Daniel Esteban Badel Castro

C.C. 1018434889
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
English Literature I

Symbols in Native American Literature

Native American Literature is characterized by the use of symbols which
reflect the life of these tribes, their environment and their relationship
with it. For the Native Americans all things that surround them possess a
spirit. They believe that everything in the universe holds a deeper
meaning and so they deserve attention and respect1. This belief and
perception of the world is reflected in their different myths through the
use of both living and inanimate symbols. In this paper, I aim to show
some of this symbolism and how it works via one example of these
myths: a myth by the Hopi people called The Wind God.
To understand the symbolism present in The Wind God, it is necessary
to know some facts about the people involved and the environment they
live in. The Hopi are a Native American tribe who live in the southwest of
the United States of America. They are concentrated in villages mainly
atop rocky mesas (called First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa) in
Northeastern Arizona. They are a sedentary agricultural tribe, being corn
their main source of livelihood. They are also very religious; ritual
ceremonies guide practically every aspect of their lives. Their religion
emerged and developed mainly as a response to insecurity in a tough
environment: wind and droughts which make agriculture difficult 2. The
1 Native American Symbols and Signs. Retrieved from http://www.whats-yoursign.com/native-american-symbols.html
2 Hopis by Ellen French and Richard C. Hanes. Retrieved from
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Hopis.html

myth The Wind God reflects these important aspects of the Hopi tribe
through an exquisite combination of reality and fiction. The story tells us
about this tribe being troubled by the wind (Yaponcha) which blew all of
their seeds away making it impossible for them to grow any crops. The
Hopi ask for help through their ceremonies with pipes in their kivas. As it
is stated in the myth, the smoking of tobacco among the Hopi, as among
many other tribes, is strictly ceremonial. They believe that the smoke
carries their prayers to their Gods, in other words, it is a symbolic means
of making an exchange between them and the spirit world.
They are helped by The Little Fellows who were two of the five
grandsons of Spider Woman. Spider woman is an important creation
figure in the mythology of the Hopi. She is the special benefactor of the
Hopi tribe and she is a symbol of wisdom. According to some accounts,
she created humans from clay (with the assistance of Sotuknang and/or
Tawa), and was also responsible for leading them to the Fourth World
(the present Earth.)3 In this story, we can see her in her role as a helper
of the Hopi people. She makes some sweet cornmeal mush which is later
used by the Little Fellows to stop the wind from coming out of the The
Wind God House (a crack in a rock) so that the Hopi can cultivate their
lands without difficulties.
It is not by chance that corn is the food used to make the mush to save
the Hopi people. Corn, as I said before, is the main source of livelihood of
these people. Corn is, then, sacred for them. It is as symbol of life. Its
essence,

physically,

spiritually,

and

symbolically,

pervades

existence4.
3 Legendary Native American Figures. Retrieved from http://www.nativelanguages.org/spider-grandmother.htm
4 Dennis Wall and Virgil Masayesva, "People of the Corn: Teachings in Hopi
Traditional Agriculture, Spirituality, and Sustainability", American Indian
Quarterly, Summer/Fall 2004, pages 435453.

their

Feathers also make an appearance in this myth. Feathers are considered

sacred by the Hopi and by many other Native American tribes. They are
a symbol of honor and connection with the divinity 5. In this myth, we can
appreciate an intention to connect with the divinity because they are
used to tip the arrows that the Hopi made for the Little Fellows which
were to be thrown as prayer offerings to the Wind God.
The first attempt of the Little Fellows to help the Hopi brought an
unexpected drawback for the tribe: a terrible drought. They are obliged
to ask for help again through their prayer offerings and they are helped
by the Little Fellows again. The wise decision of the Little Fellows to
open a little hole to the mush so that the Wind God could breathe
again solved the problem, allowing the Hopi to have a better life in
peace with the wind. This resolution of the story is to me one of the most
beautiful and special symbols in it: the desire to be in harmony with
nature, a common characteristic of all these Native American tribes.
To wrap up, the Wind God myth shows us, as we can see, how symbols
are an integral part of the Indians life. They are used to explain and
encode their reality. They embody a particular spirit power and convey
something about their environment, culture, customs or particular
beliefs.

References
5 Feathers Symbol. Retrieved from
http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-symbols/featherssymbol.htm

Avia Venefica (2005-2015). A Guide to Interpreting Signs and

Symbolic

Meanings.

Native

American

Symbols

and

Signs.

Retrieved from http://www.whats-your-sign.com/native-american

symbols.html
Benedek, Emily. The Wind Won't Know Me: A History of the Navajo-

Hopi Land Dispute. New York: Knopf, 1992.

Dennis Wall and Virgil Masayesva (2004). People of the Corn:
Teachings

in

Hopi

Traditional

Agriculture,

Spirituality,

and

Sustainability. American Indian Quarterly, Volume 28, Number

3&4.
French, Ellen and Hanes, Richard (s.f). Hopis. Retrieved from

http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Hopis.html
Native Languages of the Americas website (1998-2015).
Legendary

Native

American

Figures.

Retrieved

from

http://www.native-languages.org/spider-grandmother.htm
Native
Indian
Tribes
Website
(2015).
Retrieved

from

http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american

symbols/feathers-symbol.htm
Page, Susanne and Jake. Hopi. New York: Harry Abrams, 1994.