Navajo
The Navajo are people very geared toward family life and events that surround their lifestyle. Many games and traditions have emerged from their love of the land and their attachment to it. Long winter nights and the seclusion of the reservation has brought about most of the customs and activities used by the People to entertain and amuse themselves.
Long before the theory of the 'land bridge from Asia to North America across the Bering Strait', Navajo elders told their own story about their own origin. The Navajo (DINE) creation is the story of their origin through a series of emergences through a series of different coloured worlds. Accounts vary as to the exact number and colours of the worlds, for example, black, then blue, then yellow, then glittering, all of which lead up to their final emergence in the present world.
The Navaho life is particularly rich in ceremony and ritual, second only to some of the Pueblo groups. Note is made of nine of their great nine-day ceremonies for the treatment of ills, mental and physical. There are also many less important ceremonies occupying four days, two days, and one day in their performance. In these ceremonies many dry-paintings, or "sand altars," are made, depicting the characters and incidents of myths. Almost every act of their life—the building of the hogán, the planting of crops, etc.—is ceremonial in nature, each being attended with songs and prayers.
The Navaho life is particularly rich in ceremony and ritual, second only to some of the Pueblo groups. Note is made of nine of their great nine-day ceremonies for the treatment of ills, mental and physical. There are also many less important ceremonies occupying four days, two days, and one day in their performance. In these ceremonies many dry-paintings, or "sand altars," are made, depicting the characters and incidents of myths. Almost every act of their life—the building of the hogán, the planting of crops, etc.—is ceremonial in nature, each being attended with songs and prayers.
Although raiders and plunderers since known to history, the Navaho cannot be designated a warring tribe, for however courageous they may be, their lack of political integrity has ever been an obstacle to military organization. They never have had a tribal chief, properly so called, while their many leading men could never command more than a small following.
Hopi
For centuries the Hopi people have made their homes in villages atop three narrow mesas, finger like extensions running south from Black Mesa. Early European visitors dubbed these extensions—from east to west—First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa. Arizona 264 skirts First Mesa and crosses over Second and Third Mesas on the way to Tuba City from Window Rock.
The mesas have provided the Hopi with water from reliable springs and protection from enemies, as the 600-foot cliffs discouraged assailants. Hardworking farmers, the Hopi are usually peaceable and independent. They keep in close touch with nature and have developed a rich ceremonial life, seeking to maintain balance and harmony with their surroundings and one another. Villages remain largely autonomous even today. The Hopi Tribal Council serves mainly as a liaison between villages and agencies of the federal and state governments.
Visiting Hopi Villages:
The Hopi tend to be very private people, though they do welcome visitors to their lands. Policies may vary from village to village and are often posted. All villages strictly prohibit such disturbing activities as photography, sketching, and recording. To give residents their privacy, try to visit only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and keep to the main streets and plazas. The village of Walpi asks that visitors enter only with an authorized Hopi guide.
The best time to visit a village is during a ceremony open to the public. Please remember that these are important religious rituals and that you are a guest. Some ceremonies have been placed off limits because of visitors' lack of respect. Check with the village having a dance to make sure that visitors are welcome. If so, you'll be allowed to experience Hopi culture. Dances take place in plazas on many weekends.
