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about this tribe being troubled by the wind (Yaponcha) which blew all of
their seeds away making it impossible for them to grow any crops. The
Hopi ask for help through their ceremonies with pipes in their kivas. As it
is stated in the myth, the smoking of tobacco among the Hopi, as among
many other tribes, is strictly ceremonial. They believe that the smoke
carries their prayers to their Gods, in other words, it is a symbolic means
of making an exchange between them and the spirit world.
They are helped by The Little Fellows who were two of the five
grandsons of Spider Woman. Spider woman is an important creation
figure in the mythology of the Hopi. She is the special benefactor of the
Hopi tribe and she is a symbol of wisdom. According to some accounts,
she created humans from clay (with the assistance of Sotuknang and/or
Tawa), and was also responsible for leading them to the Fourth World
(the present Earth.)3 In this story, we can see her in her role as a helper
of the Hopi people. She makes some sweet cornmeal mush which is later
used by the Little Fellows to stop the wind from coming out of the The
Wind God House (a crack in a rock) so that the Hopi can cultivate their
lands without difficulties.
It is not by chance that corn is the food used to make the mush to save
the Hopi people. Corn, as I said before, is the main source of livelihood of
these people. Corn is, then, sacred for them. It is as symbol of life. Its
essence,
physically,
spiritually,
and
symbolically,
pervades
existence4.
their
References
5 Feathers Symbol. Retrieved from
http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-symbols/featherssymbol.htm
Meanings.
Native
American
Symbols
and
Signs.
symbols.html
Benedek, Emily. The Wind Won't Know Me: A History of the Navajo-
in
Hopi
Traditional
Agriculture,
Spirituality,
and
3&4.
French, Ellen and Hanes, Richard (s.f). Hopis. Retrieved from
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Hopis.html
Native Languages of the Americas website (1998-2015).
Legendary
Native
American
Figures.
Retrieved
from
http://www.native-languages.org/spider-grandmother.htm
Native
Indian
Tribes
Website
(2015).
Retrieved
from
http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american
symbols/feathers-symbol.htm
Page, Susanne and Jake. Hopi. New York: Harry Abrams, 1994.