ANCESTOR WORSHIP OF THE HOPI INDIANS. 



By J. Walter Fewkes, 

 Chief, Bureau of American Ethnology. 



[With 7 plates.] 



There coexists among the Hopi, with sun and fire worship, already 

 described, 1 another type of religious expression to which with much 

 hesitation is given the name Ancestor Worship — the cult of the 

 Katcinas, spirits of the deceased or " other members of the clan." 

 An attempt is made in the following pages to outline the objective 

 or salient points of this worship. 



The mystery of life has made such a profound impression on the 

 mind of man in all stages of education that attempts to explain it 

 are coeval with the origin of human consciousness. But despite all 

 philosophic inquiry and researches of biologists the question, " What 

 is life? " still remains unanswered. The great variety of genera and 

 species catalogued by naturalists and the brilliant contributions of 

 the embryologist and the experimental botanist and zoologist have 

 led many thinkers to believe that this riddle of the universe may 

 ultimately be solved on a material basis while others remain still 

 skeptical that consciousness can ever be explained by this method of 

 investigation. 



The untutored mind, ignorant of the great advances made in the 

 interpretations of physical and vital phenomena, regards life as a 

 magic power incapable of explanation. The scientific mind is con- 

 fident that the nature, origin, future, and interrelations of life, being 

 the highest subjects of scientific investigation, will later be com- 

 prehensible. 



It is recognized by men of all races that man has a life independent 

 of the body, and this belief in the future life is well-nigh universal 

 among the North American Indians. There is evidence that the same 

 idea was widespread among aborigines on this continent in prehis- 

 toric times. This vital element, known as the spirit or " breath-body," 

 is recognized as distinct from the physical body that dies and decays. 

 Not only has man an individuality distinct from his body, but also 



1 See Smithsonian Reports for 1918 and 1920. 



101257—23 32 485 



