Hopi Lets learn about their culture clothing food

Hopi Let’s learn about their culture, clothing, food, home, beliefs, & lots more…

HOME The Hopi tribe lived in what is now known as Southwest, Arizona. They lived in pueblos, that was built on either mesas or the sides of steep mountains. The pueblos were made up of stones and mud, and then they used wood for the roofs. In order to get the wood for the roofs, they had to travel to get the wood because where they lived, the desert didn’t provide much rain, so there were few trees that grew

Food/Farming Their staple foods were maize, squash, and beans. In order to be able to have those foods as a staple food, they had to plant the crops at the bottom of the mesa, because that’s where they capture the most rainfall. They also had to find underground springs to water the crops, another way to water the crops. Down at the mesa, they planted maize, bean, squash, cotton, tobacco and raised turkeys for meat. The Hopi tribe ate deer and antelope- which the Hopi men hunted- fruits, bean, and squash. They added flavor to the recipes by adding nuts and herbs- which the Hopi women gathered.

Food (continued) The tribes favorite recipes are hominy, baked beans, soups, and different types of cornbread.

CULTURE As a part of the Hopi culture, men and women had separate jobs to fulfill. Men- The men had to govern homes, hunt for deers and antelopes, and tend crops. The Hopi men didn’t have a lot of tasks as the women, but men did have harder jobs. Women- The women had to care and own property, cook, gather nuts, fruits, and herbs, and grind corn and then put them in containers, so that everyone had containers with cornmeal in their houses- for when there were droughts.

Culture (continued) Women and men had different jobs, but they also did have jobs that were to be done by both genders. They both traded with others their baskets and pottery that they handcrafted, they sometimes traded through longdistance. The Hopi tribe traded their things for copper bells, arrowheads, shells, and salt. Their most important trade item is salt because it was used to flavor food, preserve food for droughts, and heal others.

Beliefs/Traditions The Hopi tribe believed in gods of the sun, rain, and earth. Their beliefs of the gods was that the gods sent messages and went into their bodies when they began to dance. They held ceremonies that lasted at least 8 days, sometimes even longer, in kivas. The ceremonies were focused on weather and farming. The Hopi believed that a successful ceremony led to produce good harvest.

T O O L S As a part of the Hopi tribe, some of the men had to do certain types of jobs that happened occasionally that dealt with tools. Hunters used bows and arrows to hunt for their food. Warriors defended their territory against the Spanish and the Navajo. When they fought, they either fired bows or fought with spears. The warriors and the hunters weren’t the only ones who used tools, other Puebloan people of the Hopi tribe used tools too. People who farmed, used spindles and looms for weaving cotton (and later on wool), but others used drills for boring holes in turquoise and other beads that were used for jewelry.

TRANSPORTATION The Hopi rarely traveled by river, they usually traversed by walking. They didn’t have horses at the time, so they used dogs instead. They put gears on the dogs called “travois” so that they could carry heavy loads.

Clothing The Hopi custom was that men and women had different and separate clothing. As other tribes, some of the men wore feather war bonnets, but the Hopi tribe didn’t. Women wore knee length Mantas, it was fastened at the shoulder, leaving the left shoulder bare. Men- breechcloths/ short kilts (men skirts), wore cloth headbands around forehead, hair was in the style of homsoma. But, in the 1900 s things changed. The Missionaries didn’t think that the women weren’t being very modest, so the women began to wear blouses underneath Mantas.

Clothing (continued) Things didn’t just change for the women, it also change for the men. Men began to cut their hair at shoulder length, some men still wore their hair in homsoma. Men and women both wore deerskin moccasins as shoes. At times, when there were dances, women would paint their shoes white and wrapped with white deerskin around shin to wear as leggings. Married women and unmarried women would have different hairstyles to tell the difference of them. Married women would have their hair in 2 long pigtails, while unmarried women would have their hair in elaborate butterfly whorls.

Glossary Kiva- underground places where the Hopi tribe have their ceremonies n Travois- a gear that is used on dogs to carry heavy loads n Pueblo- a home for the hopi tribe n Homsoma- the hairstyle of a Hopi man, it’s shaped as the number eight n Mantas- cotton dresses the Hopi woman wore n