Page 72 - TheHopiIndians
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64        MESA FOLK OP HOPILAND

             else the material of a hornet's nest.  This bread is
             made from batter, colored gray with wood ashes, dex
             terously spread very thinly with the hand over a
             heated slab of stone. Piki bakes quickly, coming free
             from the slab and is directly folded up into conven
             ient compass and so crisp is it that it crackles like
             paper. Sometimes it is tinted with attractive colors
             for festal occasions, such as the Kachina ceremonies.
               Before a dance the women busily prepare food and
             the girls go about speechless, with mouths full of meal,
             "chewing yeast" for the corn pudding. This and
             other ins and outs of the kitchen make the knowing
             traveler rather shy of the otherwise attractive-looking
             Hopi food.
               Surely corn is the "mother" of the HopL All the
             powers of nature are invoked to grant a good crop
             by giving rain and fertility, and the desire for corn
             is the central motive of the numerous ceremonies of
             the villagers of Tusayan.  If the prayers of the Hopi
             could be formulated like the "Om mane padme hum"
             of the Hindus, it would be in the smaller compass of
             these words, ' ' Grant us corn ! ' ' Nor are these simple
             villagers ungrateful for such blessings. Kopeli used
             to stand looking over his thriving cornfield and say
             with fervor, "Kwa kwi, Kwa kuri," "thanks, thanks,"
             and it was evident that the utterance was made with
             true thankfulness and a spirit of devotion.
               It is difficult to imagine the ancient people with
             out corn ; but very long ago, as the legends tell, they
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