A journey to the Arizona
desert leads to a discovery of Hopi Native American Indian history
and traditions
How the Hopi Create Their
World
by Keith Varnum
God gives
food to every bird, but does not throw it into the nest.
-Montenegrin proverb
"Do
you hear that?" I whispered to my friend Tobias.
"No, what?" he answered
under his breath.
"Drumming. The sound of
soft, distant drumming."
"No, but I see a faint glow
over there by the cliff. Like a small fire. A vague, flickering
light cast against the rock face."
My friend Tobias and I love
to explore old Indian ruins in Arizona's desert canyons and mesas.
Our favorite ones are the secluded, out-of-the-way remains not
normally visited by other people. These remnants of a bygone
civilization are quiet, dreamy and somewhat desolate. Many of the
aged, abandoned fortresses and homes are over a thousand years old.
These timeworn vestiges of ancestral life are extremely serene-and
mystical. When Tobias and I sit and meditate within their eroded
walls, we often see a dim, blurry campfire, or hear subtle, muffled,
elusive drumming, chanting or the sound of children playing.
Experiencing visual and auditory glimpses of the distant past is
enthralling to us and serves to heighten our interest in learning
more about the ancient ones who lived in the American Southwest so
long ago.
One day, while exploring a
windy, arid, remote mesa in the high northern desert of Arizona,
Tobias and I happened upon an Anasazi Indian ruin with several
partial dwellings still standing. The crumbling abodes were awash in
relics of antiquity. Delighted to find a site that obviously hadn't
received many visitors over the years, we dropped to our hands and
knees, and sifted through the dirt for artifacts to help us
understand the long-departed residents. Our efforts were rewarded
with arrowheads, pottery shards and corncobs preserved by the
extreme dryness. In the center of this native village is a large
oval pit about sixty feet wide. Surrounded by a wall of very
carefully fitted slate stones, the pit sinks approximately five feet
into the ground. This submerged ring of stones is called a kiva by
Native Americans.
The structure served as a
ceremonial circle for Indian rituals. Spellbound by the aura and
electricity we sensed within the ceremonial pit, Tobias and I
speculated about its history. As we sat on the sun-warmed stones in
the kiva, we longed to know the specific nature and focus of the
ancient rituals conducted by the Anasazi Indians so long ago.
The absolute quiet and
serenity of the kiva reminded me of a psychology experiment I read
about in college. The research project revealed a fascinating
quality inherent in a vacuum. Relaxing in the ominous silence of the
kiva, I related the experiment to my fellow explorer.
Scientists set up a near
vacuum in a completely empty room. Installed in this vacuum-sealed
room were a speaker and a listening device. From outside the room,
one of the researchers spoke distinctly one secret word, known only
to him, through the speaker into the room. The chamber was then
locked and sealed for five years. At the end of the five years, the
scientists returned. From outside the room, they turned on the
highly sophisticated sound sensing equipment to listen to whatever
they could hear from inside the room. The device picked up the
secret word spoken into the vacuum five years earlier! The sound
vibration of the word was still alive and detectable within that
environment after five years.
The kiva was almost as still
and empty as I imagined a vacuum to be. It was the kind of quiet
that absorbs every sound. Even the intermittent whistling of the
wind was consumed by the all- prevailing silence.
Sitting in this timeless
place, we allowed the tranquility to envelop us. I sensed the space
around us had been this serene for the last thousand years. That's
when the notion came to me. Was it possible that whatever happened
in the kiva a millennium ago still exists on some subtle,
vibrational level, just like the sound of the spoken word in the
scientists' vacuum? And, like the word, is that vibration accessible
and perceivable now?
What an exciting concept! I
turned to Tobias to share my proposal, "Maybe we could contact
whatever occurred in this kiva long ago. Perhaps even hear part of a
ceremony."
Tobias caught my enthusiasm.
Blond, blue-eyed and innocent, Tobias had the adventurous curiosity
of his Norse forebears. He was as anxious as I to see if such a feat
was possible. We were flush with excitement. We were on a mission to
connect with the kindred souls who had preceded us on the planet!
We decided to sit quietly
inside the circle and open ourselves to sensing any vibrations
remaining from previous activities in the kiva. The most we expected
was something along the lines of what we'd experienced before-a
faint vision, a vague mumbling, or, if extremely fortunate, a hazy,
dreamlike apparition.
After about half an hour,
neither of us had picked up any sound or sighting. Then suddenly, to
our right sat a Native American Indian-in the flesh! I tentatively
reached over lightly touching him to make sure he was real. I was
taken aback by my discovery. "Yes," I nodded to Tobias, "the man is
a solid, physical human being. He's not a phantom!"
The stoic Indian sat
cross-legged on the bare ground. A hundred canyon-like lines etched
his noble, bronze face. He looked ancient, and very sweet and
gentle. His soft eyes, quietly smiling, were so penetrating I kept
losing myself in his calm, accepting gaze.
A reverent silence engulfed
the three of us for a very long while. Finally the Indian elder
smiled and stated, "You'd like to know the purpose for which we used
this ceremonial circle. Is that not right?"
We had not expected a living
tour guide and eagerly bobbed our heads up and down to indicate
"yes"-a thousand times "yes!" He nodded, took a long, quiet breath
and began our lesson in creating abundance:
"Many, many moons ago, when
the antelope ran free, the buffalo grazed across all the land, and
my brothers and sisters lived in harmony with each other and Mother
Earth, we would meet in this circle every fall for the most
important ceremony of the whole year. This most sacred, vital ritual
was attended by the chief of the tribe, the medicine man, the tribe
elders and all of those who had achieved the status of a brave-the
hunters of the tribe. After many days of purification through
chanting, drumming and praying in our sweat lodges, we sat around
this circle in silence and waited until the Great Spirit honored us
with a vision.
"Then, one by one, each
brave would see and feel the specific animals they would kill and
bring to the village as food for the tribe in the coming year. Each
animal's spirit made an agreement with the warrior who would be
killing the animal. For a period of time, their spirits would
commune in the beauty and harmony of their shared intention. In this
time-honored way, the warrior would connect with each bison,
antelope and deer that he would be providing for the tribe. When his
vision was complete, the brave announced to the rest of the group
what he had seen and experienced."
At this point, the Indian
took a full breath and said in a very deliberate manner:
"And on this day, the entire
year's food supply for the tribe was created."
He stared at us closely to
see if we heard his last statement. Satisfied, he continued:
"Each warrior waited until
he saw, greeted and came to a mutual understanding with the spirit
of each buffalo, antelope and deer before announcing to the circle,
'I will bring so many buffalo, antelope and deer to the tribe in the
coming year.' And so it went until, one by one, each brave met the
spirit of each animal that would come to him to be killed in the
next year. One by one, each warrior announced the food they would
provide to the tribe in the coming year."
Again, the venerable,
timeworn storyteller paused. With great passion, he looked directly
into our eyes-first mine, then Tobias'. I have never felt such a
piercing gaze. His look penetrated the depths of my soul.
Dramatically, he drew air into his lungs. Repeating his message, he
declared:
"And on this day, the entire
year's food supply for the tribe was created."
Once again, he waited until
he sensed that the import of his words was fully absorbed before
resuming:
"After all the braves had
proclaimed the food they would bring for the coming year, the chief,
medicine man and elders would bless the ceremony. All would leave
the kiva knowing that on this day, the entire year's food supply for
the tribe was created."
Again, he waited, watching
to see if we were fully digesting his last sentence before speaking
again. He continued in a very emphatic tone:
"In the winter when the
warriors could not go out hunting because there was a blizzard with
snow drifts twenty feet high, the chief, medicine man, elders and
braves would meet again in the kiva and wait in silent, expectant
meditation. Soon, from the wind-swept prairie and the snow-covered
plateaus would come a bison, a deer or an antelope. On its own, the
animal would find its way into the tribal encampment and then into
the kiva circle. The creature would stand in the center of the
circle until it recognized the brave with whom it had made a spirit
agreement. Then the animal would walk over to the warrior, stand
right in front of him, and calmly allow itself to be killed in a
very quick and painless way. The creature gave itself up to the
brave, as previously agreed in the kiva, so that the people would
have food during the harsh, winter months. For, on that special day
the previous fall, the entire year's food supply for the tribe had
been created."
It wasn't until the Indian
told us about the animals coming into the circle in the winter and
recognizing the warriors with whom they had an agreement that Tobias
and I finally realized what the Indian was telling us. And at the
exact moment we got the point of the story, the old man disappeared
in front of our eyes. Not believing our vision, we scanned the kiva
quickly, thinking he must have been a very fast escape artist. It
was thirty feet to the edge of the circle and neither of us saw him
leave. He vanished the second we understood his message!
Driving back to Phoenix
later that day, Tobias and I discussed our shared encounter at great
length. We agreed the Indian was telling us something far more
important than how the Hopi used to create food for a year. He was
opening a gateway for us to understand how creation itself works.
The message Tobias and I
received in the kiva was simple, yet profound: the power to create
lies in the Present, not in the future. Creation happens now when
declared with power, heart and strong intention. Then, that which is
created in the Present unfolds in future time and space according to
our mutual agreements with the rest of the living beings of Mother
Earth.
About
the author: Drawing from the wisdom of native and ancient spiritual
traditions, Keith Varnum shares his 30 years of practical success as
an author, personal coach, acupuncturist, filmmaker, radio host,
restaurateur, vision quest guide and international seminar leader
(The Dream Workshops). Keith helps people get the love, money and
health they want with his FREE “Prosperity Ezine” at
www.TheDream.com.
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