“Ya ‘Itam Hakim Hopiid?”
Hopi Elder – Youth Conference
May 3, 2019
Theme: Ya Itum Hakim Hopiid? We must look to the past so we do not make the same mistakes in past world called the “underground” world, some call the 3rd world.
The past world, some call the “underground” world, others call it the 3rd World. The 3rd World is the world of the Mayans, Toltecs from whom we are descendants.
We do not know exactly where the Third World is, but in our story we talk about a place called Palatki or Palatkwapi. We know the reasons why our ancestors left. One reason is the once beautiful pyramid cities became corrupt. Ruling priests sacrificed young people to please the gods.
The wise elders said there must be another world above the sky ceiling. Every night we hear someone walking around. So, they left in search of a safe place to raise the children and start a new civilization. This is the 4th World.
After hundreds of years traveling through the desert, they came to Pisisvaya, what is now called the Colorado River, and followed it upstream. After many more years of traveling through the bottom of what is now the Grand Canyon, they came to a mound shaped like a giant ant hill. Water was coming in and out of the mound.
The wise elders said this is where we are to come out of the canyon. They did so and came to the new world, the Fourth World. They named the mound Sipaapu, meaning umbilical cord, a place of emergence.
They found a man working in his field. He was a farmer in a dry barren desert. His field was located south of Orayvi. The farmer’s name was Ma’sau. They named the place Tuuwanasave, meaning earth center. People still farm Ma’sau’s field with corn, beans and squash today.
The elders were amazed. His plants were healthy. They were amazed at how anyone could raise corn, squash and beans in a land where there is no lakes and river to irrigate the plants.
After days of talking with the farmer, they asked if he owned the land? He said, “No, I am just a caretaker.” They asked if they could stay with him. Ma’sau said that it is not up to him. If you decide to stay you must agree to walk my way of life. My way is hard. You must agree to help me take care of our Earth Mother in a peaceful, respectful, and simple way. Some believe Ma’sau came from the Third World to prepare for the coming of people of all races and tribes. He brought seeds with him and was the first one to settle in the Fourth World. Ma’sa said before you settle you must make footprints in all directions on this sacred land. Some decided to move on never to return. Our ancestors, Moti Sinom, left their footprints all over the Colorado Plateau and Mesa Verde. They returned to settled and agreed to live by Ma’sau teachings and started a new civilization. A civilization based on Nami’na ngwa – Sumi’na ngwa; peace charity, respect, humility and faith.
Ma’sau warned that a time will come when strangers from another world will come and a life of comfort and ease. They will lay claim to the land and call it “my property.” Some people will prefer this life of comfort and start leaving my path. When all of you stray out of my path you will lose the privilege of living here. You will leave your belongings and continue traveling. This story is inscribed on a large boulder near Orayvi, which is the oldest continuously living civilization in North America.
The ancestors agreed to stay. They made a sacred agreement with Ma’sau. I know of one other peoples, the Jews, who have a Covenant with the Creator. In the Jewish story, god chose the Jews. In the Hopi story the ancestors chose Ma’sau. Ma’sau did not make that choice.
The story about coming from the Third to the Fourth, meeting up with Ma’sau, then agreeing to a covenant with Ma’sau takes couple days to tell. Some knowledge is privileged and cannot be revealed. We just have one day, so all we can do is give you a brief introduction to your history in a story-telling way. Hopefully this will be a first step in a study of your history, heritage and birthright.
Today, we find ourselves living in a different world dominated by science, technology and driven by money and greed, we are forgetting the Covenant we agreed to live by. As a result, we could be standing at the end of the 4th World. Hopi elders tell us there will be consequences when we no longer care for our Earth Mother. Will there be a 5th World? This is up to how we conduct ourselves. As one elder said: “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” Who else will do it, if not us?
Koyaanisqatsi:
Today we find ourselves living in a different world dominated by science, technology, money economy, greed, politics, power hungry political leaders.
In such a short time since Europeans came our society has gone through a lot of turmoil. We are confused. Our world seems to be running upside-down. We have many social problems that we seem to be helpless to deal with. Koyaanisqatsi has arrived.
Herman Lewis, Kachina Priest at First Mesa once told me that we, the Hopi sinom, used to eat from the same bowl, now we are eating like strangers. We no longer know each other.
A potter from First Mesa, Dextra Nampayo, said we were once a beautiful pottery that dropped and shattered into pieces. But, she was optimistic and said we can still put the pieces together.
Like the traditional corn planters, they plant a straight row moving toward a marker at the end of the field. After planting several times, they look back to where they started to align themselves with the marker making sure they are traveling in a straight row.
Today, we are still farmers but, we have lost sight of our goal. We don’t know where we are headed.
The purpose of this gathering is to define or redefine the goal. This requires all of us, educators, political leaders, traditional practitioner, village governments to work together in the spirit of suminangwa – naminangwa (fellowship) to teach, motivate and inspire the students.
Kwak kwa
Vernon Masayesva
