March. 1905- The Traditions of the Hopi — Voth. 23 



they started a village at the place where now the ruins of old Shongo- 

 pavi are, east of the present village. These people were also called 

 the Bear clan, but they were different Bear people from those living 

 at Moenkapi about that time. Shongopavi was the first village 

 started. When these Bear people arrived at Shongopavi, Skeleton 

 was living at the place where Orafbi now is, where he had been living 

 all the time. The clan that had stopped .northeast of Mfienkapi soon 

 moved to the place where M6enkapi now is, but did not remain there 

 long. The Bear clan, the Hide Strap clan, and the Blue-bird clan 

 soon moved on towards Orafbi. When the Spider clan arrived at 

 Mtienkapi they made marks or wrote on a certain bluff east of Mtien- 

 kapi, saying that this place should always belong to the Hopi, that 

 no one should take it away from them, because there was so much 

 water there. Here the Hopi should always plant.' 



Soon after the Spider clan had moved on towards Orafbi the 

 Snake clan arrived. When these Snake people saw the writing on 

 the bluff they said, "Somebody has been writing here that they 

 wanted to own this. Let us write also that we want to own this here, 

 too." So they wrote the same thing on the bluff. After they had 

 left the place, the Burrowing Owl clan arrived, and they also wrote 

 the same thing on the bluflf. But they all had heard that Skeleton 

 was living where Orafbi now is, and so they all traveled on towards 

 Orafbi. When the Bear clan arrived at NatuwanpiRa, a place a very 

 short distance west of Kuiwanva,^ Skeleton came to meet them there. 

 "We have arrived here," the Hon-wungwa said, "we would like to 

 live here with you, and we want you to be our chief. Now, what do 

 you think about it? Will you give us some land?" But Skeleton 

 replied, "No, I shall not be chief. You shall be chief here, you have 

 retained your old life. You will be the same here as you were down 

 in the under- world. Someone that is Powaka has come out with you 

 and it will be here just the same as it was down there when he comes 

 here. But when the White Man, your elder brother, will come back 

 here and cut off the heads of the bad ones, then I shall own all this 

 land of mine myself. But until then you shall be chief. I shall give 

 you a piece of land and then you live here." 



Hereupon he stepped off a large tract of land, going east of where 

 they were, and then descending the mesa west of K6q6chmovi, then 

 towards the present trail towards Orafbi, up the trail, past the present 

 village site, down the mesa on the west side, along the trail towards 



' The narrator says that this "writing" was effaced by Tuba (the Hopi chief who founded 

 Tuba City), his wife Katcinmana, and others who wanted that land. 

 - About a mile north-west of Oraibi . 



