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Hopi Indian
Tribal History
Hopi (contraction of Hópitu,
'peaceful ones,' or Hópitu-shínumu,
'peaceful all people': their own name). A body of Indians, speaking a
Shoshonean dialect, occupying 6 pueblos on a reservation of 2,472,320
acres in north east Arizona. The name "Moqui," or "Moki," by which they
have been popularly known, means 'dead' in their own language, but as a
tribal name it is seemingly of alien origin and of undetermined
signification—perhaps from the Keresan language (Mósǐcha
in Laguna, Mo-ts in Acoma, Mótsǐ
in Sia, Cochiti, and San Felipe), whence Espejo's "Mohace" and "Mohoce"
(1583) and Oñate's "Mohoqui (1598).
Bandelier and Cushing believed the Hopi country, the later province of
Tusayan, to be identical with the Totonteac of Fray Marcos de Niza.
History.—The Hopi first became known to white men in
the summer of 1540, when Coronado, then at Cibola (Zuni), dispatched Pedro
de Tobar and Fray Juan de Padilla to visit 7 villages, constituting the
province of Tusayan, toward the west or north west. The Spaniards were not
received with friendliness at first, but the opposition of the natives was
soon over come and the party remained among the Hopi several days,
learning from them of the existence of the Grand canyon of the Colorado,
which Cardenas was later ordered to visit. The names of the Tusayan towns
are not recorded by Coronado's chroniclers, so that with the exception of
Oraibi, Shongopovi, Mishongnovi, Walpi, and Awatobi, it is not known with
certainty what villages were inhabited when the Hopi first became known to
the Spaniards. Omitting Awatobi, which was destroyed in 1700 with the
possible exception of Oraibi none of these towns now occupies its 16th
century site.
Francisco Sanchez Chamuscado visited Zuñi
in 1581 and speaks of the Hopi country as Asay or Osay, but he did not
visit it on account of the snow. Two years later, however,
the province was visited by Antonio de Espejo, who journeyed 28 leagues from Zuñi
to the first of the Hopi pueblos in 4 days. The Mohoce, or Mohace, of this
explorer consisted of 5 large villages, the population of one of which,
Aguato (Ahuato, Zaguato=Awatobi) he estimated at 50,000, a figure perhaps
25 times too great. The names of the other towns are not given. The
natives had evidently forgotten the horses of Tobar and Cardenas of 43
years before, as they now became frightened at these strange animals. The
Hopi presented Espejo with quantities of cotton "towels," perhaps kilts,
for which they were celebrated then as now.
The next Spaniard to visit the "Mohoqui" was Juan de Oñate,
governor and colonizer of New Mexico, who took possession of the country
and made the Indians swear to obedience and vassalage on Nov. 15, 1598.
Their spiritual welfare was assigned to Fray Juan de Claros, although no
active missions were established among the Hopi until nearly a generation
later. The 5 villages at this time, so far as it is possible to determine
them, were Aguato or Aguatuybá
(Awatobi), Gaspe (Gualpe=Walpi), Comupaví
or Xumupamí (Shongopovi), Majananí
(Mishongnovi), and Olalla or Naybí (Oraibi).
The first actual missionary work undertaken among the
Hopi was in 1629, on Aug. 20 of which year Francisco de Porras, Andrés
Gutierrez, Cristobal de la Concepcion, and Francisco de San Buenaventura,
escorted by 12 soldiers, reached Awatobi, where the mission of San
Bernardino was founded in honor of the day, followed by the establishment
of missions also at Walpi, Shongopovi, Mishongnovi, and Oraibi. Porras was
poisoned by the natives of Awatobi in 1633. All the Hopi missions seem to
have led a precarious existence until 1680, when in the general Pueblo
revolt of that year four resident missionaries were killed and the
churches destroyed. Henceforward no attempt was made to reestablish any of
the missions save that of Awatobi in 1700, which so incensed the other
Hopi that they fell upon it in the night, killing many of its people and
compelling its permanent abandonment.
Before the rebellion Mishongnovi and Walpi had become
reduced to visitas of the missions of Shongopovi and Oraibi respectively.
At the time of the outbreak the population of Awatobi was given as 800,
Shongopovi 500, and Walpi 1,200. Oraibi, it is said, had 14,000 gentiles
before their conversion, but that they were consumed by pestilence. This
number is doubtless greatly exaggerated.
The pueblos of Walpi, Mishongnovi, and Shongopovi,
situated in the foothills, were probably abandoned about the time of the
Pueblo rebellion, and new villages
built on the adjacent mesas for the purpose of defense against the
Spaniards, whose vengeance was needlessly feared. The reconquest of the
New Mexican pueblos led many of their inhabitants to seek protection among
the Hopi toward the close of the 17th century. Some of these built the
pueblo of Payupki, on the Middle mesa, but were taken back and settled in
Sandia about the middle of the 18th century. About the year 1700 Hano was
established on the East mesa, near Walpi, by Tewa from near Abiquin, New
Mexico, who came on the invitation of the Walpians. Here they have lived
uninterruptedly, and although they have intermarried extensively with the
Hopi, they retain their native speech and many of their distinctive tribal
rites and customs. Two other pueblos, Sichonlovi on the First mesa, built
by Asa clans from the Rio Grande, and Shipaulovi, founded by a colony from
Shongopovi on the Second or Middle mesa, are both of comparatively modern
origin, having been established about the middle of the 18th century, or
about the time the Payupki people returned to their old home. Thus the
pueblos of the ancient province of Tusayan now consist of the following:
Walpi, Sichomovi, and Hano, on the First or East mesa; pop. (1900) 205,
119, and 160, respectively, exclusive of about 20 who have established
homes in the plain; total 504. Mishongnovi, Shongopovi, and Shupaulovi, on
the Second or Middle mesa; estimated pop. 244, 225, and 126; total 595.
Oraibi, on the Third or West mesa; pop. (1890) 905. Total Hopi population
(1904) officially given as 1,878.
Maize being the basis of their subsistence, agriculture
is the principal industry of the Hopi. On the average 2,500 acres are
yearly planted in this cereal, the yield in 1904 being estimated at 25,000
bushels. Perhaps one-third of the annual crop is preserved in event of
future failure through drought or other causes. There are also about 1,000
acres in peach orchards and 1,500 acres in beans, melons, squashes,
pumpkins, onions, chile, sunflowers, etc. Cotton, wheat, and tobacco are
also raised in small quantities, hut in early times native cotton was
extensively grown. In years of stress desert plants, which have always
been utilized to some extent for food, form an important part of the diet.
The Hopi have of late become more or less pastoral.
Flocks (officially estimated in 1904 at 56,000 sheep and 15,000 goats),
acquired originally from the Spaniards, supply wool and skins. They own
also about 1,500 head of cattle, and 4,350 horses, burros, and mules.
Dogs, chickens, hogs, and turkeys are their only other domesticated
animals. All small desert animals are eaten; formerly antelope, elk, and
deer were captured by being driven into pitfalls or corrals. Communal
rabbit hunts are common, the animals being killed with wooden clubs shaped
like boomerangs. Prairie dogs are drowned out of their burrows, coyotes
are caught in pitfalls made of stones, and small birds are captured in
snares.
The Hopi are skilled in weaving, dyeing, and
embroidering blankets, belts, and kilts. Their textile work is durable,
and shows a great variety of weaves. The dark-blue blanket of the Hopi
woman is an important article of commerce among the Pueblos, and their
embroidered ceremonial blankets, sashes, and kilts made of cotton have a
ready sale among neighboring tribes. Although the Hopi ceramic art has
somewhat deteriorated in modern times, fair pottery is still made among
the people of Hano, where one family has revived the superior art of the
earlier villagers. They weave basketry in a great variety of ways at the
Middle Mesa pueblos and in Oraibi; but, with the exception of the familiar
sacred-meal plaques, which are well made and brightly colored, the
workmanship is crude. The Hopi are clever in making masks and other
religious paraphernalia from hides, and excel in carving and painting
dolls, representing kachinas, which are adorned with bright feathers and
cloth. They likewise manufacture mechanical toys, which are exhibited in
some of their dramatic entertainments. Nowhere among the aborigines of
North America are the Hopi excelled in dramaturgic exhibitions, in some of
which their imitations of birds and other animals are marvelously
realistic.
The Hopi language is classified as Shoshonean; but,
according to Gatschet, it "seems to contain many archaic words and forms
not encountered in the other dialects, and many vocables of its own. "The
published vocabularies are very limited, and comparatively little is known
of the grammatical structure of the language; but it is evident that it
contains many words of Keresan, Tewa, Pima, Zuñi,
Ute, Navaho, and Apache derivation. As among other Southwestern tribes a
number of words are modified Spanish, as those for horse, sheep, melon,
and the names for other intrusive articles and objects. Slight dialectic
differences are noticeable in the speech of Oraibi and Walpi, but the
language, of the other pueblos is practically uniform. The Hopi language
is melodious and the enunciation clear. The speech of the people of
Awatobi is said to have had a nasal intonation, while the Oraibi speak
drawlingly. Although they accompany their speech with gestures, few of the
Hopi understand the sign language. The Keresan people have furnished many
songs, with their words, and Zuñi and
Pima songs have also been introduced. Some of the prayers also have
archaic Tanoan or Keresan words.
The Hopi are preeminently a religious people, much of
their time, especially in winter, being devoted to ceremonies for rain and
the growth of crops. Their mythology is a polytheism largely tinged with
ancestor worship and permeated with fetishism. They originally had no
conception of a great spirit corresponding to God, nor were they ever
monotheists; and, although they have accepted the teachings of Christian
missionaries, these have not had the effect of altering their primitive
beliefs. Their greatest gods are deified nature powers, as the Mother
Earth and the Sky god—the former mother, and the latter father, of the
races of men and of marvelous animals, which are conceived of as closely
allied.
The earth is spoken of as having always existed. In
Hopi mythology the human race was not created, but generated from the
earth, from which man emerged through an opening called the sipapu,
now typified by the Grand canyon of the Colorado. The dead are supposed to
return to the underworld. The Sky Father and the Earth Mother have many
names and are personated in many ways; the latter is represented by a
spider; the former by a bird—a hawk or an eagle. Such names as Fire god,
Germ god, and others are attributed designations of the great male powers
of nature, or its male germinative principle. All supernatural beings are
supposed to influence the rain and consequently the growth of crops. Every
clan religion exhibits strong ancestral worship, in which a male and a
female ancestral tutelary of the clan, called by a distinctive clan name,
is preeminent. The Great Horned or Plumed Serpent, a form of sky god,
derived from the south, and introduced by the Patki and other southern
clans, is prominent in sun ceremonies. The number of subordinate
supernatural personages is almost unlimited. Thee are known as "kachinas,"
a term referring to the magic power inherent in every natural object for
good or for bad. Many of these kachinas are personations of clan
ancestors, others are simply beings of unknown relationship but endowed
with magic powers. Each kachina possesses individual characteristics, and
is represented in at least six different symbolic colors. The world
quarters, or six cardinal points, play an important role in Hopi mythology
and ritual. Fetishes, amulets, charms, and mascots are commonly used to
insure luck in daily occupations, and for health and success in hunting,
racing, gaming, and secular performances. The Hopi ceremonial calendar
consists of a number of monthly festivals, ordinarily of 9 days duration,
of which the first 8 are devoted to secret rites in kivas or in rooms set
apart for that purpose, the final day being generally devoted to a
spectacular public ceremony or "dance." Every great festival is held under
the auspices of a special religious fraternity or fraternities, and is
accompanied with minor events indicating a former duration of 20 days.
Among the most important religious fraternities are the Snake, Antelope,
Flute, Sun, Lalakontu, Owakultu, Mamzrautu, Kachina, Tataukyamu,
Wuwuchimtu, Aaltu, Kwakwautu, and Kalektaka. There are also other
organized priesthoods, as the Yaya and the Poshwympkia, whose functions
are mainly those of doctors or healers. Several ancient priesthoods, known
by the names Koyimsi, Paiakyamu, and Chukuwympkia, function as clowns or
fun-makers during the sacred dances of the Kachinas. The ceremonial year
is divided into two parts, every great ceremony having a major and a minor
performance occurring about 6 months apart; and every 4 years, when
initiations occur, most ceremonies are celebrated in extenso. The so
called Snake and Flute dances are performed biennially at all the pueblos
except Sichomovi and Hano, and alternate with each other. Ceremonies are
also divided into those with masked and those with unmasked participants,
the former, designated kachinas, extending from January to July, the
latter occurring in the remaining months of the year. The chief of each
fraternity has a badge of his office and conducts both the secret and the
open features of the ceremony. The fetishes and idols used in the sacred
rites are owned by the priesthood and are arranged by its chief in
temporary altars, in front of which dry-paintingsare made. The Hopi ritual
is extraordinarily complex and time consuming, and the paraphernalia
required is extensive. Although the Hopi cultus has become highly modified
by a semi-arid environment; it consisted originally of ancestor worship,
embracing worship of the great powers of nature—sky, sun, moon, fire,
rain, and earth. A confusion of effect and cause and an elaboration of the
doctrine of signatures pervade all their rites, which in the main may be
regarded as sympathetic magic.
The books presented are for their
historical value only and are not the
opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
Handbook
of American Indians, 1906
Index of Tribes or Nations
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