|
[From Book of the Hopi by Frank Waters, 1963.] To understand the kachina we must learn a little bit more of Hopi cosmography and cosmology. The planet earth is the fourth physically manifested world we have lived upon. There have been three previous ones, and there will be three more.... Beyond our own little universe we see extending into... space the great constellations which form six more universes marking our Road of Life. Man starts out pure on each new world upon his Emergence. That world becomes corrupted with evil and is destroyed, and man makes another Emergence to the next. It is a long, slow road along which mankind plods interminably. But an individual who obeys the law of laws and conforms to the pure and perfect pattern laid down by the Creator becomes a kachina when he dies and goes immediately to the next universe without having to plod through all the intermediate worlds or stages of existence. From there, traveling through... interstellar space, he comes back periodically with kachinas of other forms of life to help mankind continue its evolutionary journey. Beyond these seven universes, each a great stage of development, lie two more beyond man's reach. The eighth is the realm of Sotuknang, who helped to create and still helps to maintain the other systems; and the ninth is the indefinable, incomprehensible domain of the one divine Creator of all. Hence kachinas are properly not deities. As their name denotes (ka, respect, and china, spirit), they are respected spirits; spirits of the dead; spirits of mineral, plant, bird, animal, and human entities, of clouds, other planets, stars that have not yet appeared in our sky; spirits of all the invisible forces of life. During the six months they are here on earth the kachinas manifest themsleves in physical form. So the masked men who impersonate them are also kachinas, losing their personal identities and being imbued with the spirits of the beings they represent. During their impersonations they must be above reproach; remaining continent, refraining from contact with whites, avoiding quarrels, having only pure thoughts. If one stumbles or falls while dancing, this not only betrays his immoderation but may nullify the ceremony and may even bring drought. The masks of the chief kachinas themselves are invested with spiritual powers, and the right to wear them is hereditary. Each is ceremonially fed and carefully preserved; and when its owner dies it is buried, with the understanding that its supernatural power must be returned whence it came. Children are given small figures carved of soft cottonwood roots, correctly painted and costumed to represent [them; over the last few decades these "dolls" have become an art form of their own]. These dolls are also called kachinas but are not invested with power [though they are treated with great respect]; [their primary purpose is] to help familiarize children with the masks and names of the real kachinas.... Simple as is the meaning of the kachina, everything about it is stylistic and complex, and it has exerted a powerful influence throughout all the pueblos in the Southwest. There are no kachinas in the Rio Grande pueblos, but in many of their unmasked dances one often detects the distinct kachina stylizations. Zuni is the only other pueblo which has kachinas; these, say the Hopis, were given them by the Hopis who preceded them during the Emergence. The origin of Hopi kachinas lies far back in the prehistoric past. The Kokopilau Kachina sings a song in a language so ancient that not a word of it is understood by the modern Hopis, who know only that kachinas accompanied them throughout their migrations. Indeed, they assert that kachinas came up with them during their Emergence from the womb of Mother Earth. Tipkyavi, meaning "womb," is the name given a place at the base of the San Francisco peaks, the last site where the Hopis lived before settling in their present villages and still the last stopping place of the kachinas on their way home from Niman Kachina; it is also represented on Third Mesa by a kisonvi (plaza in front of a kiva) in Oraibi. All these academic considerations, however, are invalidated by the basic truths and meaning of the kachina. It is distinctively Hopi. In its conception the Hopis have created a form for the everlasting formlessness; a living symbol unique in the world for that universal and multifold spirit which embodies all living matter; which speaks to us, as only the spirit can speak, through the intuitive perception of our own faith in the one enduring mystery of life. One cannot doubt its veracity when in a kiva we hear the strange falsetto yell announcing a presence above, feel the stamp on the roof demanding admittance, and see coming down the ladder a spirit whose maifested form has never been glimpsed among the figures of this mortal world. For an excellent book on modern kachina dolls-- they almost come to life-- I recommend Hopi Kachina Dolls and their Carvers, by Theda Bassman, Schiffer Publishing, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1991 [ISBN 0-88740-373-5].
For more information, go to:
See also:
|
BACK TO the Hopi - a gift to us all
© 1997/8
main page
spirit-myths
self & ego
growth beyond ego & fear
your true self & other things
slick roads
CP extract: history of western spirituality
CP extract: control dramas/power theft
CP extract: understanding power theft
addictive behavior
addiction: the real reasons
serenity prayer
schools, learning, & adults
what of the future?
technology
The Hopi
The Author's Journey
Author's Totems
photo gallery
about the author
Quavajo's awards
links
rings
aeromax@primary.net
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page