|
Results for Hopi
|
On this page:
|
[Hopi hópi, peaceable, a Hopi.]
For more information on Hopi, visit Britannica.com.
The name Hopi is derived from the word Hopituh, which best translates as people who are mannered, civilized, and adhere to the Hopi way. The Hopi way is a marvelous and complex system of relationships, behavior, language, industry, philosophy, and thought. Hopis believe that humankind emerged into the present world from another place. The emergence story begins with a covenant made with Maasaw, a deity who first occupied this world. The story recounts the time when Hopis asked Maasaw for permission to live on this land. Maasaw responded, "It is up to you. All I have to offer you is my planting stick, a pouch of seeds, and a gourd of water. My life is simple but hard. If you commit to this way of life, you may live here with me." Maasaw laid several ears of corn before the different groups of people who emerged with the Hopis and asked the leaders of each group to choose one ear of corn apiece. The Hopi leader did not rush forward but waited until others made their selection. The only remaining ear was a short ear of blue corn. Maasaw said to the Hopi leader, "You did not rush forward, you have shown patience and humility, which is symbolized by this short ear of corn. Here, take this and become my people." The Hopis took the stubby ear of blue corn, which represented a long life but one full of challenges and hard work. They agreed to live according to Maasaw's instructions, which became a spiritual covenant that has guided Hopis since the earliest times to the present.
Hisatsinoms (Earliest People), the ancestors of present-day Hopis, built and occupied communities throughout the greater Southwest. Monumental architectural remains can be seen at locations such as Mesa Verde in Colorado, Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, and Wupatki in Arizona. These and other sites were settled by extended families or clans who, over time, migrated to the center of the Hopi world. Clans remain as the single most important unit of organization and identity for Hopis. Bear, Tobacco, Sand, Snake, Flute, Roadrunner, Sun, Snow, Corn, and Spider are examples of clan names. Each has its own history, specializations, and ways that it inter-acts with other clans. The last point is particularly important as one can only marry outside of one's clan. To do otherwise would be considered incest.
In the twenty-first century, the Hopis resided in twelve independent villages in northeastern Arizona. Oraibi, the oldest of the villages, is also considered the oldest continuously inhabited community in all of North America.
The villages range in age from Oraibi, which is more than a thousand years old, to communities such as Polacca, which was settled in the early part of the last century. Most of the villages were established on mesas or escarpments that extend southward from a larger land formation known as Black Mesa. These village sites were strategically selected according to a plan that would help to protect residents and their way of life from marauding enemies and unwanted visitors.
In 1540, Spanish soldiers reached the Hopi area and defeated a group of Hopis who were defending an early village site. During the next 140 years, the Spanish attempted to colonize and missionize the Hopis. In 1680, indigenous populations over a wide geographical area staged a revolution against the Spanish government, and its military, missions, and civilians. For the Hopis, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was not only a revolution against a colonial government, it was a concerted effort to rid the area of forces that threatened Hopituh and their covenant with Maasaw. Colonial jurisdiction over the northern reaches of New Spain remained until 1821, when Mexico declared independence from Spain. Hopis lived under Mexican rule until 1848, the year that also marked the signing of a treaty between the United States and Mexico at the close of the Mexican War. In 1882, the Hopi Indian Reservation was established by executive order of President Chester A. Arthur. The reservation land base is nearly 3,000 square miles. The Hopi Tribal Council and Government was organized in 1935, and its constitution was approved by the secretary of the interior in 1936. Hopis are now federally recognized as "the Hopi Tribe."
In 2001, the Hopi Tribe's Enrollment Office reported a total population of 11,095. Between 75 and 80 percent of this population lived in the Hopi area. Others lived and worked in urban areas or were in college or military service. Hopi children attended community schools staffed by Hopi and non-Hopi educators and governed by local school boards. At about age eight, boys and girls begin their traditional Hopi religious education and training with the supervision of a close adult adviser.
Agriculture is central to Hopi culture. In fact, Hopi culture is often referred to as a "corn culture." With an annual precipitation of twelve inches or less, the Hopis have employed dry farming technology to sustain themselves and adjust to an arid land that can be harsh and unpredictable. Dry farming requires patience, humility, hard work, and most of all, a heart full of prayer. Harvest time is a joyful time and everyone partakes of the new crops.
The Hopis are among the most studied groups of people in Native North America. In 1980, there were well over 3,000 books and monographs published about Hopis. Since 1980, that number has probably increased exponentially. Recent scholarship has involved a number of Hopi scholars. The Hopi Dictionary published in 1998, for example, is a monumental work that includes more than 30,000 terms and was developed by Hopi and other language specialists. Hopis speak a Shoshonean language that is a branch of a larger language family known as Uto-Aztecan. The Hopi Dictionary is intended to help Hopi speakers to write and read the language. The Hopi Tribe publishes the newspaper Hopi Tutuveni, which uses both English and the Hopi syllabary. In 2001, the first Hopi public radio station went on the air. The station's call letters, KUYI, symbolically translate to water.
The Hopi artistic expressions in jewelry, pottery, painting, textiles, and basket making are well known to the art market and the world of collectors. Visitors are welcome to visit the Hopi Cultural Center on Second Mesa and may also arrange for guided tours of some of the villages. However, the Hopi people also desire to protect their rights to privacy and safeguard their religious knowledge and ceremonies. The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office is charged with the responsibility of representing Hopi interests both within and outside the Hopi reservation. This responsibility requires the involvement not only of the Hopi government, but also of the Hopi villages, clans, and religious societies, which must cooperate with each other as well. This is in keeping with the covenant between Maasaw and Hopituh.
Bibliography
Hopi Dictionary Project. Hopi Dictionary/Hopìikwa Lavàytutuveni: A Hopi-English Dictionary of the Third Mesa Dialect. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, c. 1998.
James, Harry C. Pages from Hopi History. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1994.
Ortiz, Alfonso, ed. Southwest. Vol.9of Handbook of North American Indians. Edited by William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979.
Secakuku, Alph H. Following the Sun and Moon: Hopi Kachina Tradition. Flagstaff, Ariz.: Northland Publishing, 1995.
In 1540, they were visited by some of Francisco Coronado's men under Pedro de Tovar, but because of their geographical isolation they remained more independent of European influence than other Pueblo groups. The Spanish began to establish missions in 1629 at the Hopi pueblos of Awatobi, Oraibi, and Shongopovi. These missions were destroyed in the revolt of 1680 (see Popé), and when the residents of Awatobi invited the missionaries to return, the other Hopi destroyed their village. After the revolt, pueblos in the foothills were abandoned and new villages were built on the mesas for defense against possible attack by the Spanish. The pueblo of Hano was built by the Tewa, who had fled from the area of the Rio Grande valley that the Spanish reconquered.
During the 18th and 19th cent., the Hopi were subjected to frequent raids by the neighboring Navajo. The region was pacified by the U.S. army in the late 19th cent., and a Hopi reservation was established in 1882, but the ambiguous status of much of the reservation enabled Navajo populations to encroach on traditional Hopi lands. By the 1960s and 70s, Navajo expansion on lands set aside for joint use provoked court action and led to a partition of the disputed land. Amid bitter conflict, over 10,000 Navajo and fewer than 100 Hopi were relocated from the partitioned lands. A court decision in 1992 assigned most of the land still in dispute to the Navajo. Some Navajo were permitted to remain on Hopi land under 75-year leases.
The Hopi are sedentary farmers, mainly dependent on corn, beans, and squash; they also raise wheat, cotton, and tobacco, and herd sheep. Each village is divided into clans and is governed by a chief, who is also the spiritual leader. Political and religious duties revolve around the clans. The Badger clan, for instance, still conducts the kachina (fertility) ceremony, and the Antelope and Snake clans perform the well-known snake dance at Walpi and other pueblos. A Hopi tribal council and constitution were established in 1936, but internal dissension has limited tribal unity.
Bibliography
See J. Kammer, The Second Long Walk (1980); S. Rushforth and S. Upham, A Hopi Social History (1992).
| Hopi |
|---|
 |
| Total population |
| Regions with significant populations |
| United States (Arizona, California) |
| Language(s) |
| English, Hopi |
| Religion(s) |
| Traditional beliefs |
The Hopi are Native American people who primarily live on the 6,557.262 km² (2,531.773 sq mi) Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona.
The reservation had a 2000 census population of 6,946 persons. Its largest community is First Mesa, Arizona.
According to Hopi legends they are a gathering of many separate tribes from distant areas, now identified by vas and culturally one people. Since the Athabascan migrations from Canada (forming the modern Navajo nation) ending as late as the 15th century they havej been forced into defensible and dense villages on several mesa, in contrast to the Navaho who prefer to live small family groups in widely distributed farmsteads. Thus the Hopi have been townsdwellers for many centuries. The Hopi village of Old Oraibi, located on Third Mesa and founded about the year 1100,is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the United States. Some aspects of the Hopi culture are in common with those of the Tewa puebloan culture.
The Hopi reservation is surrounded by the Navajo reservation. While traditionally the Hopi and the Navaho have considered each other to be "enemies" in various ways they have recently become more cooperative in actions involving environmental, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and economic issues, most notably in political and contractual actions to restrict the withdrawal of groundwater by outside entities, particularly by coal extractors for use in coal slurry transport.
The name Hopi, is a shortened form of what these Native American people call themselves,[citation needed] Hopi'sinom, or "People Who Live in the Correct Way". The catholic encyclopedia lists the name Hopi as having been derived from "Hopita", meaning those who are "peaceful ones". Hopi is a concept deeply rooted in the culture's religion, spirituality, and its view of morality and ethics. To be Hopi is to strive toward this concept, which involves a state of total reverence and respect for all things, to be at peace with these things, and to live in accordance with the instructions of Maasaw, the Creator or Caretaker of Earth. The Hopi observe their traditional ceremonies for the benefit of the entire world.
Traditionally, Hopi are organized into matrilineal clans. When a man marries, the children from the relationship are members of his wife's clan. The child is named, however, by the women of the father's clan. On the twentieth day of a baby's life, the women of the paternal clan gather, each woman bringing a name and a gift for the child. In some cases where many relatives would attend, a child could be given over forty names, for example. The child may use any of these names or may use a non-Hopi name. A person may also change their name upon initiation into a Kachina society.
The Hopi still practice a complete cycle of traditional ceremonies. These ceremonies take place according to the lunar calendar and are observed in each of the Hopi villages.
Nonetheless, like other Indian groups, the Hopi have not escaped impact by the dominant American culture. The Hopi have been affected by missionary work carried out by several Christian denominations and also by consumerism and alcoholism. However, the effect of missionary work has had relatively little impact on traditional Hopi cultural and religious practices.
Traditionally the Hopi are highly skilled micro or subsistence farmers. The Hopi have also had to deal with the modern cash economy; a not insignificant number of Hopi have regular paying jobs; others earn a living from producing high quality art, traditional crafts—notably the carving and sale of Kachina dolls, highly crafted earthenware ceramic pottery, and other activities such as the design and production of jewelry, notably sterling silver silversmithing.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "Hopi" at WikiAnswers.
Copyrights:
 |
 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hopi". Read more |
Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar!
Click here to download now. 
Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.
Mentioned In:
Related Topics
More >
