What Makes a Hopi Family?

The relations of the Hopi family are a result of the way that things have always been. Clans are traced through the mothers, so having a daughter means that a family will get to live on in their village. There are set roles for men and women and they are not questioned. The roles are similar to the way they have been for over a thousand years.

Gender Relations

Women play an important role in the Hopi family. The women of the Hopi tribe are the ones who know and are able to prepare all of the food and objects that are made of corn. Blue corn and blue corn meal are used for so many ritual and ceremonial  foods, for example the food eaten at weddings. Mothers are to teach their daughters how to prepare the blue corn. A girl is considered a woman once she has done this. The women are also responsible for much of the physical labor. Most importantly, women are the ones who own houses and clans are traced back through maternal ancestors.

​Men do not do as much physical labor, and they cannot own houses, but they are involved with a lot of the religious ceremonies and political traditions. Their role is to prepare for events, which can take up to days to do. They also are involved in the ceremonies that take place in the kivas, which affect the harvest of the corn and the success of the winters. If they wish to partake in some of the physical labor that the women do, they may, but it is not their responsibility. 

Marriage

The ceremony of a Hopi wedding is very different than your typical wedding. It is even rare for a tribe to practice such a ceremony after all this time. The role of a bride-to-be is to grind corn for the groom for three days. This is symbolic of the job she will have as a wife. The groom's role is to weave her wedding clothing with other males. The bride walks home in one wedding garment, and carries another.  The clothes of the bride are so important, that she is buried in them when she dies.

A Hopi Bride, Irene Taliayvaia Ernest V. Sutton, Hopi Reservation, Arizona