Background: A communal and peaceful existence

How the footage came about

Anka Schmid und Agnes Barmettler
Wie es zu den Aufnahmen kam

Filming is actually forbidden in Hopiland, but in the 1960s our Hopi co-director James Danaqyumptewa was commissioned by the village elders of Hotevilla to make video and audio recordings of their ceremonies, with the knowledge that some would soon no longer be performed. The elders hoped to create documents for future generations. Indeed, some of the ceremonies that we documented were soon abandoned, and the spiritual knowledge they contained lost. In this respect, the resulting (silent) Super 8 footage and the corresponding sound recordings are an important cultural heritage that we were able to integrate into TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND - MEIN LEBEN.

Most Hopi ceremonies take place in kivas. A kiva has a visible upper part with a staircase and a small entrance on the roof, from where a ladder leads to an underground room with a fireplace. The Super 8 footage only shows the parts that took place in the village. Since the parts of the ceremonies in the dark kivas were never filmed, but the sequence of events needed to be reproduced correctly, images of night and the moon were added at these moments to the original sound recordings.

Hopi ceremonies

Sources: James Danaqyumptewa and the newsletter "Techqua Ikachi" No. 1- 44, published from 1975 to 1986 by the Hotevilla Hopi elders, http://www.hopistar.org/techqua.html

Hopi ceremonies are connected with the laws of nature in the universe and with the cycles of life on earth: becoming - growing - blossoming - maturing - passing away - becoming new. All rituals remind us again and again that we humans are part of nature and live together with, and from, other beings.

The course of the sun, moon and stars marks the seasons and determines the timing of the ceremonies. The whole year is connected in a spiritual way with the creation of the world and with the divine laws of genesis. On our journey through life, we humans need reliable signposts, because we are flawed and limited. These laws are also essential in everyday life. They can show us the way to a communal and peaceful existence.

Explanations regarding the sequence of the ceremonies in the film

The order of the ceremonies in the film follows the Hopi calendar, starting in November. The ceremonies alternate with agricultural work and are also shown in the film in this order.

1. Month Kel-Muya approx. mid-November, beginning of the year in winter

WUWUCHIM

WUWUCHIM shows the first phase of the creation of the world and life on earth. The ceremony begins with fire in reference to Maasaw, who gave humanity divine laws and prophecies. The ritual is led by the Two-Horn and One-Horn clans, the Singers and by the Wuchim. Young men are initiated to procreation in connection with the feminine. They learn to treat women with care, as they should Mother Nature, to increase fertility. The earth becomes pregnant.

Still aus TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN von Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa und Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film

2. Month Kya-Muya approx. mid-Dec. in relation to the winter solstice

SOYAL

SOYAL is the ceremony of the rebirth of Mother Nature. The sun appears in the morning after three phases of twilight. The celebration in the afternoon shows the new beginning of the earth. The first kachinas, which are very different, helping spirits who accompany all living beings and appear in the ceremonies in their various forms, and are also carved and painted, come out of the kiva.

1. Kachina: Alosaka sings to celebrate the earth's birthday.
2. Kachina: Mastop sings for fertility.
3. Clay-coloured koyemsi bring gifts to the children.

Prayer feathers are distributed to everyone for a good life. In addition, wooden sticks with prayer feathers are placed near the village and blessed on the ground with corn flour so that all living beings on earth have enough food.

Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film

3. Month Pa-Muya approx. mid-January, a community month

SOCIAL DANCES WITH MEN AND WOMEN

At night, dances take place in the kiva. During the day, young women and men dance together on the village square, these social dances include the buffalo kachina dance shown here.

Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film

4. Month Powamuya announced with the new moon, February/March

POWAMU

POWAMU is the month of purification. The ceremony lasts 16 days. Beans are grown in the kiva. The first green plants are given to women on the morning of the 15th day, and then to everyone for lunch. A night dance in the kivas follows.

On the afternoon of the 16th day, many kachinas walk through the village from one kiva to the next. Then follows the initiation of the eight-year-old children, who are accompanied to the kivas of their guardians. There are more kachina night dances in the kivas until the next month.

Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film

5. Month Isu-muya Wind month in March/April

During ISU-MUYA, the men in the fields renew the windbreaks for the coming sowing season and start planting.

Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film

6. Month Kwiyamuya Spring month in April/May

People often get married during KWIYAMUYA. The brides grind cornmeal and the men weave the white wedding dress for them in the kiva. The women also prepare the seedlings. From now until summer, kachina dances begin in the middle of the village with an appeal for rain.

Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film

7. Month Ui-Muya Planting month in May/June

During UI-MUYA, the men use a planting stick to plant beans, corn, melons, and pumpkins in the fields.

Clowns with their skin painted white accompany the kachina dances. Using humour they perform scenes to the community to sketch what has gone wrong recently. Their performances and gifts delight the women and children. Alongside the kachinas and priests, they ask for rain.

Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film
Still from TECHQUA IKACHI, LAND – MEIN LEBEN by Anka Schmid, James Danaqyumptewa and Agnes Barmettler © Mano Film

8. Month Kelmuya (like 1st month) Growth and flourishment of plants in June/July

After the summer solstice, the months are given the same names as at the beginning of the Hopi year in November, i.e. Kelmuya again, in the knowledge that winter is now beginning in the southern hemisphere.

NIMAN

On the 16th day of the NIMAN ceremony, the kachinas bring corn plants with ripened cobs and roots to the village square. This is the last kachina dance of the year. Afterwards, the kachinas disappear back to their home at the San Francisco Peaks. The Hemis kachinas bid farewell to the assembled people with a slow undulating dance in a double line with the Hemis kachin-mana (girls) and are accompanied out of the village by the newly married women (recognizable by their white wedding dresses). The ceremony ends with a prayer so that the clouds rain and there is a good harvest.

9. Month Kya-Muya Ripening of the first harvest in July/August

The flute ceremony is celebrated every second year, alternating with the snake-antelope ritual. Both ceremonies are about supporting the harvest with intense pleas for summer rain. Neither of these rituals were performed in Hotevilla in the 1960s, so there is no Super 8 footage. However, historical photos of the snake ceremony are included at a previous point in the film, during the explanation of how the village was founded.

10. Month Pa-Muya Corn harvest in September/October

In the autumn, between September and November, there are three women's ceremonies: LAKON, MARAWU, OWAQÖL. They all symbolize fertility and include the preparation for the newly germinating life of Mother Nature, also in relation to human sexuality and fertility. The women bridge the gap between the ending cycle and the new one that will follow in the coming year.

LAKON, the first women's ceremony in September, was not filmed. During LAKON, women perform a dance on the village square with a corn plant in their hands. The ritual is a thanksgiving for the harvest and a prayer for new ripeness and fruit in the coming year.

11. Month Powamuya Corn cleaning in October

MARAWU

During the MARAWU dance on the village square, the leading woman wears a short skirt to show off her legs. This ceremony symbolizes female fertility and refers to the menstrual cycle.

12. Month Osumuya New sprouting life in October/November

OWAQÖL

In the OWAQÖL ceremony, women dance with baskets, which they move back and forth in front of their lap to symbolize the vulva. After each dance, a woman throws a small basket around the square in circles. The men fight over this gift and try to catch it. It is a joyful, communal celebration.

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