John and Roberta have invited me to Winslow, AZ for many years to witness a sacred Hopi ceremony in a tiny village nearby. This year I finally motivated to go. Just before dawn the Crow Mother appears at the edge of the tiny village plaintively moaning and slowly rocking back and forth. Women from the village come out and sprinkle corn meal at her feet and she gives them a new bean sprout. Over the next few hours she slowly makes her way through the village and visits each of the villages Kivas. She circles the Kiva’s rooftop openings attempting to draw out the spirits, or Kachinas, that will visit the village for the next few months to assist in agriculture. There are hundreds of these Kachinas which are basically demigods who represent anything from a single vegetable to a weather pattern like snow. Over the course of the long day many, 100+, of these Kachinas, men dressed in amazing traditional costumes, will arise from the Kivas and parade around the village performing dances and behaviors specific to that Kachina’s legend. The village is very inclusive of the non locals but the ceremony is not for show, it has deep cultural importance to this day, especially for the children who learn an enormous amount about the history of their people and their responsibilities in the community.
The Dawn appearance of Crow Mother was haunting and beautiful, reminding me of the casual relationship with the spirits that Chihiro has in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Crow Mother wore a traditional gown and a huge eagle headdress. Her silhouette was reminiscent of a Valkyrie with the sun slowly rising behind her. She waited, quietly moaning just over a small rise for 20+ minutes calling for the people to come take her gifts. The village came to life around her with lights coming on, people passing by, cars pulling in and out, etc. The occasional headlights back lighting her headdress and the sounds of the village obscuring her chant just made her more mysterious and beautiful.
Later, after a lunch of the bean sprouts she offered, the Warrior Maiden Kachina and her guards circle the village’s Kivas a few times drawing out the many other Kachinas in a multi hour dance. Kids race around trying to avoid some of the trickster Kachinas who might rub soot on them and the grown ups bring out chairs to watch the festivities. We visitors skirted around, at a respectful distance from the dancers, to get a good look at the newer Kachinas and see what they might do as they paraded around.
No pictures were allowed any where on the top of Third Mesa where the small village was located, although the whole thing BEGS to be photographed. I hear that if they see a camera they grab it and toss it over the edge of the Mesa into the valley far below.
That is my only pic above, and then one of the carved wooden dolls, representing the Warrior Maiden Kachina, that are handed out to kids and collected by anyone who has witnessed the ceremony.
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