FREE ESSAY ON HOPI POTTERY

HOPI POTTERY

Hopi Pottery is a historic art that has been passed down through many generations. The
Hopi Indians have lived in the same area of the Southwest (present day Arizona) even
before the time of Columbus. The prehistoric ancestors of the Hopi Indians were the
Anasazi Indians. The Hopi Indians lived on desert land at the foot of the mesas. Hopi
women made beautiful clay bowls, baskets, and jewelry. The art of pottery making came to
these early Pueblo Indians by Meso-American Indians around 700A.D. Between this time and
1400 A.D., grey utilitarian ware was being produced for everyday needs which eventually
evolved into a more colorful and decorative style of pottery.
The 14th century became an extremely active period for the Hopi potters. New clays and
firing techniques were employed transforming soft textured pots into harder, smoother and
denser ones. The materials and techniques evolving during that time period resulted in a
new form of pottery called sikyatki polychrome. This style, which involves painting
directly on the polished body of the pot itself, continued until the late 1700's.
Nevertheless, because of wars with the Spanish and other minor tribal disputes with the
Navajo and Apache, Hopi pottery production almost completely vanished around 1800. 
However, in 1860, a woman named Nampeyo revived pottery making. She was considered to be
responsible for the renaissance in Hopi pottery. Nampeyo single-handedly revived the art
of pottery making by exclusively using the polychrome technique. Moreover, by the late
1800's, as the railroad was introduced to Arizona, it brought numerous traders who sought
to fill the demands of an enlarging tourist market. Therefore, Nampeyo's pottery was
highly prized and other Hopis, inspired by her, began fashioning their own work using
similar techniques.
The technique the Hopis use in order to build their pots is a simple, yet a very
complicated process. This method's called the coiling method. The first step is to choose
the clay to make the pot. The Hopis choose the clay by tasting it, and they favor sweet
clay over bitter clay because of its excellent quality. Then, the clay is taken little by
little and rolled into a sausage. The sausage is stacked up on to the skeleton to form a
new layer, also blending with the previous layer. This process is repeated several types
until it forms a shape desired by the potter. After the potter has formed the shape, the
surface of the pot is sanded and highly polished. Next, after this, the pot is fired.
Pottery roasting/firing is done outdoors. A fire is built to warm the area, and on top of
this hot ash a metal sheet or grate is set. On this metal crate pottery is placed and
shielded with smaller broken pieces of pottery, then a wall of sheep dung is built around
this and fired. This process may take up to four hours to complete and is also the most
crucial part in the pottery making process because the pots are very breakable and
fragile at this stage. 
After the pottery has been carefully fired, it is then painted and decorated. The pottery
is painted with native vegetations and minerals. The majority of the pottery is painted
with natural dark paint, processed from a weed called Ausa. There are other several
colors of pottery, beige or tan color, some white, and some red color is used by a few
potters. 
The designs and symbols vary from one artist to the other. Designs are usually of eagles,
parrots, roadrunners, migration patterns, eagle tail, pueblo style villages, rain & rain
clouds, lighting, water waves and other life germinating symbols such as corn. The
symbols are designed in order to represent various things within the Hopi community.
Moreover, the usage of color also symbolizes and represents something. 
Hopi pottery is essential in continuing the traditions and ways of life of the Hopi
Indians. The tradition of pottery making has been passed down to many generations. The
ancient potters passed their skills on to succeeding generations, many of whom are Hopi
potters today. Therefore, Hopi pottery plays a crucial role in continuing cultures and
traditions of the Hopi Indians.