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Hopi Tribe Research Paper

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The Hopi Tribe The Hopi tribe is one of the more peaceful of the many native American tribes. The Hopi tribe alike the other tribes they have history and traditions. The Hopis are different from other tribes by the way that they choose to live, the tribe tries to stay away from conflict. This Tribe has their own set of dances, rituals, traditions, holidays, and ceremonies. The Hopi tribe has a great deal of turbulent history, as well as traditions such as the baby naming ceremony; they have been relocated and had to make changes to be the tribe that they are today. These ways make the Hopi a unique tribe. This tribe has survived and thrived for many years. But it has not always been easy which leaves history. To other tribes, the Hopi tribe …show more content…

In the tribe, the people have their own rules, laws, government, culture, and services. The tribe is similar to that of a small country. Their government is known as the theocratic government which is where the government that is led by an elected tribal leader known as Kikmongwi. Each village has a Kikmongwi. In the late 1990s, the tribe was made up of 30 clans or villages. The Hopi tribal council which has existed since 1934, the tribal council is to represent the tribe and to interact with the US government. The tribal council does not govern the tribe the Kikmongwi or village chief governs their own villages.Hopi described this system as :a loose confederation of politically independent villages, rather like the city-states of ancient Greece, knit together basically similar views of their history, by similar religious beliefs and ceremonial practices.( ) This nation has their own laws in their tribe to follow the culture. The tribe's laws are to keep the Hopi Tribe as peaceful as possible. The Hopi nation just alike a small country has their own language. The native Hopi language is a UTO-Aztecan language, the native language has gradually declined over the course of the 20th century. Also, the Hopi culture is very involved in agriculture and arts and crafts. For more than 3,000 years the Hopis have been farmers. Traditionally the farm and garden plots have belonged to …show more content…

The baby naming ceremony is where the newly born infant is named. The infant stays inside for 19 days and doesn't see the sun. Prior to the naming ceremony at the maternal grandmother's hope, they make a traditional stew. The bay belongs to the maternal clan but it is named for the paternal clan. During the ceremony, the grandmother washes the mother's hair, then bathes the baby. The was normally consists of yucca suds. After, the baby is wrapped up in a blanket to make only the head visible. Then the baby goes to the corn mother, the grandmother begins with rubbing cornmeal mixture into its hair. The grandmother rubs cornmeal in 4 times, then each of the father's sisters repeats the application. After the aunts, each gives a gift and requests a name for the baby. These show that the baby is accepted into the family. Then the baby is taken out to the sun, the maternal aunt waves 2 corn ears over the baby's chest then says “may you always live without sickness, travel along the sun trail to old age, and pass away in sleep without pain.”( )Then the child is raised towards the sun at the edge of the mesa. As the godmother raises the child towards the sun she uncovers the baby's face. She pinches cornmeal and prays into and rubs it on the baby's lips. The baby naming ceremony has been around since the old testament time period and is still performed today by the Hopi

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