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One More Smile
for a
Hopi Clown
Emory Sekaquaptewa
The heart of the Hopi concept of clowning is that we are all clowns. This was
established at the very beginning when people first emerged from the lower
world. In spite of the belief that this was a new world in which no corruption
and immorality would be present, the people nevertheless took as their own all
things that they saw in the new world. Seeing that the people still carried with
them many of the ways of the corrupted underworld, the Spirit Being divided them
into groups and laid out a life-pattern for each of them, so that each would
follow its own life-way.
Before the Hopi people left from the emergence place, one man chosen by them
as their leader went up on a hill. I can just imagine the throng of his people
around him who were excited and eager in getting ready to be led out to the
adventures of a new world. The leader gets up on this hill and calls out,
"yaahahay!" four times. Thus gaining their attention he said, "Now you heard me
cry out to you in this way. You will hear me cry in this way when we have
reached the end of our life-way. It will be a sign that we have reached the end
of the world. We will know then whether we have fulfilled our destiny. If we
have not we will see how it is to be done." The leader who was a visionary man
chose this way of reminding his people that they have only their worldly
ambition and aspirations by which to gain a spiritual world of eternity. He was
showing them that we cannot be perfect in this world after all and if we are
reminded that we are clowns, maybe we can have, from time to time, introspection
as a guide to lead us right. From this beginning when we have been resembled to
clowns we know that this is to be a trying life and that we will try to fulfill
our destiny by mimicry, by mockery, by copying, by whatever.
This whole idea of clowning is re-enacted at the time of the katsina
dances. When they are dancing in the plaza the katsinas represent
the spiritual life toward which Hopi destiny is bent. The katsinas
dance in the plaza at intervals throughout the day and sometimes for two
days. When the clowns come they represent man today who is trying to reach this
place of paradise. That is why the clowns always arrive at the plaza from the
rooftops of the houses facing the plaza where the katsinas are dancing.
The rooftops signify that even though we have reached the end, we are not
necessarily ready to walk easily into the spiritual world. The difficulties by
which clowns gain the place of the katsinas make for fun and laughter,
but also show that we may not all be able to make it from the rooftop because it
is too difficult. We are going to clown our way through life making believe that
we know everything and when the time comes, possibly no one will be prepared
after all to enter the next world. We will still find the way difficult with
obstacles in front of us. Maybe some of us won't make it.
The clowns come to the edge of the housetops around noon and they announce
themselves with the cry "yaahahay!" four times. This announces as foretold at
emergence the arrival at the end of the life-way journey. And then they make
their way into the plaza with all sorts of antics and buffoonery representing
the Hopi life quest. In their actions they reveal that we haven't yet fulfilled
our destiny after all. By arriving at the late hour, noon, they show that we are
lagging behind because we think we have many things to do.
Once in the plaza they act just as people did when they emerged in this
world. They presume that they are in a new world, clean and pure. They are where
they can finally have eternal life like the katsinas; indeed, this is
the day all Hopi look forward to. But as they are remarking on the beauty of
this place filled with plants and good things they hear the katsina
songs. They grope around the plaza looking for someone. They pretend they
cannot see them because they are spirits. Finally, one of the clowns touches a
katsina and upon his discovery of these beautiful beings, the clowns
immediately try to take possession of them. "This is mine!" "This is mine!" They
even fight each other over the possession of the katsinas and over the
food and things they find.
The remainder of the afternoon is filled with all sorts of clown
performances, many of which are planned in advance. Others just happen. These
are satires focused on almost anything whether it be in the Hopi world or in the
non-Hopi world. Clowns make fun of life and thereby cause people to look at
themselves.
Imagination is important to the clown. There are good clowns and not so good
clowns when it comes to being funny and witty. But all clowns perform for the
smiles and laughter they hope to inspire in the people. When the clowns leave
the kiva on their way to the plaza the last request by each is a prayer
something to the effect, "If it be so, may I gain at least one smile."
The clown skits and satiric performances done throughout the afternoon are
reminiscent of the corruption that we experienced in the underworld, where we
presumably had Conscience as a guide. We chose not to follow the Conscience and
it comes into play during the clown performances in the form of katsinas
that visit the plaza. The Owl katsina on his first visit comes
with a handful of pebbles, carrying a switch. He appears at each corner of the
plaza presumably unseen by the clowns and throws little pebbles at the clowns,
occasionally hitting them. These pangs of Conscience are felt but not heeded by
the clowns. Owl katsina returns to the plaza later accompanied by
several threatening katsinas carrying whips. And this time, instead of
pebbles, he may brush up against one of the clowns. He may even knock him down.
Conscience keeps getting stronger and more demanding and insistent. On Owl's
third visit, the clowns begin to realize that they may suffer consequences if
they don't change their ways. Still, they try to buy their safety by offering
Owl a bribe. On the sly, the head clown approaches Owl, presumably unseen by
anyone, but, of course, they are in the middle of the plaza and are witnessed by
all the spectators. Those two kneel together in an archaic conversation modeled
upon an ancient meeting.
Owl finally accepts the bribe of a string of beads and thus leads the clown
to believe that he has bought his safety. The head clown asks Owl to discipline
the other clowns so as to get them back on the right road, but he thinks he will
be safe.
With each of Owl's visits more and more katsinas accompany him. They
do not come as one big group, but in groups of two or three. Throughout the
afternoon the tension builds with the threatening presence of the whip-carrying
katsinas. All of the spectators begin to identify with the plight of
the clowns. You feel like you are the one who is now being judged for all these
things.
Owl's fourth visit may not come until the next day. On this visit he brings
with him a whole lot of warrior katsinas. The atmosphere is one of
impending catastrophe. They move closer and closer, finally attacking the
clowns, who are stripped and whipped for all they have done. In this way they
force the clowns to take responsibility for their actions. After they are
whipped, water is poured on them and sprinkled about the audience to signify
purification.
When it is all over the threatening katsinas come back to the plaza
again, but this time they are friendly. They shake hands with the clowns
signifying that they have been purified. Then they take each clown the length of
the plaza and form a semi-circle around him. At this time the clowns make
confessions, but even here they are clowns for their confessions are all made in
jest. Having worked up satires for the occasion they jump and sing before the
katsinas. Their confessions usually are focused on their clan, who, by
way of being satirized, are actually honored.
I'll tell you one I heard not long ago. When it was time for this young clown
man to make his confession he jumps up and down in front of the katsina
and says, "Ah ii geology, geology, ah ii." Then he made a beautiful little
breakdown of this word so that it has Hopi meaning. "You probably think I am
talking about this geology which is a white man's study about something or
other. Well, that's not it," he says. "What it really is is that I have a
grandmother, and you know she being poor and ugly, nobody would have anything to
do with her. She is running around all summer long out in the fields doing a
man's job. It breaks her down. She would go out there every day with no shoes
and so her feet were not very dainty and not very feminine. If you pick up her
foot and look at her sole, it is all cracked and that's what I am talking about
when I say geology." Every Hopi can put that together. Tsiya means "to crack"
and leetsi means things placed "in a row," so these cracks are in a row
on the bottom of the feet, geology. Things like that are what the confessions
are like.
There is a story about the last wish of a Hopi man who died many years ago
that shows the character of clowning.
In those days the clown society was very much formalized. It was a practice
for men who had great devotion for their ritual society to be buried in the full
costume of their office. Of course, this was not seen by the general public
since Hopi funerals are rather private affairs.
This story is about a man who had gained great respect for his
resourcefulness and performance as a clown. Clowning had become a major part of
his life and he was constantly attending to his work as a clown by thinking up
new skits and perfecting his performance. As he reached old age he decided that
clowning had made his place in this world and he wanted to be remembered as a
clown. So he made a special request for what was to be done with him at his
death as he realized his time was short. He made his request to his family very
firmly.
When he died his nephews and sons began to carry out his request. In
preparation for burial the body was dressed in his clown costume. Then the body
was carried around to the west side of the plaza and taken up on a roof. While
this was being done the town crier's voice rang out through the village calling
all the people to the plaza. Everybody was prompt in gathering there. I can just
see the women, as with any such occasion, grabbing their best shawl on their way
to the plaza. It didn't matter whether they were dressed well underneath the
shawl.
When the people arrived they saw this unusual sight on the roof of the house
on the west side of the plaza, men standing around a person lying down. When all
of the people had gathered, the attendants - pallbearers I guess you could call
them - simply, quietly, picked up the body and took it to the edge of the house
near the plaza. They picked it up by the hands and legs and swung it out over
the plaza as if to throw it and they hollered, "Yaahahay!" And they'd swing it
back. Then they'd swing it once more. "Yaahahay!" Four times! On the fourth time
they let the body go and it fell down, plop, in the plaza. As they threw the
body the pallbearers hollered and laughed as they were supposed to. It took the
people by surprise. But then everybody laughed.
From: Emory Sekaquaptewa. "One More Smile for a Hopi Clown" from
Parabola, vol. 4, no. 1 (1979). Copyright ©1979 by Society for the
Study of Myth and Tradition. Reprinted by permission of the author.
As printed in Larry Evers, ed. The South Corner of
Time. Tucson, Ariz.: The University of Arizona Press, © 1980 p. 14.
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