raditional heritage of all.

The sand paintings made for special ceremonies on the floors of the
various kivas, in front of the altars, are likewise designs carried only
in the memory of the officiating priest and derived from the clan
traditions. All masks and ceremonial costumes are strictly prescribed by
tradition. The corn symbol is used on everything. Corn has always been
the bread of life to the Hopi, but it has been more than food, it has
been bound up by symbolism with his ideas of all fertility and
beneficence. Hopi myths and rituals recognize the dependence of their
whole culture on corn. They speak of corn as their mother. The chief of
a religious fraternity cherishes as his symbol of high authority an ear
of corn in appropriate wrappings said to have belonged to the society
when it emerged from the underworld. The baby, when twenty days old, is
dedicated to the sun and has an ear of corn tied to its breast.

V. HOUSE BUILDING

* * * * *

As already stated, the house (See Figure 3) belongs to the woman. She
literally builds it, and she is the head of the family, but the men help
with the lifting of timbers, and now-a-days often lay up the masonry if
desired; the woman is still the plasterer. The ancestral home is very
dear to the Hopi heart, men, women, and children alike.

After the stone for building has been gathered, the builder goes to the
chief of the village who gives him four small eagle feathers to which
are tied short cotton strings. These, sprinkled with sacred meal, are
placed under the four corner stones of the new house. The Hopi call
these feathers Nakiva Kwoci, meaning a breath prayer, and the ceremony
is addressed to Masauwu. Next, the door is located by placing a bowl of
food on each side of where it is to be. Likewise particles of food,
mixed with salt, are sprinkled along the lines upon which the walls are
to stand. The women bring water, clay, and earth, and mix a mud mortar,
which is used sparingly between the layers of stone. Walls are from
eight to eighteen inches thick and seven or eight feet high, above which
rafters or poles are placed and smaller poles crosswise above these,
then willows or reeds closely laid, and above all reeds or grass holding
a spread of mud plaster. When thoroughly dry, a layer of earth is added
and carefully packed down. All this is done by the women, as well as the
plastering of the inside walls and the making of the