The Book of the Hopi

Description

The secrets of the Hopi “road of life” revealed for the first time in written form

In this strange and wonderful book, thirty elders of the ancient Hopi tribe of Northern Arizona—a people who regard themselves as the first inhabitants of America—freely reveal the Hopi worldview for the first time in written form. The Hopi kept this view a secret for countless centuries, and anthropologists have long struggled to understand it. Now they record their myths and legends, and the meaning of their religious rituals and ceremonies as a gift to future generations. Here is a reassertion of a rhythm of life we have disastrously tried to ignore and instincts we have tragically repressed, and a reminder that we must attune ourselves to the need for inner change if we are to avert a cataclysmic rupture between our minds and hearts.Foreword by Frederick H. Howell
Introduction
Part One. The Myths: Creation of the Four Worlds
1. Tokpela: The First World
2. Tokpa: The Second World
3. Kuskurza: The Third World
4. Túwaqachi: The Fourth World
5. Commentary: The Symbol of the Emergence

Part Two. The Legends: Migrations of the Clans
1. The Four Migrations
2. North to the Back Door
3. The Badger and the Sacred Spruce
4. Migrations of the Bird Clans
5. Wénima and the Short Rainbow
6. The Mysterious Red City of the South
7. The Journey of the Twins
8. The Snake and Lizard Clans
9. The Bow and Arrowshaft Clans
10. The Coyote-Swallow Race at Sikyatki
11. The Ancient Record
12. The Founding of Oraibi
13. Commentary: The Hopi Clan
Part Three. The Mystery Plays: The Ceremonial Cycle
1. Elemental Symbols
2. Wúwuchim
3. Soyál
4. The Kachina Night Dances
5. Powamu
6. The Road of Life
7. Niman Kachina
8. The Flute Ceremony
9. The Snake-Antelope Ceremony
10. Lakón, Márawu, and Owaqlt
11. The Ya Ya Ceremony
Part Four. The History: The Lost White Brother
1. The Coming of the Castillas
2. The Destruction of Awatovi
3. Arrival of the Americans
4. Westward March of Empire
5. The Betrayal of Lololma
6. A Test of Prophecy
7. The Split at Oraibi
8. The Imprisonment of Yukioma
9. The Indian Reorganization Act
10. The Flag Still Flies
11. Recommendations and Prophecies
Hopi Alphabet
Glossary”Deeply steeped in Hopi mysticism…Combine(s) Hopi art, history, tradition, myth, folklore, and ceremonialism with dignity and authority…Deserves to be part of the library of any student of the American Southwest.”
—American AnthropologistFrank Waters (1902–1995) was a writer best known for his novels and historical writings about the American Southwest. His most notable works are the novel The Man Who Killed the Deer, and the nonfiction books Mexico Mystique: The Coming Sixth World of Consciousness and Book of the Hopi. In 1993, a nonprofit foundation was established in his name to foster literary and artistic achievements in the Southwest.US

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