Council when they become upset with things the Tribe, or the Tribal Council, has done.
Generally, women are responsible for the home, a place for the husband and children, storing and preparing food, and clothing, and teaching her children and others in her clan. The home is owned by the woman and is passed down to a daughter, usually the youngest. The fields, cattle, and ranch are inherited by the man from his father. The land is not owned but is claimed by usage. There are no land titles, so a field that has been used by a grandfather may be passed to his son and then to the grandson and so forth. Similarly, a home may be passed from a grandmother to her daughter and then to a granddaughter.
Women also make craft items for home use, ceremonial use, or for sale. First Mesa women make pottery; Second Mesa women make coil baskets and wicker sifters; Third Mesa women make wicker baskets and wicker sifters. The men are responsible for farming, raising cattle, providing food and shelter for their families, and disciplining/teaching their sister’s (both blood and clan) children. The men of all three mesas do weaving, doll carving, and silversmithing. The production of art/craft items has decreased somewhat with the advent of salaried jobs on the reservation. Many adults work for the federal, state, or tribal government or local stores and non-profit organizations. Even so, estimates are that 60-80 percent of adults produce some art/craft items for ceremonial use, gifts, or for sale.
Hopi is a matrilineal society with clan affiliations and important relations coming from the mother. Thus, if the mother is Badger Clan, then her children are Badger Clan. The children’s father, then, would not be Badger Clan (it is not allowed for a couple of the same clan, or even of related clans, to get married). The father’s responsibility within a family setting is to his sister’s family, where he is the uncle responsible for disciplining and teaching her children. He will try to ensure that they get up early, work with him in the fields, get wood
or coal, care for cattle, etc. In the nuclear family, discipline and teaching come from the mother’s brothers. Because many families live in only one or two rooms and the children cannot “go to their rooms and close the door,” the mother can stick up for the children when her brother comes to discipline them (even though she likely told him to come and what the problem was). That preserves unity in the household.
There are nearly 100 clans on Hopi, some related to others and some by themselves. As a clan decreases to only a few women, the clan matriarch may ask another clan to let them combine. That was the case with Butterfly Clan at Third Mesa. There were only a few remaining, so they combined with the Badger Clan. As with the men’s ceremonial positions, the position of clan matriarch is held for life and then most often transferred to a sister or niece The Men’s positions are usually transferred to a nephew.
Most clans have a ceremonial clan house, usually where the clan’s matriarch lives or lives. That house is open during ceremonies and the matriarch welcomes all to come visit as they attend the ceremony and to eat. The matriarch makes mutton and hominy stew the evening before the ceremony, the traditional meal of Hopi. That is served to all who come. Family and clan are expected to come to visit and eat and any others who come in, Hopi, other tribes, or non-Natives are just as welcome to come to eat. Those who visit often bring side dishes or desserts to contribute to the meal.
As shown on the Hopi Ceremonial Calendar, there are ceremonies of one sort or another taking place every month. Some of the elders and societies no longer exist in some of the villages, so think of the ceremonial calendar as a guide more than as an absolute. For example, Snake Dance and Flute Dance are performed only at Shungopavi, and the women’s society dances are performed at Second Mesa, but not always at First or Third Mesas. The men’s societies no longer exist at Third Mesa, so those ceremonies are only at Second and Third
Mesas.
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