LAND OF HOPI AND NAVAJO ill 



be infinite — she has existed always, she will 

 always continue to exist. From the Grand 

 Canon of the Colorado, the sipapu — the great 

 opening — man emerged; into the earth, by way 

 of the same great opening, the spirits of the 

 dead return to enjoy an eternal existence. What 

 the nature of this existence may be the Hopi 

 does not venture to inquire and concerns him- 

 self with it not the least. He has no concep- 

 tion of punishment hereafter. For him there 

 is no hell. 



When a Hopi Indian dies the nearest relative 

 carries the body of the deceased to the grave 

 prepared for it, places it in a sitting posture 

 always facing the Grand Canon, erects a long 

 pole between the legs, locks the fingers of the 

 deceased around the pole, and fills the grave. 

 To the top of the pole, protruding above the 

 ground, one end of a string is fastened, while 

 the other end is stretched out in the direction 

 of the Grand Canon. It is believed that after 

 a lapse of four days the soul leaves the body, 

 climbs the pole, and with the string to guide 

 it goes to its eternal home in the Canon. 



While definite nature powers, such as the 

 Sky God and Mother Earth, are the great gods 

 and goddesses of the universe, there are innu- 

 merable lesser personages to whom are ascribed 



