(The Final Post) Hopi Runners w/ Professor Gilbert

Well folks, this is the final post I will place for the class I am taking at UIUC, so I wanted it to be a good one. In this post I am going to talk a little about Dr. Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert’s Hopi Footraces article. Dr. Gilbert is the professor for the class with which this blog is associated. I will attach a link to his page for those that would like to learn more about this topic, and of many others he has written. In his paper about the Hopi Footracers, he tells us the story of some of the best known Hopi Marathon Runners in history. So as not to spoil the entire article for you, I am only going to introduce the first of it. In the LA Times first Pre-Olympic Marathon, two unexpected runners took to the lines: Guy Maktima and Phillip Zeyouma, who were referred to as “The Little Hopis” because they were much smaller than the traditional marathon runners that LA was used to. One of the journalists even noted that Zeyouma wore moccasins that were made for him by the women on the reservation. From the beginning they were simply laughed at, but when they began to come up towards the lead, the situation in the crowd changed. Zeyouma took the lead and finished the race the race over 200 feet in front of the second place runner. As he waited for the rest he had a grin on his face and took the attitude of someone who was used to winning races, though this was the first western marathon he had ever competed in. Zeyouma, a Hopi from the Sherman Institute, had secured his invitation to the Olympics to run along side another very well-known Hopi runner, Louis Tewanima from Carlisle School, for the showdown between the two Hopis. The Olympic showdown did not occur as everyone was waiting for, but instead, the two runners got their shot at each other on the reservation. But that’s another story. To read more go to Professor Gilbert’s Blog: http://beyondthemesas.com *The Hopi Runner article is on the right hand side of the blog.*

Thanks to all that have enjoyed my blogs, and have a wonderful holiday season.

Are the Mayans Gone?

Until taking the History of Native Americans class I am finishing this semester at the University of Illinois, I did not realize that there were so many Native American tribes that still exist. So it would come to no surprise that I have recently been informed that the Maya still exist as a tribe as well. In fact, there are over 6 million Maya living today in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. The interesting thing about the modern Maya is that they still have villages near some of their religious sites, especially caves, and have redeemed some of their stories and traditions from the past. Today their religion is a combination of their old customs combined with Catholicism. Today, Maya worship at mountain and cave shrines, making offerings of chickens, candles and incense with a ritual alcoholic drink. Shamans still keep count of the 260 day ritual calendar and provide healing by identifying curses and offended ancestors, counting seeds and crystals in their divinations, and performing curando rituals. It is interesting how long they have kept these traditions, especially considering the mass amount of countries that have tried to assimilate them. Some Maya even have pilgrimages to some of the farther away traditional sites.

The Great Rivalry of the Aztec Gods Part 2: Quetzalcoatl’s Removal

In Aztec legend, Quetzalcoatl is a god who came from heaven to dwell on Earth among people. He is the opposite entity that is Tezcatlipoca. He brings light to the world and the people. It is believed that during one of the five creations of the earth he formed a prosperous dominion and lived there in celibacy among the people as a priest for many years. Quetzalcoatl is described as a sexually potent being, who was active and vigorous, but had pent-up his energies while on earth. Being of opposite spirit, Tezcatlipoca was always competing with Quetzalcoatl over the rule of the earth, and one night during a great feast, Quetzalcoatl was given a strong drink laced with magic mushrooms by the god Tezcatlipoca.  He was tempted by the demonic goddess Tlazoteotl and copulated with her. Forced by shame and guilt to flee the city, Quetzalcoatl gave up his palaces and went to the sea, where he constructed a boat of serpent skins and sailed towards the sunrise. The boat became so hot as it neared the sunrise that it ignited, and Quetzalcoatl’s heart rose to join the sun. This event is believed to be marked by an actual solar eclipse, dating to July 16, 750 AD

The Great Rivalry of the Aztec Gods Part 1: Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl’s creation

A good way to define the significance of the god Tezcatlipoca would be to consider him the terrible and powerful god that brought great things to his people, but was responsible for bloodshed and compulsive magic. He would represent the darker view of life, though his people would not call him evil. It is believed that before there was earth, there was only water and the earth monster that looked like a crocodile named Cipactli. One day Tezcatlipoca tempted Cipactli to come up from the sea by hanging his leg over the top of the water. Cipactli lost her jaw in the struggle but took off Tezcatlipoca’s foot. Cipactli was too weakened by her injury to be able to return to the sea. From her carcass, Tezcatlipoca was able to form the earth with the help of Quetzalcoatl and the tribes of men were formed on her back. Tezcatlipoca used magic and was able to take anything and shift it into whatever shape he desired. Tezcatlipoca himself took the shape of a jaguar. It is also believed that The Great Pole, or North Star, was considered to be a sacred place to the gods, and since Tezcatlipoca was not an entity of goodness, he was unable to approach it and instead hopped around the Pole Star on his single foot, creating the Great Bear Constellation

The Iroquois

Another tribe of Native Americans that are very serious about dreams are the Iroquois. They believe dreams are an expression of the soul and what it desired, so fulfilling those dreams were of the utmost importance to the individual. They also have an interesting view about the forces of good and evil. The Great Spirit created humans, plants and animals, and all of the good forces of nature. Some of the allies to the great spirit are Thunder and The Three Sisters, and the spirits of Maize, Beans, and Squash. They are constantly battling against the evil forces such as Evil Spirit and some of the lesser evils responsible for things such as sickness and disease. The Iroquois also had many ceremonies to help them with things such as curing illnesses, bringing fertility, and Thanksgiving. The six major ceremonies were the Maple, Planting, Strawberry, Green Maize, Harvest, and Mid-Winter or New Year’s festivals. The first five in this sequence involved public confessions followed by group Ceremonies which included speeches by the keepers of the faith, tobacco offerings, and prayer. The New Year’s festival was usually held in early February and was marked by dream interpretations and the sacrifice of a white dog offered to purge the people of evil.

Me and the Blackfoot Indians

I was told by my grandparents when I was young that I was part Blackfoot Indian, though a very small part. Now being a part of the class I have in UIUC I wanted to learn a little bit more about their culture and spiritual beliefs. I cam across a post on the Sun Dance that I found interesting. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Sun Dance had become an important ceremony. It was performed once each year during the summer. The Sun Dance among the Blackfoot was similar to the ceremony that was performed in other Plains cultures, though there were some differences: a  woman played the leading role among the Blackfoot, and the symbolism and  paraphernalia used were derived from beaver bundle ceremonialism. The  Blackfoot Sun Dance included the following: (1) moving the camp on four  successive days; (2) on the fifth day, building the medicine lodge, transferring bundles to the medicine woman, and offering of gifts by children and adults in ill-health; (3) on the sixth day, dancing toward the sun, blowing eagle-bone whistles, and self-torture; and (4) on the         remaining four days, performing various ceremonies of the men’s societies. One day maybe I will have the chance to meet the relatives on my grandfathers side that are Blackfoot. That would be an excellent experience, and then I can get to know more about the culture, including more about the Sun Dance.

Alibamu Religion

Being from Alabama, I had to look into the religion of the Alibamu Indians, who were originally from Alabama, though they mostly reside in Texas now because of being pushed off their land by European Settlers. They have a similar creation story as many native tribal beliefs, though the places are closer to home. One older man from the tribe explains it as: The Great Spirit brought the Alabama Indians from the ground between the Cahawba and Alabama rivers, and they believe that they are of right possessors of this soil. The Muscogees formerly called themselves Alabamians (“thicket-clearers”?), but other tribes called them Oke-choy-atte, “life.” The earliest oral tradition of the Alibamu of a migration is, that they migrated from the Cahawba and Alabama Rivers to the junction of the Tuscaloosa (?) and Coosa Rivers, where they sojourned for two years. After this they dwelt at the junction of the Coosa and Alabama Rivers, on the west side of what was subsequently the site of Fort Jackson. It is supposed that at this time they numbered fifty effective men. They claimed the country from Fort Jackson to New Orleans for their hunting grounds. It is interesting how so many of the names in Alabama have been kept in the native tongue.

Ojibwe Religion

The Ojibwe’s supernatural world was made up of many different types of spirits and supernatural forces, both kind and malevolent. The Sun, Moon, Lightning, Thunder, and Four winds were some of the quieter, less violent or destructive forces of the world and heavens. They believe Ghosts, Witches, and Windigo to be the more aggressive and feared of the spiritual forces. Windigo was a cannibalistic giant of great evil in which a human could transform into, or be possessed by. It is believed that those that participate in cannibalism and cannibalistic ceremonies were more at risk of becoming or being possessed by Windigo. Kaccimanito, or the great spirit, was the force over all other forces, though some believe him to be a product of Christian interference. The Ojibwe believe that religion is more of an individual affair. Power is received during things such as dreams and visions. The power given could be used for the purposes of both good or evil, and those that received more power than others would be the ones to become shamans later on in life. Dreams and visions were taken very seriously, and a huge amount of effort was given to the interpretation of these dreams or visions.

Mayan Sacrifices

One of the better known ancient Native American religious groups were the Mayans. I managed to come across a little web page about their beliefs in sacrifice. The Mayans were very big on sacrifices. They believed it was the only way to communicate with the gods, and that the gods lived off of the blood of human beings. Mayans believed that by sacrificing human beings, especially their enemies, it would please the gods and allow them fertility and other benefits that only the heavens could bring. They also believed that by not giving human sacrifice to the gods, they would become angry, and very bad things would come to the cosmos, the people, and the lands around them. At important ceremonies, the sacrificial victim was held down at the top of a pyramid or raised platform while a priest made an incision below the rib cage and ripped out the heart with his hands. The heart was then burned in order to nourish the gods. It was not only the captives who suffered for the sake of the gods: the Mayan aristocracy themselves, as mediators between the gods and their people, underwent ritual bloodletting and self-torture. The higher one’s position, the more blood was expected. Blood was drawn by jabbing spines through the ear or male body part, or by drawing a thorn-studded cord through the tongue; it was then spattered on paper or otherwise collected as an offering to the gods.

Corn and the Native Americans

Corn is a very important part of Native American culture. The religious beliefs behind how man came across corn vary, but there are some very interesting stories. One that I came across is probably the most interesting to me, because it covers the colors of corn as well as the woodpeckers red head. It goes a little something like this: Corn was originally hidden under a huge rock or mountain and only the ants of the land were able to get down to the grains to eat them. But after learning of the grain’s existence from foxes, rats, mountain cats, coyotes, crows, parrots, magpies or other animals, man asked the gods’ to make corn available to them. So, after various attempts, the gods were able to remove the precious food from under the ground and made it available to all mankind. In the Chilam Balam de Chumayel, a book of sacred stories, the author of this feat was Chaac, god of thunder and rain, and in all variations of the myth, the woodpecker appears to aid the gods, and ever since, the woodpecker’s head has been red because of the wound he received from a fragment of rock. According to these legends, in the beginning, all corn was white, but a lightening bolt which one of the gods hurled upon the rock to break it burned, smoked or singed some of the grains. That is why there are now black, yellow and red varieties of the grain. In addition, the Popol Vuh tells us that from a mixture of white and yellow grains the current human race was formed.