Page 28 - TheHopiIndians

20 MESA FOLK OF HOPILAND

turesque. To these the bulk of the conservative Hopi
still cling with all the force of their inherited instinct.
Two centuries ago visitors arrived at Walpi from
the Rio Grande. These were a tribe of Tewa, invited
to come to Tusayan to aid in fighting off the Apache
and Ute, those wily nomad adversaries with whom
the Peaceful People for so long had to contend. Here
they have lived ever since in their village of Hano, at
the head of the most readily accessible trail up the
mesa, preserving their language and customs, and be
sides their own tongue, speaking well the language of
their friends and neighbors. The Tewa brought with
them their potter's art and now have the honor to be
practically the only makers of earthenware in Tu
sayan. Nampeo is the best potter at Hano and her
work shows her to be a worthy descendant of the
ancient artists, whose graceful vessels lie with the
bones of the dead beneath the sands of the great
Southwest.
Beyond Hano, and midway between it and Walpi, is
Sichomovi, which signifies "flower mound." Sicho-
movi, if we may judge from the good preservation of
its houses and the regularity with which the town is
laid out, seems to be comparatively new, and indeed,
there is traditionary testimony to this effect. The
dusky historians of Walpi relate the circumstances of
its foundation, when the yellow flowers grew in the
crevices of the rock at the place where several stranger
clans were allowed to settle.