The Waist Belts
Generally Consist Of Eight Moulded Plates, Either Circular Or Oval, With
Filleted Border And Scalloped Edges, Each Plate Weighing From Two To Four
Ounces.
These are punctured in the center, or a small band is soldered to
the back, to admit of their being threaded upon a long and narrow belt of
leather, the ends of which are fastened with a buckle.
Both men and women
wear these, and they are highly prized as ornaments by both sexes. The
necklaces are equally in vogue, the designs being principally hollow beads,
crosses, and ornaments representing pomegranate blossoms. The silver bridle
is also an object of great esteem. It is made of curiously designed, heavy
clasps of silver, fastened upon leather, with numberless buttons shaped
from coins. Many of these weigh not less than fifteen ounces, and some as
high as forty, hence their value can be readily estimated.
CHAPTER XIX. The Hopis And Their Snake Dance
A Hopi Religious Rite. Interesting among Indians, because of their unique
houses on the summits of high mesas, reached only by precipitous trails,
the Hopi of northern Arizona always have possessed peculiar fascination on
account of their thrilling religious rite, known as the Snake Dance, an
account of which follows.*
* This Sacred Dance and the life of the Hopi Indians is more fully set out
in the author's larger work "The Indians of the Painted Desert Region".
The Painted Desert. The region they live in, named the Province of Tusayan
by the Spanish conquistadores, three hundred and fifty years ago, is a
region of color. The rocks of which the mesas are built, the sand of the
desert, the peculiarly carved buttes which abound on every hand, are all
strikingly colored, with such a variety of hues and tints that one does not
wonder at the name - the Painted Desert - which is applied to the country
through which we must travel to reach Hopiland.
A Saddle Trip from El Tovar. The traveler who wishes to visit this
fascinating and unique region can arrange for full equipment at El Tovar.
The trip will be a saddle one and all outfits will have to be transported
on pack burros.
The Old Hopi Trail. The road followed is practically the line of the old
Hopi trail. On the way out, the interested traveler may visit Grand View
Point and Hotel, Hance's Old Camp and Trail, the Red Canyon Trail, Moran's,
and all the other salient points at the eastern end of the Grand Canyon.
Especially should he stand on faraway Navaho Point, or Desert View. This is
the last of the promontories before the rim of the Canyon turns sharply to
the north. Below it, a vast amphitheatre is opened out with more
precipitous walls than at any other part of the Canyon. The sweep of the
river, the mouth of Marble Canyon, the superlative richness of coloring at
this point, combined with the unequalled views of the Painted Desert, which
lies to the right, or east, afford a place of varied delight, scarce found
elsewhere on the whole Canyon rim.
Hopi Cornfields. Crossing the Little Colorado River at the Tanner Crossing,
Moenkopi is visited, and then a day's ride of forty miles over the Painted
Desert brings one to the cornfields of the Hopi, as properly they should be
called. For years, they have been known as the Moki, a term of reproach
applied in derision by the Navahos. These cornfields are a wonderful
monument to the thrift of the Hopi. White men would have starved to death
in the place, before they would have dreamed of planting corn in such an
inhospitable-looking soil. No springs or streams sufficient to irrigate
with, unversed in digging wells and pumping water to the surface, one would
have thought an ignorant Indian would have looked elsewhere before planting
his corn in such a place. But the Indian is not so ignorant. His life, from
the cradle to the grave, is one of close observation. His very existence
depends upon its exercise. He soon discovered, therefore, that there was a
natural subsoil irrigation in certain parts of this desert, where his corn
would grow. And grow it does, most wonderfully. Sometimes water is scarce;
then the crop decreases, but generally a good crop may be relied upon. To
hoe his cornfield, a Hopi will often run over the desert forty, fifty,
sixty, and even eighty miles in a day. Sometimes, when the field is near
by, the Hopi will ride on his burro. These cunning creatures are almost a
necessity of Indian life. The streets would seem lonely without them. It
will be noticed occasionally that one of these animals has lost part of his
left ear. This is proof that he is possessed of kleptomaniac proclivities.
If a burro is found stealing corn, he is sentenced to have part of his ear
cut off.
Oraibi. On one of these burros we ride up the steep trail that brings us to
the westernmost village of the Hopi, Oraibi. It is perched high on the mesa
top, several hundred feet above the valley, and the various trails are
steep and rugged. Some of them are sheer climbs, up which no animal other
than man can go. There are six other villages, three of them ten miles, and
the other three about twenty miles, to the east of Oraibi. They, also, are
perched upon high mesas, which thrust themselves, like long fingers, into
the sandy desert. On the middle mesa are Shungopavi, Mashongnovi and
Shipaulovi, while on the eastern mesa are Walpi, Sichomovi and Hano.
Sandstone Houses. All the houses are built of rude pieces of sandstone,
cemented with mud. Steps are made of larger slabs of stone, and often the
only means of access is by long ladders, the poles of which tower high
above the buildings, and give a singularly picturesque aspect to the
village. In the olden days, there were neither doors nor windows in the
first story of the houses.
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