Hopi mythology facts for kids
The Hopi people have a rich and ancient tradition of stories and beliefs. It's a bit like a big family storybook, where different family members might tell the same story in slightly different ways! This means that what one Hopi village believes might be a little different from another. Also, the Hopi people are very private about their most sacred teachings. So, the stories they share with outsiders might not always be their deepest beliefs.
The Hopi have also been open to new ideas, especially if those ideas could help them, like bringing rain. They met Europeans way back in the 1500s. Some people think that Christian ideas might have mixed into Hopi beliefs. Spanish missions were even built in Hopi villages in the 1600s. But after a big rebellion in 1680, the Hopi were the only Native American group who managed to keep the Spanish out for good. Because of this, their traditions stayed very strong and mostly unchanged by European influence for a long time.
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Important Hopi Gods and Spirits
Many Hopi creation stories begin with Tawa, the sun spirit. Tawa is the great creator. He made the "First World" from endless space and created its first people. Even today, Hopi mothers ask the sun for blessings for their new babies.
Some stories say Tawa first created Sotuknang, his nephew. Sotuknang then created nine universes based on Tawa's plan. Sotuknang also created Spider Woman. She was a messenger for the creator and helped connect the gods with the people. In some versions, Spider Woman creates all life under Sotuknang's guidance. Other tales say life was made by "Hard Being Woman of the West" and "Hard Being Woman of the East," with the sun just watching.
Masauwu (also called Maasaw or Mausauu) is another important spirit. He is known as the Spirit of Death, the Earth God, and the keeper of fire. He guards the door to the Fifth World. Masauwu was there when good people escaped the badness of the Third World to reach the Fourth World. He is sometimes described as wearing a scary mask. But in other stories, he is a handsome, jeweled man under the mask. He also has kind qualities. One story says Masauwu helped the Hopi settle at Oraibi and gave them care over the land. He also told them to watch for the Pahana, their Lost White Brother. Other important spirits include twin war gods, the kachinas, and the trickster spirit, Coyote.
Maize (corn) is super important to the Hopi people's lives and religion. For traditional Hopi, corn is everything. It's food, a sacred object, a prayer offering, a symbol, and even a living being. Corn is like a mother because people eat it, and it becomes part of them, just like a mother's milk helps a child grow.
The Four Worlds of Hopi Belief
According to Hopi legends, when time and space began, the sun spirit Tawa created the First World. In this world, insect-like creatures lived unhappily in caves. To make things better, Tawa sent a spirit called Spider Grandmother to the world below. Spider Grandmother led the creatures on a long journey to the Second World. There, they looked like wolves and bears. But these animals were not happy either. So, Tawa created a new, Third World, and again sent Spider Grandmother to lead the wolves and bears there. By the time they arrived, they had become people! Spider Grandmother taught them how to weave and make pottery. A hummingbird even brought them a tool to make fire.
Entering the Fourth World
There are two main stories about how the Hopi entered the present Fourth World.
In one story, badness spread among the people in the Third World. With help from Spider Grandmother or bird spirits, a hollow bamboo reed grew. This reed reached from the Third World to the Fourth World. This opening, called sipapu, is often thought to be the Grand Canyon. Only people with good hearts made it to the Fourth World.
The other story, mostly told in Oraibi, says that Tawa destroyed the Third World with a great flood. Before the flood, Spider Grandmother sealed the good people inside hollow reeds. These reeds became boats. When they landed on a small piece of dry land, they saw only water around them. Spider Woman then told them to make more reed boats. They used islands as "stepping-stones" and sailed east. Finally, they reached the mountains of the Fourth World.
It's hard to say which story is the "original" one. But in Oraibi, young children often hear the sipapu story first. The ocean voyage story is told to them when they are older. The name of the Hopi Water Clan (Patkinyamu) even means "a dwelling-on-water" or "houseboat." However, the sipapu story is very popular in Walpi and is widely accepted by most Hopi people.
In this Fourth World, the people learned many important lessons about how to live correctly. They learned to worship Masauwu. He made sure the dead returned safely to the Underworld. Masauwu also gave them four sacred stone tablets. These tablets showed their journeys and how they should behave in the Fourth World. Masauwu also told the people to watch for the Pahána, the Lost White Brother.
Great Journeys
When they arrived in the Fourth World, the Hopi people split up. They began a series of long journeys across the land. Sometimes they would stop and build a town, then leave it to continue their travels. They left symbols on rocks to show that Hopi people had been there. The divided groups of families wandered for a long time. Eventually, they formed clans, named after something special that happened on their journey. These clans would travel together, but disagreements often happened. Then, the clan would split, and each part would go its own way. However, clans would also join together, then break apart, and then form new groups with other clans. These times of peace followed by trouble and separation are a big part of Hopi stories. This pattern started in the First World and continues even today.
During their travels, each Hopi clan was supposed to go to the very edge of the land in every direction. Far to the north was a land of snow and ice called the "Back Door." But this door was closed to the Hopi. However, the Hopi say that other people came into the Fourth World through this "Back Door." This "Back Door" might refer to the Bering land bridge, which once connected Asia with North America. Spider Woman or other signs guided the Hopi on their journeys. Eventually, the Hopi clans finished their travels and were led to their current home in northeastern Arizona.
Most Hopi traditions say that Masauwu, the Spirit of Death and Master of the Fourth World, gave them their land.
Sacred Hopi Tablets
Hopi tradition speaks of sacred stone tablets given to the Hopi by different gods. Like many Hopi stories, the details of when and how these tablets were given can vary.
Perhaps the most important tablet was said to be held by the Fire Clan. It is connected to the return of the Pahana. In one story, an elder of the Fire Clan worried his people wouldn't recognize the Pahana when he returned from the east. So, he carved designs, including a human figure, into a stone. Then, he broke off the part of the stone with the figure's head. This piece was given to Pahana. He was told to bring it back so the Hopi would know it was truly him and not a trick. This stone is said to be true, showing an Indian face of black, white, and gray with black feathers. It looks more like ink soaked into the stone than carved lines.
Kachina Spirits
One of the Hopi religious groups is the katsina society. The Hopi believe that spirits play a big role in the world of the living. These spirits are linked to clouds and to kind supernatural beings called katsinam. Katsinam live in the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, Arizona. Katsinam are the spirits of everything in the universe: rocks, stars, animals, plants, and ancestors who lived good lives.
Around the year 1325, drawings of Kachina masks and dancers started appearing in rock art.
The Hopi had long expected the return of the Pahana. Interestingly, the Aztecs also expected their god Quetzalcoatl to return around the same time. When the Spanish explorer Pedro de Tovar arrived in the 1500s, the Hopi thought he might be the Pahana. But unlike the Aztecs, the Hopi tested this Spanish "Pahana." When he failed their tests, they sent him away.
The Hopi say that during a great drought, they heard singing and dancing from the San Francisco Peaks. When they investigated, they met the Kachinas. The Kachinas came back to the Hopi villages and taught them how to farm. The Hopi believe that Kachina spirits live in their villages for six months of the year. The nine-day Niman or Going Home ceremony ends the Kachina season. During this outdoor Kachina Dance, the Kachinas bring harvest gifts for the people watching and Kachina dolls for young girls. Different groups of Kachinas perform each year. The Hemis Kachinas are very popular. After the Going Home Dance in late July or early August, the Kachinas return to the San Francisco Peaks for six months. The Hopi believe these dances are very important for keeping the world in harmony and balance. They also serve the vital purpose of bringing rain to the Hopi's dry homeland.
The Lost White Brother (Pahana)
The true Pahana (or Bahana) is the Lost White Brother of the Hopi. Most stories say that the Pahana, or Elder Brother, left for the east when the Hopi entered the Fourth World and began their journeys. However, the Hopi say he will return again. When he comes, badness will be destroyed, and a new age of peace, the Fifth World, will begin. As mentioned, he is said to bring a missing piece of a sacred Hopi stone held by the Fire Clan. He is also expected to wear red. Traditionally, Hopis are buried facing east, waiting for the Pahana to come from that direction.
The legend of the Pahana seems very similar to the Aztec story of Quetzalcoatl and other legends from Central America. This similarity is also seen in the many images of Awanyu or the Paluliikon, the horned or feathered serpent, in Hopi and other Pueblo art. This figure looks like Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent of Mexico. In the early 1500s, both the Hopi and the Aztecs thought the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors was the return of this lost white prophet. But unlike the Aztecs, the Hopi tested the Spanish when they first met them. When the Spanish failed the tests, they were sent away from the Hopi lands.
One story says the Hopi realized the Spanish were not the Pahana after the Spanish destroyed a Hopi town. So, when the Spanish arrived at the village of Awatovi, the Hopi drew a line of cornmeal. This was a sign for the Spanish not to enter the village. But the Spanish ignored it. Some Hopi wanted to fight, but they decided to try a peaceful approach, hoping the Spanish would eventually leave. However, Spanish records say there was a short fight at Awatovi before the Hopi gave up.
Hopi Culture in Movies and Books
The movie Koyaanisqatsi uses the Hopi phrase Ko.yan.nis.qatsi, which means "life out of balance." It also refers to three Hopi prophecies or warnings:
- "If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
- "Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
- "A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."
The 1987 new-age music album Desert Vision by David Lanz and Paul Speer has a song called "Tawtoma."
The novel The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman, published in 1982, talks a lot about Hopi mythology. Key characters are Hopi men, and events in the story happen near important shrines or during special ceremonies. A fictional Navajo police sergeant, Jim Chee, works with a fictional Hopi deputy, Albert "Cowboy" Dashee. Cowboy speaks Hopi and English, sometimes translating for Chee and explaining shrines and ceremonies to him.
In the 2001 novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman, a character named Mr. Ibis (who is the ancient Egyptian god Thoth) talks about how scientists don't want to believe there were visitors to the Americas before Columbus. He mentions the sipapu story as a real historical event, saying, "Heaven knows what'll happen if they ever actually find the Hopi emergence tunnels. That'll shake a few things up, you just wait."
In the 2019 film Us, a young girl named Addy walks into an attraction called "Shaman's Vision Quest." A recorded voice on the speaker system tells parts of the Hopi creation story:
"These, the earth and water, he divided into places from which life could spring. The mountains and the valleys and the waters were all where they belonged. Then Sotuknang went to Taiowa and said, 'I want you to see what I have done. And I have done well.' And Taiowa looked and said, 'It is very good. But you are not done with it. Now you must create life of all kinds and set it in motion according to my plan.' ... and went into space and gathered substance to create his helper, the Spider Woman. 'Look all about you, Spider Woman,' said Sotuknang. 'Here now is endless space, but in the world, there is no joyful movement. The world ...'" (Then the power goes out.)
Years later, when the adult Addy returns to the same boardwalk, "Shaman's Vision Quest" is now called "Merlin's Forest."
See also
In Spanish: Mitología hopi para niños
