History, Department of
Title
Hopi Essence: Self-Portrait and Poem
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
September 2008
Abstract
The somber face, the snow-misting hair and the eyes looking at me/you is me—Lomawywesa, Antelopes
Walking in Harmony. Born to the Snow/Water Clan of Shungopavi, a migratory people who
traveled to the Hopi mesas from the legendary Red City to the South, Paalotkwapi.
It was at Paalotkwapi that our Father, the Serpent, emerged and gathered us, his children, and blessed
us with Clouds. “Go northward my Children,” he directed us. So northward we journeyed and among
the barren mesas we emerged to reside with the Bear Clan and build our Cloud-Inspired Homes.
And
to these Cloud-Terraced homes our Cloud Fathers/Mothers will arrive to rest and bring Life-Giving
Moisture
And
to these Cloud-Terraced homes our Katsina Fathers/Mothers will arrive to bless and purify our Lives
then to return to Nuvatukwiovi, the Sacred Snow-Capped Peaks
And
Among these Cloud-Terraced homes our Bear Clan Fathers/Mothers will lead us daily over the blessed
pollen pathway of the Hopi
And
among these Cloud-Terraced homes we/I experience our Lives; looking, listening, singing and dancing
as we/I prepare for that final journey
And
to these Cloud-Terraced homes to return once again as a Rain-Carrier and scaring you with the boldest
lightning and the loudest thunders.
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Comments
Published in Hopi Nation: Essays on Indigenous Art, Culture, History, and Law, edited by Edna Glenn, John R. Wunder, Willard Hughes Rollings, and C. L. Martin (Lincoln, NE: UNL Digital Commons, 2008). Copyright © 1980/2008 Michael Kabotie.