The Unwritten Literature of the HopiLockett, Hattie Greene
Philosophy
The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi
Lockett, Hattie Greene
Hopi Indians; Hopi Indians -- Folklore
"After this three days' probation ... comes the wedding. Upon that day
the mother cuts the bride's front hair at the level of her chin and
dresses the longer locks in two coils, which she must always wear in
token that she is no longer a maiden. At the dawn of the fourth day, the
relatives of both families assemble, each one bringing a small quantity
of water in a vessel. The two mothers pound up roots of the yucca, used
as soap, and prepare two bowls of foaming suds. The young man kneels
before the bowl prepared by his future mother-in-law, and the bride
before the bowl of the young man's mother, and their heads are
thoroughly washed and the relatives take part by pouring handsful of
suds over the bowed heads of the couple. While this ceremonial ... goes
on ... a great deal of jollity ensues. When the head-washing is over,
the visitors rinse the hair of the couple with the water they have
brought, and return home. Then the bridal couple take each a pinch of
corn meal and leaving the house go silently to the eastern side of the
mesa on which the pueblo of Oraibi stands. Holding the meal to their
lips, they cast the meal toward the dawn, breathing a prayer for a long
and prosperous life, and return to the house, husband and wife.
"The ceremony over, the mother of the bride (Note: All other authorities
say groom, H.G.L.) builds a fire under the baking stone, while the
daughter prepares the batter and begins to bake a large quantity of
paper bread.... The wedding breakfast follows closely on the heels of
the wedding ceremony and the father of the young man must run through
the pueblo with a bag of cotton, handsful of which he gives to the
relatives and friends, who pick out the seeds and return the cotton to
him. This cotton is for the wedding blankets and sash which are to be
the trousseau of the bride....
"A few days later the crier announces the time for the spinning of the
cotton for the bride's blanket. This takes place in the kivas, where
usually all the weaving is done by the men, and with jollity and many a
story the task is soon finished. The spun cotton is handed over to the
bridegroom as a contribution from the village, to be paid for like
everything else Hopi, by a sumptuous feast, which has been prepared by
the women for the spinners. Perhaps ten sage-brush-fed sheep and goats,
tough beyond reason, are being softened in a stew, consisting mainly of
corn; stacks of paper bread have been baked, various other dishes have
been concocted, and all is ready when the crier calls in the hungry
multitude....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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