article
“Then you will rise and strike my head from my neck”: Hopi prophecy and the discourse of empowerment
American Indian quarterly • 19 (1) • Published In 1995 • Pages: 31-73
By: Clemmer, Richard O..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper is a detailed analysis of Hopi mythic prophecies, their significance in Hopi society, and their relationship to the non-Hopi world. Clemmer attempts "…to explain why Hopi prophecy contains these two elements -- the stabilization of uncertainty on the one hand and the introduction of instability on the other -- by suggesting that 'punishment' is a metaphor for loss of political and economic autonomy and that 'punisher' is a metaphor for re-empowerment. All other referents in the prophetic mythic complex serve to connect it to specific symbols from Hopi tradition, culture, and religion; to symbols familiar to non-Hopis; and to the flow of historical events. The effect of these referents is to confirm the validity of the mythic prophecy to a multi-faceted audience of Hopis -- who seek empowerement -- and non-Hopis, who must be persuaded not to deny power to them" (pp. 32-33).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Sociocultural trends
- Ingroup antagonisms
- Community heads
- Public welfare
- Political parties
- Mythology
- Revelation and divination
- Prophets and ascetics
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Hopi
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southwest and Basin
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle; 1999
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1968-1969
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1882 - 1990
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Oraibi (Orayvi) pueblo, Third Mesa, northeastern Arizona, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- By Richard O. Clemmer
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-73)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 74647596
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Hopi Indians