Kivas are an important Southwestern architectural form. 'Kiva' is a Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a Native American tribe, who primarily live on the 2,531.773 sq mi (6,557.26 km²) Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. As of 2010, there were 18,327 Hopi in the United States, according to the 2010 census. The Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan lan…
Puebloans
The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who have in common their style of living in towns constructed of adobe, stone and other local materials; their buildings are constructed as complex apartments with numerous rooms, often built in strategic defensiv…
What is a kiva?
Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo people, kivas are a large room that is circular and underground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies . Similar subterranean rooms are found among ruins in the North-American South-West, indicating uses by the ancient peoples of the region including the ancestral Puebloans, the Mogollon, and the Hohokam.
Who are the Hopi?
The Hopi are a Native American tribe, often recognized for populating the North American continent and in particular, Arizona.
What is the difference between Kiva and PAHO?
It is an underground chamber where the rituals are performed by the clan’s priests. Actually, Kiva represents the world wherefrom people emerged. As it is assumed, it is very large, so several clans can be situated there simultaneously. Paho is a prayer-feather, usually being an eagle feather (although any kind of feather can be used).
What is a sipapu in a kiva?
A sipapu in a kiva is a small hole thought to represent a door to the underworld. Prehistorically, there was typically about one kiva for every 15 to 50 domestic structures. In modern pueblos, the number of kivas varies for each village.
What is the purpose of a kiva?
Although a kiva's most important purpose is as a venue for rituals, kivas can also be used for political meetings and casual gatherings of the men of the village. Women perform their rituals in other venues and rarely enter kivas. Kiva murals depict sacred figures or scenes from the daily life of the tribe.
What is a kiva ceremony?
A kiva is a ceremonial building used by Ancestral Puebloan people. The earliest are known from Chaco Canyon about 599 CE, and they are still used today by contemporary Puebloan people. Archaeologists identify ancient kivas based on a series of architectural characteristics.
What were kivas made of?
Kivas were constructed using wooden logs, adobe and stone. Adobe is a natural building material made from water, dirt and straw. The Ancient Pueblo builders used stones to make the walls of each room that were covered with a layer of smooth adobe.
What is a Great kiva?
A great kiva is a large, circular, usually subterranean or semisubterranean structure that was used by Pueblo Indians for important events such as ceremonies or political gatherings.
What does a kiva look like?
A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground, and used for spiritual ceremonies.
Where are kivas found?
southwest ColoradoKivas were architecturally unique rooms or structures built by Ancestral Puebloans in southwest Colorado that served important ceremonial and social functions.
Did people live in kivas?
Chacoan kivas have formal features like fire pits, floor vaults, wind deflectors, and benches, and contain evidence of domestic as well as ritual life. Historically, Puebloan men used kivas as sleeping quarters and meeting rooms at various times of the year.
How is a kiva different from an adobe home?
Most pueblos had large underground rooms called kivas that were used for ceremonies and meetings. Structures made of adobe would not stand up to long periods of rain—over time they would dissolve! Adobe homes were only built in the very dry parts of West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Mexico.
Why did Anasazi built kivas?
Why did the Anasazi build kivas? The Anasazi built kivas for religious ceremonies.
What is a kiva Mesa Verde?
Kiva is a Hopi word. At Mesa Verde, they were often round, underground rooms and tended to be small household kivas that were used for a mix of routine and special purposes such as a place to hold ceremonies.
How many kivas are in Chaco Canyon?
This large architectural structure included three great kivas and thirty-two smaller kivas.
What is a pecked basin?
These depressions were carved by Native Americans on the slickrock surface of the Cliffhouse Sandstone on North Mesa to collect run-off. Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
What is a kiva?
Kiva. Kiva is a Hopi word. At Mesa Verde, they were often round, underground rooms and tended to be small household kivas that were used for a mix of routine and special purposes such as a place to hold ceremonies. Notice the small hole near the firepit?
Why do we use kivas?
Throughout the year, kivas are used for the same purposes that they were in the time of the ancestors. Our religious leaders go into the kivas for days and weeks at a time to prepare. Kivas are used for our religious dances, ceremonies, celebrations, and annual gatherings, such as feast days. They are sacred places.
What is a kiva?
Key Takeaways: Kiva. A kiva is a ceremonial building used by Ancestral Puebloan people. The earliest are known from Chaco Canyon about 599 CE, and they are still used today by contemporary Puebloan people. Archaeologists identify ancient kivas based on a series of architectural characteristics.
What is a sipapu in a kiva?
They can be round or square, subterranean, semi-subterranean, or at ground level. A sipapu in a kiva is a small hole thought to represent a door to the underworld.
What are the characteristics of a prehistoric kiva?
The main identifying characteristic of a prehistoric kiva is that it was built at least partly underground. This characteristic is linked by archaeologists to earlier subterranean but (mainly) residential pithouses, which were typical of ancestral Puebloan societies prior to the technological innovation of adobe brick.
What is a kiva architecture?
Kiva Architecture. When archaeologists characterize a prehistoric structure as a kiva, they typically use the presence of one or more of several distinguishing traits, the most recognizable of which is being partly or completely underground: most kivas are entered through the roofs.
Where are kivas found?
A kiva is a special purpose building used by Ancestral Puebloan (previously known as Anasazi) people in the American southwest and Mexican northwest. The earliest, and simplest, examples of kivas are known from Chaco Canyon for the late Basketmaker III phase (500–700 CE).
When were kivas built?
In Chaco Canyon, the better-known kivas were constructed between 1000 and 1100 CE, during the Classic Bonito phase. The largest of these structures are called Great Kivas, and large and small-sized kivas are associated with Great House sites, such as Pueblo Bonito, Peñasco Blanco, Chetro Ketl, and Pueblo Alto.
What are the characteristics of a kivas?
The other common traits used to define kivas include deflectors, fire pits, benches, ventilators, floor vaults, wall niches, and sipapus. heart hs or fire pits: hearths in the later kivas are lined with adobe brick and have rims or collars above the floor level and ash pits to the east or northeast of the hearths.
What is the Hopi culture?
As it is the case with many other groups of indigenous Native American people, the Hopi have some unique customs that are a real treasure - not only to themselves, but to other people as well. Further, one can learn much from their way of life, as the name Hopi, derived from “Hopita,” refers to people that are “peaceful ones”.
Where do the Hopi live?
The Hopi people are a group of indigenous Native American people who currently live primarily in the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. According to the 2000 US census, they have a population of approximately 7,000 members. The article will outline the most important Hopi ceremonies and corresponding terms.
What is the purpose of cornmeal in Kachina?
Kachina spirits approach the village while following the paths of cornmeal, and the cornmeal is supposed to prevent the entrance of all living creatures inside the ceremony area during the night of the Wuwuchim ceremony. Cornmeal is also used for drawing the Road of Life in Kiva.
Where do Hopi ceremonies take place?
The Hopi people are a group of indigenous Native American people who currently live primarily in the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. According to the 2000 US census, they have a population of approximately 7,000 members. The article will outline the most important ...
What is a paho?
Paho is a prayer-feather, usually being an eagle feather (although any kind of feather can be used). Paho must be well prepared, due to the fact that it is an essential part of the ceremonies.
Where do Hopi people come from?
The Hopi people come from the Four Corners, a region of the United States consisting of the southwest corner of Colorado, northwest corner of New Mexico, northeast corner of Arizona and southeast corner of Utah. They perform nine religious ceremonies that are inherited ancient rituals, and rather complex at that.
Can non-Hopis attend Hopi ceremonies?
Some Hopi ceremonies can be attended by non-Hopi people, but there are some strict rules to be followed. For example, non-Hopis are not allowed to shout, applaud, take photographs or record events with a camera. Observers should stand on the rooftop, where other Hopi people that are not involved with the ceremonies stand.
What are the ceremonies on the Hopi Road of Life?
There are many other ceremonies throughout the year, but these nine unfold the entire course of the Hopi Road of Life. Wuwuchim is the first winter ceremony and is followed by Soyal and then Powamu. These three portray the first three phases of Creation. So much faith and perfection is put into these ceremonies that even one slip ...
Who wrote the book of the Hopi?
One book that goes into depth and detail was beautifully written by Frank Waters, who spent quite some time with the Hopi in the mid 1960s.
How long do Hopi babies stay in a darkened room?
The sacred traditions begin at the moment of birth, when the baby is kept in a darkened room for twenty days. Cornmeal is placed in the room as stripes on the wall, four marks to divide the days into four groups of five days each.
How many ceremonies do Hopi perform?
Each year the Hopi people of the Four Corners region in the southwest USA, perform nine ceremonies that are ancient rituals. The ceremonies are strange and seemingly barbaric to modern society. They are so complex that a non-Hopi would have to study for years to be able to fathom the meaning of the preparations, the rituals, ...
How many elders were there in the Book of the Hopi?
He faithfully wrote down the words of thirty elders of the Hopi clans. The Book Of The Hopi gives startling insight into these ancient and beautiful customs. The way of life for the Hopi is their religion. It is a complex system of tradition passed down orally and surrounds their rituals and ceremonies.
What is a paho?
A paho (pa'ho) is an essential part of the ceremonies. It is a prayer-feather. Usually this is an eagle feather, but can be any kind of feather that has been purified and blessed. The preparation that goes into the paho is a major ritual of all ceremonies held in the kiva.
When is the Niman ceremony?
In July, precisely at midsummer for the Hopi, the Niman ceremony is held. It is the ending ceremony of the katsina season. Since the winter solstice, the katsinam (all the katsinas) are the spirit beings and have been on earth for the sacred ceremonies, and it is time for them to return to their spiritual home.
What does "hopi" mean?
The primary meaning of the word "Hopi" is "behaving one, one who is mannered, civilized, peaceable, polite, who adheres to the Hopi Way.". Some sources contrast this to other warring tribes that subsist on plunder.
What is the Hopi language?
The Hopi language is one of 30 in the Uto-Aztecan language family. The majority of Hopi people are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona but some are enrolled in the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The Hopi Reservation covers a land area of 2,531.773 sq mi (6,557.26 km 2 ).
How many Hopi are there in the US?
As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the United States. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the United States and has government-to-government relations with the United States federal government. Particular villages retain autonomy under the Hopi Constitution and Bylaws.
When did the Hopi tribes burn down the village?
During the winter of 1700–01, selected teams of men from the other Hopi villages sacked Awatovi at the request of the village chief, killed all the men of the village, and removed the women and children to other Hopi villages, then completely destroyed the village and burned it to the ground.
How many people were in the Hopi?
In 1582–1583 the Hopi were visited by Antonio de Espejo ’s expedition. He noted that there were five Hopi villages and around 12,000 Hopi people. During that period the Spanish explored and colonized the southwestern region of the New World, but never sent many forces or settlers to the Hopi country.
Where did the Hopi people settle?
The Hopi people originally settled near the foot of the mesas but in the course of the 17th century moved to the mesa tops for protection from the Utes, Apaches, and Spanish. On December 16, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur passed an executive order creating a reservation for the Hopi.
Who was the leader of the Hopi tribe in 1875?
In 1875, the English trader Thomas Keam escorted Hopi leaders to meet President Chester A. Arthur in Washington D.C. Loololma, village chief of Oraibi at the time, was very impressed with Washington. In 1887, a federal boarding school was established at Keams Canyon for Hopi children.
Overview
A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground, and used for spiritual ceremonies.
Similar subterranean rooms are found among ruins in the North-American Sout…
Evolution
During the late 8th century, Mesa Verdeans started building square pit structures that archeologists call protokivas. They were typically 3 or 4 feet (0.91 or 1.22 m) deep and 12 to 20 feet (3.7 to 6.1 m) in diameter. By the mid-10th and early 11th centuries, these had evolved into smaller circular structures called kivas, which were usually 12 to 15 feet (3.7 to 4.6 m) across. Mesa Verde-style kivas included a feature from earlier times called a sipapu, which is a hole dug …
Great kiva
Great kivas differ from regular kivas, which archeologists call Chaco-style kivas (although Chaco Canyon also features great kivas), in several ways; first and foremost, great kivas are always much larger and deeper than Chaco-style kivas. Whereas the walls of great kivas always extend above the surrounding landscape, the walls of Chaco-style kivas do not, but are instead flush with the surrounding landscape. Chaco-style kivas are often found incorporated into the central room blo…
See also
• False Kiva
• Fogou
• Koshare Indian Museum and Dancers
• Pueblo clown
• Souterrain
Further reading
• Cordell, Linda S. (1994). Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Exploring the Ancient World. Smithsonian Books. ISBN 978-0895990389.
• LeBlanc, Steven A. (1999). Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest. University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-0874805819.
• Rohn, Arthur H.; Ferguson, William M (2006). Puebloan Ruins of the Southwest. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0826339706.
External links
• La Kiva tradicional de Oscar Freire
• Perfect Kiva on YouTube
• Mule Canyon Kiva on YouTube
Kiva Functions
Kiva Architecture
- When archaeologists characterize a prehistoric structure as a kiva, they typically use the presence of one or more of several distinguishing traits, the most recognizable of which is being partly or completely underground: most kivas are entered through the roofs. The other common traits used to define kivas include deflectors, fire pits, benches, ventilators, floor vaults, wall niches, and sip…
Pithouse—Kiva Debate
- The main identifying characteristic of a prehistoric kiva is that it was built at least partly underground. This characteristic is linked by archaeologists to earlier subterranean but (mainly) residential pithouses, which were typical of ancestral Puebloan societies prior to the technological innovation of adobe brick. The changeover from subterran...
Mealing Rooms as Women's Kivas
- As has been noted in several ethnographic studies, kivas are primarily places where men congregate. Anthropologist Jeannette Mobley-Tanaka (1997) has suggested that women's rituals may have been associated with mealing houses. Mealing rooms or houses are subterranean structures where people (presumably women) ground maize. The rooms held artifacts and furnit…
Great Kiva
- In Chaco Canyon, the better-known kivas were constructed between 1000 and 1100 CE, during the Classic Bonito phase. The largest of these structures are called Great Kivas, and large and small-sized kivas are associated with Great House sites, such as Pueblo Bonito, Peñasco Blanco, Chetro Ketl, and Pueblo Alto. In these sites, great kivas were built in central, open plazas. A different typ…