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Show ONGTUPKA Hopi Sacred Geography of the Grand Canyon Prepared by Leigh Jenkins Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and T. J. Ferguson Institute of the NorthAmerican West For a Symposium on Sacred Geography of the Grand Canyon Annual Meeting of the Western History Association Albuquerque, New Mexico October 22, 1994 > The Place of Beginning The Hopi people emerged into this, the Fourth World, by climbing up a reed which pierced the sky of the underworld at the Sipapuni. The Sipapuni is not a legendary place. It actually exists in the Little Colorado River Gorge near the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers in the Grand Canyon. After the Hopis emerged they encountered Ma'asaw, the deity who owns the Fourth World. The Hopis entered into a sacred pact with Ma'asaw in which it was agreed that the Hopis would serve as earth stewards. To demonstrate their faithfulness in fulfilling this pact, Ma'asaw instructed the Hopis to travel to the distant corners of the land in search of their destiny at the center of the universe on the Hopi Mesas. On this journey the Hopis were told to leave their "footprints" as evidence they are fulfilling the pact. These footprints take the form of ancestral ruins, petroglyphs, potsherds, stone tools, and other artifacts. Clan Migrations Each Hopi clan received a wuuya or totemic symbol after they emerged from the Sipapuni. After the Hopi people emerged at Sipapuni, some left on their migrations immediately, while other clans traveled extensively through the Grand Canyon. The clans |
