Hopi Stories of Witchcraft, Shamanism, And Magic

by Malotki, Ekkehart

• ISBN13: 9780803283183
• ISBN10: 0803283180
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

The traditional Hopi world, as reflected in Hopi oral literature, is infused with magica seamless tapestry of everyday life and the supernatural. That magic and wonder are vividly depicted in this marvelous collection of authentic folktales. For the Hopis, the spoken or sung word can have a magical effect on others. Witchcraftthe wielding of magic for selfish purposes by a powaqa, or sorcererhas long been a powerful, malevolent force. Sorcerers are said to have the ability to change into animals such as a crow, a coyote, a bat, or a skeleton fly, and hold their meetings in a two-tiered kiva to the northeast of Hopi territory. Shamanism, the more benevolent but equally powerful use of magic for healing, was once commonplace but is no longer practiced among the Hopis. Shamans, orpovosyaqam, often used animal familiars and quartz crystals to help them to see, diagnose, and cure illnesses. Spun through these tales are supernatural beings, otherworldly landscapes, magical devices and medicines, and shamans and witches. One story tells about a man who follows his wife one night and discovers that she is a witch, while another relates how a jealous woman uses the guise of an owl to make a rival woman's baby sick. Other tales include the account of a boy who is killed by kachinas and then resurrected as a medicine man and the story of a huge rattlesnake, a giant bear, and a mountain lion that forever guard the entrance to Maski, the Land of the Dead. The editor of such books asHopi Animal Tales(Nebraska 1998),The Bedbugs' Night Dance and Other Hopi Tales of Sexual Encounter(Nebraska 1995), andHopi Ruin Legends(Nebraska 1993), Ekkehart Malotki is a professor of languages at Northern Arizona University. Ken Gary is a writer and illustrator with a longstanding interest in the Hopis.

Author Biography

The editor of such books as Hopi Animal Tales (Nebraska 1998), The Bedbugs' Night Dance and Other Hopi Tales of Sexual Encounter (Nebraska 1995), and Hopi Ruin Legends (Nebraska 1993), Ekkehart Malotki is a professor of languages at Northern Arizona University. Ken Gary is a writer and illustrator with a longstanding interest in the Hopis.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction	xiii
The Stories
The Boy Who Encountered the Jimsonweed and Four O'Clock Girls	1	(7)
The Man Who Was Buried Alive	8	(3)
How Old Spider Woman Came to the Rescue of the Yaya't	11	(4)
The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Medicine Man	15	(6)
The Tsa'kwayna Death Spirits	21	(9)
The Fate of Pongoktsina and His Wife	30	(25)
The Man Who Traveled to Maski, Home of the Dead, to Bring Back His Wife	55	(10)
The Yaya't and Their Feats	65	(4)
An Oraibi Boy's Visit to Maski, Home of the Dead	69	(24)
The Snake Clan Boy and the Sorcerers	93	(11)
The Man Who Was Married to a Witch	104	(11)
How Coyote Came to Visit Maski, Home of the Dead	115	(9)
The So'yoko Ogre and His Wife	124	(12)
How Somaykoli Came to Shungopavi	136	(5)
The Boy Who Was Born from a Dead Mother	141	(6)
Kotsoylaptiyo and the Sorcerers	147	(14)
How the Snake Ceremony Came to Oraibi	161	(12)
A Flood at Oraibi	173	(12)
The Boy Who Became a Deer	185	(17)
The Woman Who Gave Birth to the Seeds	202	(6)
The Creation of the Morning and Evening Star	208	(4)
How the Poqangw Brothers Stole the Lightning	212	(7)
The Poor Boy Who Wanted a Horse	219	(6)
How the Poqangw Brothers Found Their Father	225	(11)
The Water Vessel Boy	236	(4)
A Famine at Oraibi	240	(7)
How the Zunis Killed the Hehey'a Kachinas	247	(5)
Yaapontsa, the Wind God	252	(6)
So'yoko and the Shungopavis	258	(9)
The Witch Owl	267	(3)
The Gambling Boy Who Married a Bear Girl	270	(14)
Glossary	284