Yet To The Hopi There Is Nothing Strange In This Scene, For The
Woman, And Not The Man, Is The Owner Of The House.
Hence, the Hopi reasons,
why should she not build it?
It is hers, so let her make it; and she does.
She uses no spirit-level, no plumb line, no square, no saw, and yet she
makes a creditable house, fairly square and plumb, warm and cosy in winter,
and cool and comfortable in summer. The mud of the winter's watercourses is
used as mortar, and the pieces of disintegrated sandstone, that abound on
the mesa tops, form the building material.
Men Who Weave and Knit. In accordance with Hopi logic, the antithesis of
the woman house-builders is to be seen daily in the men who are engaged in
weaving the women's garments; men, also, knit the stockings, and follow
other so-called feminine occupations. There is nothing incongruous in these
things to them. They are part of "the way of the old," handed down to them
by their forefathers.
Hopi Method of Weaving. To watch a weaver at work is to acquire a new
respect for Indians. As one sees the crude, home-made appliances, and then
watches the yarn climb up, thread by thread, battened down by hand so that
the garment will hold water, until the article is finished, artistically
designed, and perfectly fitted for its required purpose, he comes to the
conclusion that the Hopi weaver, at least, is a skilled artificer.
Hopi Rituals. The Hopi are a remarkably religious people. I question
whether there is to be found elsewhere in the world so ritualistic a people
as they are. They have ceremonies - all of religious character for every
month of the year, and some of them require from eight to sixteen days for
their observance. Their dances are propitiations of the gods they worship,
and whose aid they implore. One of the most noted and world-renowned of
their ceremonies is the Snake Dance, and I wish to conclude this chapter
with a brief description of this wonderful act, which I have now witnessed
thirteen separate times. It has been woefully misrepresented by careless
writers.
The whole ceremony is conducted with a dignity and solemnity that is not
surpassed by any Christian observance.
Hopi Mythology Regarding Snake Dance. It is not a dance, in our sense of
the word. It is a prayer for rain, and of thanksgiving for the blessings of
harvest. Neither is it an act of snake worship. According to Hopi
mythology, the snake and antelope clans, or families, are descended from
the union of Tiyo and his brother with two sisters, daughters of the snake
mother, - Tiyo being the paternal Ancestor of the Snake Clan, and his
brother of the Antelope Clan. The story of Tiyo's visit, using a sealed-up
hollow pinion log as a boat, and sailing down the Colorado river through "
shipapu" to the underworld, is one of the most interesting pieces of
aboriginal folk-lore.
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