Research source

SHOWING THAT THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE HOPI IS THE OUTGROWTH OF THEIR UNWRITTEN LIT

Date of account: Published 1933 from earlier recorded traditions
Source: The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi
Reference: The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi · selected passage 8
Rights: public_domain
Language: English discussion of Hopi oral traditions
Translation: Hattie Greene Lockett
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

At a certain stage in this part of the ceremony there was a pause

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

At a certain stage in this part of the ceremony there was a pause. No one left the plaza, but every one stood as still as a graven image, and not a sound broke the hush, apparently of breathless expectancy. The stillness was so unearthly that it became oppressive, and a few white friends who were with me began to urge in whispers that we leave the plaza as all was evidently at an end, and go back to our camp below the mesa, when suddenly there rang out such a wild, exultant shout of unrestrained, unmeasured rejoicing as only Indians can give in moments of supreme religious exaltation--raindrops had splashed on devout, upturned faces.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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