Pueblo and Navajo Indian Life Today by Kris Hotvedt

Author:Kris Hotvedt [Hotvedt, Kris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General
ISBN: 9780865342040
Google: 7qbi4DjwXjIC
Publisher: Sunstone Press
Published: 1993-01-15T05:46:42+00:00

Baking bread for Feast Day

THE PLACE THE SONGS COME FROM

(Cochiti Pueblo)

The men singers are standing at the edge of the plaza. Their voices rise and fall and at times are overpowered by the beat of the drum.

The singers range in age from the late seventies down to small boys who stand near their fathers or grandfathers.

The hand gestures of the singers are beautiful and signify the meaning of the songs: their forearms are raised and lowered; the hands make circles and are raised, palms upward, and lowered, palms downward, as they “speak” of clouds and rains and growing corn, and of hunters and animals, and of the warmth of the sun and the importance of the snow. They “speak” of the dependency of people on the mother earth and of all the things that nature provides. They “speak” of the interrelationship of all living things.

One of the older singers said, “Sometimes people, outsiders, think that what we do is silly, that our dances and songs aren’t meaningful. But when we dance and when we sing, we are giving thanks for the good health of all people, not just Indian people, but all people. We are saying prayers for all the people of the world and for all living things. I give thanks for being able to make jewelry, and for my good health so I can make the jewelry, and for the earth that gives me all of my designs. When I was younger, I wrote many songs about how I felt about the hills and the mountains and the clouds. Now I don’t write so many songs any more. But I always give thanks. That is what we do with our songs and our dances.”

And now this man stands in the group of singers. Down the row from him is his daughter’s father-in-law; close by is his son; in the plaza, dancing, are his daughters and grandchildren; in front of the house are many other relatives. As he sings and gives thanks, he is surrounded by many generations of people, to whom he is bonded by blood, marriage, or friendship. And the presence of the ancestors long departed are also felt in the plaza.

This is a wonderful thing; this is a special connection to the earth, to the very forces of life itself—the singing of songs of thankfulness, appreciation, and recognition, and the dancing in bare or moccasined feet upon the earth to the beat of the drum and the sounds of mens’ voices. Indeed, these are experiences and rituals that sadly are long lost in the history of most cultural groups. This has substance; this has meaning; this connects the soul and thoughts of a person to all humanity, to the earth, to the sky, and to all of life.

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