Article: 743 of sgi.talk.ratical From: (dave "who can do? ratmandu!" ratcliffe) Subject: The Gourd of Ashes and the House of Glass (Hopi knocking @ UN doors) Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc. Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1992 14:48:09 GMT Lines: 308 excerpts from the following 1988 article follow. I keep coming back to this Hopi belief that we are all currently living in the final days of the fourth world (see Franks Waters' "The Book of the Hopi") and that various "signs" like the discovery and use of atomic weapons were part of ancient Hopi prophecy about the end of the cycle of this fourth world and the purification and rebirth from this into the fifth world. so much about the industrial/corporate culture people like myself have grown up in seems to fundamentally preclude the ability to consider alternative visions of existence such as those of indigenous people who are still attempting to live by their traditional ways around the planet. there is much about human experience and history that european culture is ignorant of or blind to. (35 lines of excerpt from the below follow) --ratitor The prophecy in question concerns a man-made version of this weapon, capable of boiling the oceans and burning the land, even ending life in this world. The development of such a weapon would indicate that human culture is approaching the end of its natural cycle of existence and is about to enter a stage of purification and rebirth, in which all aspects unsuited to survival will be eliminated through war or natural catastrophe. Depending on how we have been living, this could mean the end of the human species. The new weapon would be a signal for the Hopi to communicate certain information that could enable humanity to emerge from the "world-shaking event" about to unfold. The word hopi refers to an endless and joyful path of life that passes through the stages of purifications and rebirth that separated one "world" from the next. The name of the Hopi people is meant to remind them of their commiment to the kind of life that can travel this path. According to their tradition, the common ancestors of the entire human species once partook of this commitment, and only those who maintain it will be able to emerge from the present purification cycle. The treatment such people receive from those who have abandoned that commitment will serve to indicate the magnitude of the disaster that lies ahead. . . . The magnitude of what the true Hopi offer the United Nations is not readily apparent to the mentality that shapes industrial society. Since that mentality strongly influences the United Nations, the ultimate in intelligence, intuition and "luck" are required to escape it, and effect a genuine understanding between those who champion the original purpose of the Hopi Way and their counterparts within the UN. . . . As the Hopi see it, the violent control of violence, including police and armies, however expedient, can only cause crime and warfare to escalate to the point of self-annihilation. The Hopi practice an alternative of which the industrial world needs to learn, rather than expecting them to join modern civilization. The nations of the world gather in the "house of mica" for the same reason the Hopi knock on its door. By opening the door, the people inside could open the way to the endless path for the modern world. This would mean joining with the Hopi for mutual learning, without bringing plans on one's own. from Native Net's "nn.hopi" : Date: Mon, 13 Jul 92 22:00:47 PDT To: nn.hopi@gnosys.svle.ma.us From: NativeNet@gnosys.svle.ma.us Reply-To: nn.hopi@gnosys.svle.ma.us Subject: Gourd of Ashes/House of Mica Original-Sender: Dan Winter /* written 1am 7/14/92 by David Yarrow (danwinter) to nn.hopi */ It bears repeating at this point in our dialog, so I am forwarding Tom Tarbet's excellent writing (circa 1988) about the Hopi situation -- both their past approaches to the UN, and their internal political disunity. This was one of four articles I posted to nativenet many months ago -- among the earliest archives. If these four articles are not currently accessible, I can upload new versions along with a "package" about the current Hopi-UN situation. If anyone wants to speak to Thomas Tarbet about his articles, call me at Crystal Hill. I last spoke with him myself about a month ago. A friend of the Hopi and of mine interviewed Thomas Banyacya immediately after his official visit to the United Nations last October -- "the fourth knock" on the door. If anyone is interested, I can inquire what has become of the videotape of that interview. -- the turtle ******************* The Gourd of Ashes and the House of Glass by Thomas F. Tarbet (all rights reserved) Shortly before dawn, a light brighter than the noonday sun turned the desert landscape white in all directions, even to the horizon. Indians living nearby saw this light, and through them certain Hopi leaders received their first news of the atomic bomb test at White Sands. The use of this weapon against Japan brought further reports, including descriptions of its power, which convinced these leaders that a very old prophecy had just been fulfilled. Every Hopi knows of the spirit-being called Maasaw. To the people of Oraibi, he is the owner of the world, who gave the human species permission to live here as caretakers. Those who remain loyal to the original Hopi Way base their entire way of life, including the succession of leadership, on a covenant they made with Maasaw before their village was founded hundreds of years ago, and on the prophecies and instructions he gave them at that time. Over the centuries, stories have grown up around Maasaw, some of which describe a weapon of mysterious force, a gourd filled with ashes which he wears on his belt. For as long as the oldest Hopi can recall, this weapon has been part of the costume worn by the Maasaw katsina dancer in public ceremonies. Legend has it that its force is released with it is thrown to the ground, typically making people go crazy and dance around. The prophecy in question concerns a man-made version of this weapon, capable of boiling the oceans and burning the land, even ending life in this world. The development of such a weapon would indicate that human culture is approaching the end of its natural cycle of existence and is about to enter a stage of purification and rebirth, in which all aspects unsuited to survival will be eliminated through war or natural catastrophe. Depending on how we have been living, this could mean the end of the human species. The new weapon would be a signal for the Hopi to communicate certain information that could enable humanity to emerge from the "world-shaking event" about to unfold. The word hopi refers to an endless and joyful path of life that passes through the stages of purifications and rebirth that separated one "world" from the next. The name of the Hopi people is meant to remind them of their commiment to the kind of life that can travel this path. According to their tradition, the common ancestors of the entire human species once partook of this commitment, and only those who maintain it will be able to emerge from the present purification cycle. The treatment such people receive from those who have abandoned that commitment will serve to indicate the magnitude of the disaster that lies ahead. By the time the atomic bomb was invented, the Hopi had experienced half a century of severe hardship inflicted by the United States in an effort to force them to abandon their way of life. This had already caused a serious division among the people of the village of Oraibi. In 1906, those who preferred to yield to the pressure and accept the apparent benefits forcibly evicted those whose commitment to the endless path was stronger. Under the leadership of Yukiuma, the Fire Clan chief, this latter group founded the village of Hotevilla in an effort to escape the influence of the United States. For refusing to allow the Americans to educate the children of Hotevilla, Yukiuma was imprisoned without trial for more than 17 years in the Keams Canyon jail, and for more than a year in Alcatraz. The children were taken by force, and their fathers placed on a chain gang in Keams Canyon. As a result of several generations of forced schooling, the way of life based on the endless path has been almost entirely eliminated. The succession of leadership based on the covenant with Maasaw is being gradually but forcibly replaced. A puppet government was installed in 1936 on the basis of an election in which the vast majority of Hopi refused to participate. The constitution of this "Hopi Tribal Council" gives the ultimate authority over the Hopi not to Maasaw, but to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. This arrangement has become the legal device by which United States industrial interests have gained access to Hopi mineral resources. In every way, Hopi society is being reshaped into a form incapable of surviving from one world to the next. In the light of their traditional knowledge of the pattern of world events, the Hopi leaders have protested this process of forced acculturation from its inception near the turn of the century. In 1911, in an interview with President Taft in the White House, Yukiuma tried to explain his prophetic understanding of the devastation that would result if the Hopi Way of Life were eliminated. At the time, such communication was destined to fall on deaf ears. But with the invention of the atomic bomb and the developments that followed, "doomsday" warnings could no longer be dismissed outright. The question whether the human species remains on earth could be decided within the present generation. If the communication of the Hopi holds the key to humanity's emergence from the present crisis, it could not have come at a more opportune moment, which appears to confirm the underlying wisdom of their prophetic instructions. Further confirmation may come from their recent contacts with the United Nations. Following the news of the atomic bomb, leaders from several Hopi villages gathered at Shongopavi to compare their prophecies. One prophecy described "a house made of mica on the east coast" where world leaders would gather to seek a solution to the problems facing humanity. Mica was the only glass-like substance used for windows in early Hopi houses. When the Hopi leaders learned of the United Nations building, which is covered with windows, and of the purpose of the meetings held there, they concluded that it must be the "house" described in the prophecy. Their prophetic instructions indicated they should make "three or four or more" attempts to communicate with the people gathered there. Most of the public statements by the Hopi regarding this have emphasized four as required number of attempts, possibly because of ritual significance. The objective would be to offer information essential to the world-saving efforts of the people in the "house of mica," and enlist their aid in ending the destruction of the Hopi culture. The first three attempts failed to penetrate the lower bureaucratic levels, which operate on the false assumption that all "Native American" problems are internal matters of the United States, and therefore beyond the jurisdiction of the United Nations. But the traditional Hopi have never relinquished their aboriginal rights to their land or their self-determination, which precede all rights and powers of the United States. The abuse they receive from the U.S. is, therefore, an international issue. The fourth attempt, which is currently in progress, has produced some glimmers of reponse. During a large peace gathering in New York in June, 1982, David Monogye, one of the oldest living Hopi at the time, addressed a large audience in front of the UN building. When he mentioned the three failed attempts, this was brought to the attention of Dr. Robert Muller, the Assistant Secretary-General in charge of social and economic affairs. Impressed by the fact that the Hopi nation is dedicated to peace, Dr. Muller later visited the Hopi villages, and met with several elders in the very room where the prophecy meeting was held following the news of the atomic bomb. In 1983, an associate of Dr. Muller, Dr. Mark A. Roy, visited the Hopi, explaining to several groups of traditionally-inclined villagers the fact that conquest is now illegal in the eyes of the international community, and suggesting the possibility of decolonization. But as Dr. Roy sees it, to stand as a separate nation from the United States, the Hopi villages would need to unite their respective traditional leaders through some form of political contract, in order to gain recognition apart from the illegal "Hopi Tribal Council." This kind of unification would in itself violate the traditional Hopi system, in which each village is virtually a sovereign state unto itself, united only at the spiritual level. The suggestion left even traditionally-inclined Hopi divided. The response of the most "conservative" (advanced?) traditionals, the successors to Yukiuma's struggle in Hotevilla, is revealing. They refused any involvement whatsoever, primarily because the plan was conceived before they heard of it. This recalls the reason for Maasaw's own refusal to become the leader of the social order of the first humans. According to the legend, they had come to him with plans of their own. The present crisis of the modern world is viewed as the outworking of these plans, which must be either completed or abandoned before humanity can embrace the greater plan of the endless path. Yukiuma's people counted Dr. Roy's proposal among the cleverest of attempts to get them to abandon the eternal pattern of life Maasaw gave them, and join the maelstrom of a hellbound world. This difference in outlook brings into sharp focus the chasm that not only separates ancient and modern thought, but has fractured the spiritually based unity of the Hopi people since 1906, now almost to the last individual. This condition has thwarted every effort to establish a valid relationship between the United States and the true Hopi leaders, and stop the destruction of the Hopi Way. But the followers of the endless path have long been prepared for the possible erosion of their orthodox leadership, at which point they must take the initiative without the benefit of fully initiated leaders. They warn those who would help that they will have to choose which Hopis are correct, and which are not. The cause of this separation is not arbitrary or abstract. It is a question of which set of alliances can survive the present worldwide cycle of purification. A promising correspondence with the prophetic plan lies in the similarity of purpose between the Hopi Way and the United Nations, and in the agreement between Hopi principles and the growing international consensus reflected in certain aspects of international law, such as the illegality of conquest. But the United Nations itself is the invention of mortal minds, whereas the actual pattern of life reflected in the prophetic oral tradition of the Hopi is greater than any human invention. The magnitude of what the true Hopi offer the United Nations is not readily apparent to the mentality that shapes industrial society. Since that mentality strongly influences the United Nations, the ultimate in intelligence, intuition and "luck" are required to escape it, and effect a genuine understanding between those who champion the original purpose of the Hopi Way and their counterparts within the UN. A small foothold may have been gained, and a surprising lesson learned, with the presentation of a broadcast quality videotape statement by the elders of Hotevilla to the President of the UN General Assembly, Humayan Choudery of Bangaladesh, on his first day in office, on the occasion of the First Earth Run benefit for UNESCO, in October, 1986. The video was produced in response to a message from the coordinators of the First Earth Run to David Monogye, offering him the opportunity to address the General Assembly. Before it could be learned that the message had been sent in error, Monogye, who could not attend due to a serious injury, had authorized the video message, and production had already begun. The result was that room was made in the schedule of special ceremonies marking the International Year of Peace for the Hopi statement to be shown to the General Assembly. This unprecedented opportunity to expose the entire Hopi situation before the world was ironically cut short by traditionals from Shongopavi, who have opposed the Hotevilla group since 1906. The Shongopavi group subsequently abandoned their efforts toward the UN, leaving a small number of unordained Hotevilla elders to pursure their own relationship unopposed. It may be unrealistic to expect a serious response through official channels, since recogition of the natural sovereignity of the Hopi, and the consequent disempowerment of the "puppet" Hopi Tribal Council, would tend to undermine the very concept of the United States. The episode with the video message occurred as the result of a curious "mistake" that enabled official procedures to be by-passed. But the prophecy of the "house made of mica" simply indicates the possibility of potential allies through which humanity might actually gain a creative relationship with the world-shaking forces of the purification cycle. Official channels might even prove irrelevant to this process. As the Hopi see it, the violent control of violence, including police and armies, however expedient, can only cause crime and warfare to escalate to the point of self-annihilation. The Hopi practice an alternative of which the industrial world needs to learn, rather than expecting them to join modern civilization. The nations of the world gather in the "house of mica" for the same reason the Hopi knock on its door. By opening the door, the people inside could open the way to the endless path for the modern world. This would mean joining with the Hopi for mutual learning, without bringing plans on one's own. ***** copyright Thomas Tarbet, 1988 ***** ~~ end, the turtle + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + | David Yarrow (turtle) Econet: 716-992-9307 | | Crystal Hill Institute, 9411 Sandrock Road, Eden, NY 14057 | | "be earthwise, not clockwise" | ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -- daveus rattus yer friendly neighborhood ratman KOYAANISQATSI ko.yaa.nis.qatsi (from the Hopi Language) n. 1. crazy life. 2. life in turmoil. 3. life out of balance. 4. life disintegrating. 5. a state of life that calls for another way of living.