Hopi

From NativeWiki

The Hopi are a |[Native American]] people who primarily live on the 6,557.262 km² (2,531.773 sq mi) Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. It had a 2000 census population of 6,946 persons. Its largest community is First Mesa, Arizona. The reservation is surrounded by the Navajo reservation.

1 Overview
2 See also
3 Pictures from Hopi reservation
4 Further reading
5 External links
6 References

Overview

Cliff-perched homes, by Edward S. Curtis, 1906

The name Hopi, is a shortened form of what these Native American people call themselves,Template:Fact Hopi'sinom, or "People Who Live in the Correct Way". Hopi is a concept deeply rooted in the culture's religion, spirituality, and its view of morality and ethics. To be Hopi is to strive toward this concept, which involves a state of total reverence and respect for all things, to be at peace with these things, and to live in accordance with the instructions of Maasaw, the Creator or Caretaker of Earth. The Hopi observe their traditional ceremonies for the benefit of the entire world.

Traditionally, Hopi are organized into matrilineal clans. When a man marries, the children from the relationship are members of his wife's clan. The child is named, however, by the women of the father's clan. On the twentieth day of a baby's life, the women of the paternal clan gather, each woman bringing a name and a gift for the child. In some cases where many relatives would attend, a child could be given over forty names, for example. The child may use any of these names or may use a non-Hopi name. A person may also change their name upon initiation into a katsina society.

The Hopi still practice a complete cycle of traditional ceremonies. These ceremonies take place according to the lunar calendar and are observed in each of the Hopi villages.

Nonetheless, like other Indian groups, the Hopi have not escaped impact by the dominant American culture. The Hopi have been affected by missionary work carried out by several Christian denominations and also by consumerism and alcoholism. However, the effect of missionary work has had relatively little impact on traditional Hopi cultural and religious practices.

Traditionally the Hopi are highly skilled micro or subsistence farmers. The Hopi have also had to deal with the modern cash economy; a not insignificant number of Hopi have regular paying jobs; others earn a living from producing high quality art, traditional crafts - notably the carving and sale of Kachina dolls, highly crafted earthenware ceramic pottery, and other activities such as the design and production of jewelry, notably sterling silver silversmithing.