Kiwa of the Pueblo Indians

In the past each Pueblo settlement had a kiwa sanctuary where the most important rituals secret from the outsiders were performed aimed mostly to provide for good harvest. Kiwa as a whole and the whole in its floor in particular symbolized the whole in the center of the Earth through which, according to myths, people once came to our world from the underground world. A priest created images connected with concepts of thunderstorm on the floor of the sanctuary with colored sand, and asked kachina-spirits to send rain. Wall paintings with similar images were found in the 13th – 15th century sanctuaries which remained from the Anasazi – Pueblo Indians’ culture.

One of the most well-known rituals of calling for rain was “snake dance”. The priest clutched a poisonous snake that symbolized lightening in his teeth. Before the dance the snake was let bite a stick so that it lets out its poison and becomes harmless for an hour – an hour and a half. No one knew this except the priest. If someone doubted the might of the priest, he was offered to also touch a snake, but the one which has poison. It was considered that after performing the “snake dance” there should come thunder, lightning and the welcomed rain should start. Since the priests knew what natural phenomena accompany the beginning of thunderstorm, rain indeed sometimes began soon after the “snake dance”.

Priests of the Hopi Indians dancing "snake" dance. USA. Early 20th cent.		The inside view of the Hopi Indians' sacrarium, late 19th c.		Paintings on a wall of the Pueblo Indians' sacrarium, the Anasazi culture.