Hopi

**Religious Beliefs.** The Hopi universe consists of earth, metaphorically spoken of as "our mother," the upper world, and the under world from which the Hopi came and to which their spirits go after death. Although the concept of original creation is unclear, there are various accounts of the Emergence into this present world from three preceding ones, the place of emergence, or the //sipapu,// being located in the Grand Canyon. Each of the preceding worlds came to an end because of some evil done by witches, and the present world will someday come to an end also. In order to forestall this and to keep the world in harmony, ceremonies are performed by ceremonial societies and by kiva members. The universe is balanced between a feminine principle, the earth, and a masculine one, manifested in the fructifying but dangerous powers of sun, rain, and lightning. Evil is caused by the deliberate actions of witches, called "two-hearts" because they have bargained away their hearts for personal gain and must steal another's heart to prolong their own lives. When a ceremonial leader is believed to "steal" the heart of a relative to ensure that the ceremony will be successful, there is an element of magical human sacrifice in this belief.

Read more: [] The Hopi are natives of northwestern [|Arizona], where they and their ancestors have been living for thousands of years . The Hopi's staple food is corn. They planted 24 different types of corn and sometimes made corn bread. Although they lived in the desert, they were expert farmers and managed to grow many crops such as beans, carrots, roots and much more. They used tools like flint knives. They also made pottery to store food and carry water. The Hopi were Pueblo people. That means that they made pueblos, or adobes. Pueblos [or adobes] are houses made of dry mud bricks. They have dirt floors and are very hard to clean. Hopi means peaceful. KARLEE IS AWESOME! The Hopi Indians carved bird statues called Kachinas that are usually carved out of cotton wood root.