Dictionary:
Ho·pi (hō'pē)  |
[Hopi hópi, peaceable, a Hopi.]
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Hopi |
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| US History Encyclopedia: Hopi |
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.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Hopi |
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).
| The Dream Encyclopedia: Hopi |
The Hopi, who live in the southwestern desert plateau of the United States, regard dreams as particularly important. Hopi society conveys much of its religious and recreational experience through a rich imagery derived from dramatic rituals that are frequently translated into dreams. These images are consistently presented to individuals throughout their lifetimes.
It is believed the soul of each person, corresponding to the Spirit of the Breath (hikwsi), can resist what the Hopi call the Mighty Something (himu), which is a composite concept of divinity. When the hikwsi resists the himu, the Hopi become confused. The Hopi then look for familiar anchors in their inner world, and this is expressed in dreams.
Dreams are viewed as an attempt by the self to make a statement about the individual's present situation, as well as the extent of the person's cultural integration. They are considered a type of thought-action in which hikwsi explores both the inner and the outer world through images provided by Hopi religion. Good dreams have to be held in the heart and can be told only after they have been fulfilled, whereas bad dreams-in that they contain bad thoughts-must be eliminated through the practice of reporting and discussing them, and by working out problems in them through confession of questionable behavior.
The Hopi believe that hikwsi is not confined within the mortal individual, but can be projected through thought, prayer, and dreams, and can interact with distant people and things. Also, the conceptual universe of the Hopi is not delimited by the notions of time and space, which make dreams an experience apart from reality.
Hopi dreams are characterized by a number of personally invented and culturally defined symbols that are applicable to personal situations at the time of the dream. For instance, when Palulukon, the Water Serpent, appears in a dream, it can represent both a possible punishing and a possible supportive agent, depending on whether the dream is charged with quiet or fear. The state of being at the time of the dream can determine the specific use of cultural or personal symbols, as well as the rules used to deal with and interpret the dream.
| Wikipedia: Hopi |
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This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Indigenous peoples of North America or the Indigenous peoples of North America Portal may be able to help recruit one. (August 2008) |
 Hopi portraits |
| Total population |
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| 6,946 |
| Languages |
The Hopi are a Native American people who primarily live on the 12,635 km² (2,531.773 sq mi) Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi Reservation is entirely surrounded by the much larger Navajo Reservation. The two nations used to share the Navajo-Hopi Joint Use Area. The partition of this area, commonly known as Big Mountain, by Acts of Congress in 1974 and 1996, has resulted in seemingly endless controversy.[1][2][3]
The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people.
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According to Hopi oral tradition, the Hopi are a gathering of diverse groups representing clans from different areas, now identifying culturally as one group of people with a single language.[4] Athabascan migrations from Canada (forming the modern Navajo and Apache nations) ending as late as the 15th century may have caused the Hopi move from original village locations at the bottoms of mesas to the tops where these villages could be defended. Popularly these are known as First, Second and Third Mesas because of their order of Spanish encounter. In contrast, the formerly nomadic Navajo typically live in small family groups now widely distributed across northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The Hopi have been village dwellers for many centuries (nine villages existed at the arrival of the Spanish —Sikyatki, Koechaptevela, Kisakovi, Sichomovi, Mishongnovi, Shipaulovi, Shungopavi, Oraibi and Awatovi). 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. [5]
The name Hopi is a shortened form of what these Native American people call themselves, Hopituh Shi-nu-mu, "The Peaceful People" or "Peaceful Little Ones" [6]. 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. The Hopi religion is anti-war. 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. These clan organizations extend across all villages. Children are 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's parents generally decide the name to be used from these names. Current practice is to either use a non-Hopi or English name or the parent's chosen Hopi name. A person may also change their name upon initiation into one of the religious societies such as the Kachina society.
The Hopi still practice a complete cycle of traditional ceremonies although not all villages retain or ever had the complete ceremonial cycle. These ceremonies take place according to the lunar calendar and are observed in each of the Hopi villages. Nonetheless, like other Native American groups, the Hopi have been impacted by Christianity. The Hopi have been affected by the missionary work carried out by several Christian denominations, however, with relatively little impact on Hopi religious practices.
Traditionally the Hopi are highly skilled micro or subsistence farmers. The Hopi also interact in the wider cash economy; a significant number of Hopi have mainstream jobs; others earn a living by creating high quality Hopi art, notably the carving of Kachina dolls, the expert crafting of earthenware ceramics, and the design and production of fine jewelry, especially sterling silver.
When a child is born, they receive a perfect ear of corn. On the 20th day, the child is taken to the mesa cliff and held facing the rising sun. When the sun touches the baby, it is given a name.
Kachinas or Kat'sinas or Qat'sinas are referenced extensively in the Hopi. Kat'sina literally means "life bringer" in Hopi. A Kat'sina can be anything from an element, to a quality, to a natural phenomenon, to a concept. There are over 300 to 400 different Kat'sinas. Traditionally, Kat'sina dolls, which are made by the maternal uncles, are given to young uninitiated girls at the spring Bean Ceremony and Home Dance.
 Hopi Womens Dance, 1879, Oraibi, Arizona |
 Traditional Hopi Village of Walpi, c. 1920. |
 Traditional Hopi Homes. |
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 Kopeli, Hopi Snake Priest. |
 Hopi Basket Weaver c. 1910 |
 Hopi Basket Weaver. |
 Hopi girl. |
 Photograph by Henry Peabody, Iris Nampeyo, world famous Hopi ceramist, with her work, circa 1900 |
 Hopi girl at Walpi. 1900, with "squash blossom" hairdo indicative of her eligibility for courtship |
 Four young Hopi Indian women grinding grain, circa 1900 |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| 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 |
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| The Dream Encyclopedia. The Dream Encyclopedia. 1995 ©Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hopi". Read more |
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