Most versions have it that the Pahana or Elder Brother left for the east at the time that the Hopi entered the Fourth World and began their migrations. However, the Hopi say that he will return again and at his coming

1457-475: The curious while keeping safe the more sacred Hopi teachings. As folklorist Harold Courlander states, "there is a Hopi reticence about discussing matters that could be considered ritual secrets or religion-oriented traditions." In addition, the Hopis have always been willing to assimilate foreign ideas into their cosmology if they are proven effective for such practical necessities as bringing rain. The Hopi had at least some contact with Europeans as early as

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1504-406: The diversity of myths among the Hopi, Masauwu was alternately described as a handsome, bejewelled man beneath his mask or as a bloody, fearsome creature. He is also assigned certain benevolent attributes. One story has it that it was Masauwu who helped settle the Hopi at Oraibi and gave them stewardship over the land. He also charged them to watch for the coming of the Pahana (see section below),

1551-606: The early 20th century, and it may be posited that the European influence on the core themes of Hopi mythology was slight. Most Hopi creation stories center around Tawa, the sun spirit. Tawa is the creator, and it was he who formed the "First World" out of Tokpella, or endless space, as well as its original inhabitants. It is still traditional for Hopi mothers to seek a blessing from the sun for their newborn children. Other accounts have it that Tawa, or Taiowa, first created Sotuknang, whom he called his nephew, and sent him to create

1598-534: The establishment of the Hopi Reservation in 1882. This led to a number of changes for the Hopi way of life. Missionary efforts intensified and Hopi children were kidnapped from their homes and forced to attend school, exposing them to new cultural influences. In 1890 a number of residents more receptive to the cultural influences moved closer to the trading post to establish Kykotsmovi Village, sometimes called New Oraibi . The continuing tension caused by

1645-400: The ideological schism between the "friendlies" ("New Hopi" to the traditional Hopi), those who were open to these cultural influences, and the "hostiles" (or "Traditionalists" led by Yukiuma) who opposed them (those who desired to preserve Hopi ways) led to an event called the "Oraibi Split" in 1906. Tribal leaders on differing sides of the schism engaged in a bloodless competition to determine

1692-409: The katsinam are "the spirits of all things in the universe, of rocks, stars, animals, plants, and ancestors who have lived good lives." Around 1325  CE Kachina masks and Kachina dancers appear as rock art. Raymond Friday Locke discusses the Hopi legend of the Pahana writing that "The Hopis...had long anticipated the coming of Pahana and, either by coincidence or because of a common root of

1739-652: The legends, Pahana was due to visit the Hopi in the very same year that Quetzalcoatl was expected to return to the Aztecs. He arrived some twenty-one years later in the person of the Spaniard Pedro de Tovar , one of Coronado's conquistadors , and was the first white man to be seen by the Hopis and very probably the Navajo. Unlike the Aztecs, the Hopis put this Spanish Pahana to a series of tests, and when he failed them they sent him on his way." The Hopi say that during

1786-605: The line of Kachinas bring harvest gifts for the spectators and Kachina dolls for the young girls. Different sets of Kachinas perform each year. Most favored is the Hemis group of Kachinas who perform accompanied by a variety of Kachina manas. After the Going Home Dance in late-July or early-August, the Kachinas return to the San Francisco Peaks for six months. The Hopi believe that these dances are vital for

1833-476: The native inhabitants, it is on Third Mesa on the Hopi Reservation near Kykotsmovi Village . Oraibi was founded sometime before the year 1100 AD, making it possibly the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States. Archeologists speculate that a series of severe droughts in the late 13th century forced the Hopi to abandon several smaller villages in the region and consolidate within

1880-501: The nine universes according to his plan. Sotuknang also created Spider Woman , who served as a messenger for the creator and was an intercessor between the deity and the people. In some versions of the Hopi creation myth, she creates all life, under the direction of Sotuknang. Yet other stories tell that life was created by Hard Being Woman of the West and Hard Being Woman of the East, while

1927-419: The outcome, which resulted in the expulsion of the hostiles (traditionalists), who left to found the village of Hotevilla . Subsequent efforts by the displaced residents to reintegrate resulted in an additional split, with the second group founding Bacavi. With the loss of much of its population, Oraibi lost its place as the center of Hopi culture. Although the Hopi tribal constitution, maneuvered into being by

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1974-510: The people learned many lessons about the proper way to live. They learned to worship Masauwu, who ensured that the dead return safely to the Underworld and who gave them the four sacred tablets that, in symbolic form, outlined their wanderings and their proper behavior in the Fourth World. Masauwu also told the people to watch for the Pahána , the Lost White Brother." Upon their arrival in

2021-463: The story, as key characters are Hopi men, and events of the story occur near important shrines or during an important ceremony. The fictional Navajo sergeant Jim Chee works with fictional Hopi Albert "Cowboy" Dashee, who is a deputy for Coconino County, Arizona, and speaks Hopi and English, translating for Chee on occasion, as well as explaining shrines and ceremonies to him. In the 2001 novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman , Mr. Ibis (an incarnation of

2068-693: The sun merely observed the process. Masauwu (Maasaw, Mausauu), Skeleton Man, was the Spirit of Death, Earth God, door keeper to the Fifth World, and the Keeper of Fire. He was also the Master of the Upper World, or the Fourth World, and was there when the good people escaped the wickedness of the Third World for the promise of the Fourth. Masauwu is described as wearing a hideous mask, but again showing

2115-462: The wicked will be destroyed and a new age of peace, the Fifth World , will be ushered into the world. As mentioned above, it is said he will bring with him a missing section of a sacred Hopi stone in the possession of the Fire Clan, and that he will come wearing red. Traditionally, Hopis are buried facing east in expectation of the Pahana who will come from that direction. The Hopi realized that

2162-496: The world below. Spider Grandmother led the first creatures on a long trip to the Second World, in which they took on the appearance of wolves and bears. As these animals were no happier than the previous ones, however, Tawa created a new, Third World, and again sent Spider Grandmother to convey the wolves and bears there. By the time they arrived, they had become people." Spider Grandmother taught them weaving and pottery, and

2209-649: Was part of the Coronado expedition ) encountered the Hopi while searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold . Contact with the Europeans remained infrequent until 1629 when the San Francisco mission was established in the village. In 1680 the Pueblo Revolt resulted in decreased Spanish influence in the area and the closing of the mission. Subsequent attempts to reestablish the missions in Hopi villages were met with repeated failures. The former mission

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