Soyal facts for kids

Soyal is the winter solstice ceremony of the Zuni and Hopi peoples held December 21, the shortest day of the year. Participants ceremonially bring the sun back from its long slumber, mark the beginning of another cycle of the Wheel of the Year, and work on purification. Pahos prayer sticks are made prior to the Soyal ceremony, to bless all the community, including homes, animals, and plants. The sacred underground kiva chambers are ritually opened to mark the beginning of the Kachina season.

Before the Soyal ceremony members of the tribe exchange small gifts made of feathers bound with cotton or other fibers. As night falls, they bring these gifts to a kiva and decorate the space. During the ceberation, people dance, pray, give offerings to the gods, and play music. They also perform a symbolic dance that represents the struggle between darkness and light, culminating in the triumph of the sun god.

An effigy of a plumed snake and a traditional shield are distinctive images of Soyal. The latter represents the sun while the former stands for dark forces that want to swallow it. During the ceremony, people make offerings to the snake to appease it so that it does not eat the sun god.