Page 88 - TheHopiIndians

80 MESA FOLK OF HOPILAND
probably brought from the Rio Grande by the Tewa;
ancient Hopi ware is much more artistic, being pol
ished on the body or paste, which usually blends in
harmony with the decoration.
Nampeo exhibited samples of her paints, of which
she knows only red and dark brown. The red paint is
yellow ochre, called sikyatho, turning red on firing.
It was mixed on a concave stone with water. The
dark brown paint is made from toho, an iron stone
brought from a distant mesa. It was ground on a
slab with a medium made from the seed of the tansy
mustard (Sisymbrium canescens) . The brushes were
two strips of yucca, mohu, one for each color. With
these slender means, without measurement, Nampeo
rapidly covered the vessels with designs, either geo
metrical or conventionalized, human or cult, — fig
ures or symbols. The narrow brush, held like a paint
er's striper, is effective for fine lines. In broad lines
or wide portions of the decoration, the outlines are
sharply defined and the spaces are filled in. No mis
takes are made, for emendations and corrections are
impossible.
Quite opportunely the next day, an invitation to
see the burning of pottery came from an aged potter
who resides at the Sun Spring. When the great Hopi
clock reached the appointed place in the heavens, the
bowed yet active potter was found getting ready for
the important work of firing the ware. In the heap
of cinders, ashes, and bits of rock left from former