Introduction
Hopi is an integrated land with various geographical formations. The Hopi people had a major objective to save their land. It was a group with strong religious beliefs and very firm lifestyle, which kept them away from the modern world.
They really believed in handling their issues traditionally, as reflected in the lifestyle. Often, they were against the destruction of the ancient land that they believed was a method of conserving the environment.
The southern part of the land is a flat desert, while the other part is mountainous, called Hopi butte. On the other hand, the northern part of Hopi land is also mountainous, where rocks are formed beautifully. The Hopi people are indigenous human beings who never believed in the modern activities, except the indigenous ways of life.
How the Hopi Integrated the System of Myth and Legend with the Environment
It is their belief that when one plants a tree, they must sing because it is through the songs that the earth, plants and trees provide happiness. In this case, they relate with the environment, according to their myths and beliefs. In addition, these people also sing, as away of agitating the air because moisture is always present in it.
In fact, it is the moisture that supports the plants. The Hopi always sing or just pound something loudly in the process of tending their crops. In most cases, they relate the plants to a baby who must be taken care of. One must be happy when taking care of the environment just like a child.
Interconnection of Oral Tradition and the Environment
Here, the major activities are the cultural practices and rituals done to promote interactive activities, which guide the well-being of everything, including the environment. The interest of the Hopi people is to ensure there is well being of the people, through championing the environmental conservation activities.
They tried to prevent the destruction of Mesas, which were the sites that they considered sacred. Mesas were used by the state of Arizona to construct highways, despite the people’s pleas to save these important historical sites (Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, 2011).
They had ceremonial masks and other items for their spiritual practice, which they kept. They valued many parts of their land, which were the cultural custom to celebrate in most of these places. However, some parts of the land were used for the agricultural production.
Relating the Names of Places with the Environment
The Hopi people have adopted names of different places and items, which reflect the environmental issues. For instance, the Supawlavi village has a spring called the Suvipa. The word Suvipa, according to them, is a place of sweet cold water. This is as a result of the good environmental conservation that results in the nature of water they get from this spring.
Another spring is the Hotsiva that is situated on the lower ground. Naming is done in relation to the environment and physical features, such as mountains. For instance, the Hopi butte is a mountain located in the south and named so because of the existence of volcanic buttes, which are observed from high mesas.
A mesa is a term used by the Hopi people to describe a high flat mountain. This reflects the environment well because the names adopted majorly describe places, which have influence on the surroundings.
How Cultural Practices Interconnect with the Environment
The name Hapitu, as used by the Hopi people means a peaceful one. This reflects the positive environmental activities that these people engage in. Their main interest is to acquire both spiritual and physical ability to protect and save the world.
Notably, to be called a Hopi means to respect the environment and its creatures (Hopi Nation, 2011). The Hopi people are organized in respectable families and clans, which traditionally perform the ceremony.
They adopted ceremonial cycles based on the lunar calendar. This shows their links with the environmental features. Their traditional religious practices are conducted respectfully like the normal Native Americans. As away of ensuring that there was sufficient food, they adopted, in their culture, the farming practices through agricultural work and ceramic arts.
In addition, through the reservation of their land, the white settlers did not destroy the environmental land that they were using. Besides, this made the environment perfect, according to their belief.
How the Hopi‘s Sense is Distinct and Different from Ours
The Hopi people believed that they originally never existed in the human form. They ironically believed that initially they were submerged in water.
This is very different from the normal modern belief about the human beings. Their cultural beliefs and practices are not changeable. They are truly traditionalists and adhere to every bit of practice that pleases their way of life.
Cultural Geography of the Hopi Land and How the Hopi Sense of Geography Differs from a Geographer’s Conception
The Hopi land is mountainous in nature, with rocks and other physical features of geographical sites. The cultural geography is shown through several cliffs, mountains and the availability sun rocks. Occasionally, The sun rocks are used culturally, especially during ceremonial dances, which take place at a given time of the year.
The sun rock stands high like a wall clock that shows a particular time of the ceremony. The Hopi people are different since they depend on the inaccurate periodic weathering process that wears down the rocks periodically (Carl, 1975). On the contrary, the modern geographer simply understands the process that takes place and relies on technology to show time.
The Hopi people view the geographical features like mountains as the sources of ceremonial and reflection on their ancestral activities, while the modern geographer takes it as an opportunity to learn the physical geography of the land.
The Hopi land, especially the southern part and some high and flat areas are considered to be the ceremonial places. They felt that their cultural activities are the best practiced in such natural geographical locations, as away of celebration. The land of Supawlavi village was constructively used for agricultural work. They made land boundaries for each clan.
Conclusion
As already observed, the Hopi people were the indigenous groups who observed their cultural practices fully. Their spiritual ceremonies and standing on the natural environment were very strong. The Hopi people had a very integral system that was related to their environmental activities.
They were against the destruction of the natural land and other physical features. Their sense of place was an integral part of their legend and myth on the environment. Their practices also reflected the societal relationships with the environment. They were majorly active in the conservation of natural environment system and taking care of the natural land for agricultural use.
References
Carl, S. (1975). Morphology of Landscape. California: University of California Press.
Hopi Nation (2011). Information on Lands, Customs, Government, and Tourism. Web.
Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (2011). Hopi Culture, Arts And Crafts. Web.