Hopi dolls -- Religious aspects, Puppet theater -- Arizona -- Religious aspects, Puppets -- Arizona -- Religious aspects, Hopi language -- Texts, Hopi language, Arizona, Hopi -- Rites and ceremonies, Hopi, Indigenous peoples -- Arizona -- Rites and ceremonies, Indigenous peoples -- Rites and ceremonies, Hopi -- Religion, Hopi dolls, Puppet theater, Puppets 

"Children of Cottonwood is the first book to investigate a little-known aspect of Hopi religion — the role of puppets and the many ceremonies in which they figure. The puppets — hand puppets, marionettes, and rod puppets — dance and reenact sacred events and take part in stories and prayers. They are considered to be members of a family with their own histories and personalities and thus serve a mediating function between household concerns and religious functions. The ceremonies played out by Hopi puppet masters clarify such topics as marriage and gender, the human side of the clan system, rituals and the mechanics of ritualism, animism, mythology and dreams, and the ever-present jealousy between secret societies. Great care and creativity are spent on coercing greater-than-human beings into cooperation.

This book was produced with the close cooperation of Hopi speakers in the field. Not until now have the mechanics, performance, and significance of the puppet ceremonies been revealed by the Hopis in their own language. The texts are elucidated by continual reference to what is being thought and believed, as well as said, during the ceremonial events. Facing pages give the Hopi-language version and the English translation.

The commentary by Armin W. Geertz places the ceremonies in their historical, sociological, and religious contexts. Offering Hopi texts never before published, Children of Cottonwood will be indispensable for anyone wishing to understand the functions, formal complexity, and playfulness of Hopi puppetry and the religion in which it figures.

Armin W. Geertz is an associate professor of the history of religions at Aarhus University in Denmark. The coauthor, Michael Lomatuway'ma, is a librarian and consultant at Northern Arizona University."--Back cover.