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79th out of 405 books
—
247 voters
Book of the Hopi: The first revelation of the Hopi's historical and religious world-view of life
In this "strange and wonderful book," some thirty elders of the ancient Hopi tribe of Northern Arizona freely reveal for the first time in written form the Hopi world-view of life. The Hopis have kept this view a secret for countless generations, and this book was made possible only as a result of their desire to record for future generations the principles of their "Road
...morePaperback, 1st edition Anthropology, 345 pages
Published
June 30th 1977
by Penguin Books
(first published 1963)
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In this "strange and wonderful book," some thirty elders of the ancient Hopi tribe of Northern Arizona freely reveal for the first time in written form the Hopi world-view of life. The Hopis have kept this view a secret for countless generations, and this book was made possible only as a result of their desire to record for future generations the principles of their "Road of Life." The breaking of the Hopi silence is significant and fascinating because for the first time anthropologists, ethnolo...more
Holy cow this book is fascinating. The Hopi have such interesting legends like how the earth was destroyed three times. Once by volcanoes, once by a flood, and once by an ice age. Also their creation story is pretty cool. But some of the things I loved the most were how they say that the creator had to destroy the earth because people would get really selfish and also they would start misusing their "powers of creation". Wow so true. Also their god led them to their land that they have now becau...more
This book was pretty okay. The definate strong point was the first section - the retelling, and possible first written version, of the Hopi creation myth. Other scattered myths throughout the book were also equally valuable for me. At the outset, Waters makes the assertation that he is compiling the "Hopi Bible" which this book definately fails to be. An adequite intro to the history, mythology, and ritual of the Hopi? Sure. Biblical in any way? Definately not. Still, not a bad read. However, as...more
I read this book to cap off all I've learned about the Ancestral Pueblo Native Americans. The Hopi are thought to be their descendants. The book takes you inside the Kiva to observe a bewildering array of ceremonies, rites and performances. The religion is complex and focused on natural events, not the least of which is rain. It also provides a backdrop of the Hopi's own creation story, flood story and ancient migrations and the formation of the many different clans. Clan symbols are often left...more
I must add a note to the existing commentaries, pointing to the fact the Frank Waters is an excellent writer - always enjoyable to read one of his books. It was no simple task in reconstructing the Hopi oral tradition into a coherent narrative the western mind could digest and at the time this book was written it was the closest thing to a bible of the Hopi peoples; yet today it only makes a good introduction.
another good source
Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 9: Southwest
by Alfonso Or...more
another good source
Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 9: Southwest
by Alfonso Or...more
It was fascinating to read about the culture and history of a people who have lived in North America long before Europeans came on the scene. The first part of the book which went over all the ceremonies and traditions took a while for me to read but when I got to the the history of the people (towards the end), all the previous reading became relevant. A lot of times Native people are all lumped together as one race. This book brought to light the uniqueness that one particular tribe has as it...more
Sep 28, 2012
Noah Vickstein
is currently reading it
I haven't finished the book but read most of it 3 or so years ago. It's unlikely I will ever receive it back from the person who borrowed it, so I may never finish it.
I was in the perfect state of mind for this book to be meaningful. I was living near the four corners area so the landscape of the surrounding environs I knew were pointedly relevant.
I'm not sure what else to say but I've encountered a lot of people it would seem who are resistant to the idea that there was anything special about o...more
I was in the perfect state of mind for this book to be meaningful. I was living near the four corners area so the landscape of the surrounding environs I knew were pointedly relevant.
I'm not sure what else to say but I've encountered a lot of people it would seem who are resistant to the idea that there was anything special about o...more
I loved the first half of the book as it was more about the background and story telling of how the Hopi came to be.
The rest of the book was still interesting but a little drier as it was more history book style writing. This section was still as intriguing and offered great insight to Hopi religion, symbols, tribe dynamics and more.
Since I love learning about people's history, culture and just history itself, I loved this book.
The rest of the book was still interesting but a little drier as it was more history book style writing. This section was still as intriguing and offered great insight to Hopi religion, symbols, tribe dynamics and more.
Since I love learning about people's history, culture and just history itself, I loved this book.
Utterly fascinating book. I knew virtually nothing about the Hopi Indians before I read this, and I was amazed to learn about the rich spiritualism of Hopi ceremonies, beliefs, and world view that are described and explained here. I don't think the word "primitive" applies at all. Reading this book is just not enlightening, either. It's thought provoking, and I might even say transformative. Hopi traditional culture, as I learned, is mostly a peaceful one, rather unlike the rational, materialist...more
I read this as a teenager, and the world view of the Hopi's affected me deeply enough at the time to consider running away from home. It was probably one of the major catalyst's to me to think about other cultures in a way that wasn't presented to us in the western world at the time via the media. (which was typically racist and demeaning).
I'm fascinated with the cultures of the southwest and this book is the authority on all things Hopi. I really appreciated it, but it was a bit long at times going into great detail about ceremonies and names. So much so that I did not actually finish it. I enjoyed what I read and got my Hopi "fill".
Although I only gave this book 4 stars it probably did deserve 5. Frank did our nation a huge favor in his documentation of the Hopi history and ceremonies. Along with H.R. Voth and Mischa Titev there are only a handful of other authors who's works even compare. I loved this book.
I misplaced the book, but I just found it again. Its cool, its like a bible of the Hopi religion and religious history. It was written by a man who lived with the Hopi for decades, and is supposidly written in their words (translated of course). Its nicely meditative, as well as interestinf in the fact that you see similarities between their religious stories and Chrstian ones.
A very good read if you're interested in the Hopi People. I've heard that this guy made up or misinterpreted most of this though. Be warned.
I really liked the information in this book, but the presentation of it was just hard to get through.
If you like to travel native lands in Arizona or New Mexico, this is considered required reading. Although an older book, you generally find it stocked for travellers.
The US should try to emulate the Hopi.
That was much more than I really wanted to know, although very interesting.
I use this book as a reference to the Hopi. My writings possess a few Native characters and customs, which intertwine with Hopi beliefs. Franks Waters 'Book of The Hopi' is always an arms reach away when I am writing. He provides just the right amount of information and knowledge about a vast array of pertinent Hopi beliefs, customs, and history.
Good book.
Didn't read the whole book but section of it for a college course. Having driven through the Hopi reservation in 2005 I can check this over having had a first hand experience.
Took a class once called Study of Native American Indians and we read this book....unless you're a huge fan of the Arizona-based Hopi, i'd pass on this one...
This is a great book about the Hopi Indians. I found there religious and ceremonial beliefs to be of particular interest.
a must read for understanding american history, our current state of apocolyptic times, and belief design.
This work explores the culture and traditions of the Hopi Indians. It includes their creation legends.
Jan 07, 2010
Matt
added it
Great worldview from a great people. Considered the Hopi Bible. 30 elders account for their peoples history. Compiled in '63
May 17, 2013
John Sibley
is currently reading it
May 16, 2013
Sarah
is currently reading it
May 13, 2013
Suzanne
marked it as to-read
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