A Hopi Ritual Ceremony

Kachinas, are benign messengers in Hopi religion. There are different ones for each seasons, and they are used in major rituals such as the August Rain Ceremony of the society of the Snake (snake symbolizes Mother Earth) and the Antelope (symbolizes fruitful reproduction).  Men on the side of the Snake collect serpents from the desert, sing to them, and feed them pollen.  Antelope men perform foot races to draw the clouds so the Snake can draw rain from them. (see photo of Snake Dance).

On the eighth day, priests conduct rites in the Antelope Kiva (the underground ritual chamber) altar, which is prepared beforehand with gourds of purifying water and a sand depiction of ruin's role in creation.

On the ninth day, the community convenes in the village plaza where the Snake and Antelope brothers stomp on the sipapu (hole) sounding board to waken the kachinas.   

A kisi pit contains fire pit, an altar and a platform.  Fire represents the 1st world, altar represents the 2nd world, and the platform represents the 3rd world.  A ladder out of the hole represents the 4th world above ground. The altar is painted with symbols of rain, lightning, and snakes.

A Snake priest holds a diamondback in his mouth while his guide strikes it with an eagle feather to keep it from coiling and striking.  The performers include an albino which is said to bring good fortune.

Then the Snake men lift dozens of venomous repents from a "kisi" pit, dance with them and finally carry them back to the plateau and await the needed rain.

Next time...on the Santa Fe Trail
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Today in Pioneer History: "On July 21,  1865, Wild Bill Hickok fight his first western showdown
and shoots Dave Tutt dead in the market square of Springfield, Missouri.

Plains Indian Rituals and Visons

While some of the rituals of the Plains Indians were celebrations somewhat reserved in our traditions such as the Mandan Indians' celebration of the harvest with the corn dance - symbolic cornstalks, ears of corn and food bowls - most of the rituals of these tribes was quite brutal to us.

Torture played a major role in many rituals of the Plains Indians.  The vision quest, common to all Plains tribes was particularly important.  It was through a regiment of self denial and torture that a young man made contact with his personal protector from the spirit world by calling him forth in a vision.

The spirit usually appeared in the form of an animal or a bird - the buffalo, elk, bear and eagle were common, but even mice and mosquitoes might appear.  Such conjuring was vital to the brave's success when he hunted buffalo, the primary staple of all Plains Indians.

Before the arrival of the horse in the 17th century, Plains Indians lived on corn and a few buffalo which they could kill on foot.  Warriors (and sometimes squaws) would stampede the buffalo, driving them over the cliffs.  Other times, covered in wolf skins, they would sneak up on the herds with bow and arrow range, and with luck kill a few before the herd stampeded off. 

Next time...The Movie Star Indians
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On this Day in Pioneer History:  On April 21, 1895, Woodville Latham and his sons, Otway and Gray, demonstrate their “Panopticon,” the first movie projector developed in the United States.