Now the
bride, with considerable simple ceremony, walks with one of the robes on,
and the other in a reed wrapper, to her mother's house where, unless her
husband has prepared a separate home for them, they continue to reside. In
the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, is a fine model showing the young
bride wearing her new garment, going to her mother's home.
In their ceremonial dances, the Hopi women wear cotton blankets, highly
embroidered at the sides and edges with red, green, and black wool. Fine
specimens may be found in the Hopi House. Similar to these in style, though
long and narrow in shape, are the ceremonial kilts or sashes of the men. In
pictures showing the march of the Antelope Priests during the Hopi Snake
Dance these beautiful sashes are well depicted.
In addition to the products of the vertical loom, the Navaho and Pueblo
women weave a variety of smaller articles all of which are remarkable for
their strength, durability and striking designs.
In weaving sashes, belts, hair bands, garters, etc., the weaver uses a
"heddle frame" similar to those found in Europe and New England. None of
these have been found in places that assure us of their use before the
Spanish occupation, so we conclude that they were introduced by the
conquistadores or the early colonists about 350 years ago.
