Views From Sedona - Part II

By Mande “Kykyotsmana” Osborne

Taking a walk through the Hopi reservation is like taking a walk back through time. Here is a culture who, for the most part, still live with their strong beliefs in their spirits who guide them and still live the old ancestral ways, Hopi. translated means ‘the peaceful people’, are settlers.

Unlike the Navajo’s or the Apache’s who were Plains Indians which meant they would travel from season to season moving camp to warmer locations, living in Tee Pees, the Hopi’s were always settled. Making their village at the first mesa, is Walpi, still inhabited today, dates back earlier than the 1800th century. Walpi is still one of the traditional villages. This means strictly the old ways. There is no electricity or running water. Water is collected each day at the springs. The Hopi’s are farmers where they have learnt to grow corn (one of the most sacred food. And what it represents to them), squash, watermelon etc., with very little water.

They also carve dolls to represent their spirits called Kachians and sell them to the tourists. The Hopi’s have ceremonial dances which is closed to non-Indians , where the dancers will wear masks and dress as a particular Kachina spirit and will ask that the spirit will come and bless the village with rain or for protection for the village or for whatever reason the dance is for. The Kachins are very sacred to the Hopi’s, even today.

A traditional marriage consists of three stages. The first is where the bride-to-be must make a ceremonial bread called Piki. It is made from ground blue corn, cedar ash and water. She sits in front of a big polished flat stone with a fire burning under it. She dips her hand into the corn mixture and runs her hand over the stone. It dries instantly to a wafr. This is an offering to the white spirit horse who will come for her husband’s soul after he dies, thus ensuring his journey into the after world. The second stage is the mud slinging ceremony. The in-laws will visit each other in turn with buckets of mud and will pelt each other with mud. This is to release any frustrations and grievances before the wedding. They will get together for a feast afterwards. The third stage is the washing of the hair. The groom’s mother will unwrap and wash the bride-to-be’s hair and the bride’s mother will wash the groom’s while they kneel side by side. When a young girl is of marriageable age, her mother will wrap her hair in horse shoe shaped sticks on either side of her head, where she will wear it like that until she marries. They are hoops and the hair looks like butterfly wings. Then the girl will dress in the wedding robes that the groom’s father has woven. (In Hopi, it is the men who weave the cloth) Then the young couple go alone to a location they have chosen and exchange their vows in private and then join the families for a big celebration.

I am very fortunate to have adopted Hopi family where I was able to live with them on the resveration. I have found Hopi people to be very interesting, compassionate and fun to be with. Seemingly as interested and curious in learning about me and my homeland, NZ, as I am about theirs. I pray that I will be blessed that my relationship with them continues to grow..............