The Prophecies of the Hopi People

As you wind your way through the prophecies on this site and those you may find elsewhere, you would do well to pay particular attention to the accuracy of those of the Hopi People. Their prophecies are not written in obscure, archaic language, hidden away in dusty tomes. Hopi Elders pass these warnings to the next generations through word of mouth and with reference to ancient rock drawings and tablets, keeping track of those that have been fulfilled and paying close attention to warning signs.

The following portion is from The Book of the Hopi by Frank Waters. This tidbit of Hopi prophecy, probably the only portion shared with whites at the time, has been reproduced many, many times and is usually the first glimpse of Hopi Prophecy that one encounters when researching the subject.

Emergence to the Fifth World

"The end of all Hopi ceremonialism will come when a Kachina removes his mask during a dance in the plaza before uninitiated children. For a while there will be no more ceremonies, no more faith. Then Oraibi will be rejuvenated with its faith and ceremonies, marking the start of a new cycle of Hopi life.

"World War III will be started by those peoples who first revealed the light (the divine wisdom or intelligence) in the other old countries (India, China, Islamic Nations, Africa). The United States will be destroyed, land and people, by atomic bombs and radioactivity. Only the Hopis and their homeland will be preserved as an oasis to which refugees will flee. Bomb shelters are a fallacy. "It is only materialistic people who seek to make shelters. Those who are at peace in their hearts already are in the great shelter of life. There is no shelter for evil. Those who take no part in the making of world division by ideology are ready to resume life in another world, be they Black, White, Red, or Yellow race. They are all one, brothers.

"The war will be 'a spiritual conflict with material matters. Material matters will be destroyed by spiritual beings who will remain to create one world and one nation under one power, that of the Creator.'

"That time is not far off. It will come when the Saquasohuh (Blue Star) Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his mask. He represents a blue star, far off and yet invisible, which will make its appearance soon. [Some Hopi spokespersons suggest that Hale-Bopp is the Blue Star.] The time is foretold by a song sung during the Wuwuchim ceremony. It was sung in 1914 just before World War I, and again in 1940 before World War II, describing the disunity, corruption, and hatred contaminating Hopi rituals, which were followed by the same evils spreading over the world. This same song was sung in 1961 during the Wuwuchim ceremony.

"The Emergence to the future Fifth World has begun. It is being made by the humble people of little nations, tribes, and racial minorities. 'You can read this in the earth itself. Plant forms from previous worlds are beginning to spring up as seeds. This could start a new study of botany if people were wise enough to read them. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in the sky as stars. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in our hearts. All these are the same, depending how you look at them. That is what makes the Emergence to the next, Fifth World.'

"These comprise the nine most important prophecies of the Hopis, connected with the creation of the nine worlds: the three previous worlds on which we lived, the present Fourth World, the three future worlds we have yet to experience, and the world of Taiowa, the Creator, and his nephew, Sotuknang."

White Feather, Bear Clan

"The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left.

"This is the First Sign: We were told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs and who struck their enemies with thunder. (Guns)

"This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. (Covered wagons)

"This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. (Longhorn cattle)

"This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron. (Railroad tracks)

"This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web. (Power and telephone lines)

"This is the Sixth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun. (Concrete roads and their mirage-producing effects.)

"This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it. (Oil spills)

"This is the Eighth Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like our people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn our ways and wisdom. (Hippies)

"And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of the Hopi people will cease. (U.S. Space Station Skylab, which fell to Earth in 1979. According to Australian eye-witnesses, it appeared to burn blue.)

Other Sources

Another Hopi prophecy warns that nothing should be brought back from the Moon. If this were done, the Hopi warned, the balance of natural and universal laws and forces would be disturbed, resulting in earthquakes, severe changes in weather patterns, and social unrest. All these things are happening today, though of course not necessarily because of Moon rocks.

On August 7, 1970, a spectacular UFO sighting was witnessed by dozens of people and photographed by Chuck Roberts of the Prescott Courier. This occurred after a "UFO calling" by several Hopi Indians and was interpreted by some Hopis as being a partial fulfillment of a certain inscribed on Second Mesa, warning of the coming of Purification Day, when the true Hopi will be flown to other planets in "ships without wings."

The survivors of the Great Deluge thousands of years ago split up into four groups that moved in all four directions. Only one group completed their journey -- to the North Pole and back -- under the guidance of a brilliant "star" in which the Great Spirit Massau'u traveled. Upon landing, he drew a petroglyph on Second Mesa, showing a maiden riding in a wingless, dome-shaped craft. The petroglyph signified the coming Day of Purification when the true Hopi will fly to other planets in "ships without wings."

The Hopi also predicted that when the heart of the Hopi land trust is dug up, great disturbances will develop in the balance of nature, for the Hopi holy land is the microcosmic image of the entire planet; any violations of nature in the Four Corners region will be reflected and amplified all over the Earth.

Martin Gasheseoma said recently that Hopi "elders told us that when the plants blossom in the middle of winter, we would need to go to Santa Fe to warn everyone of suffering and destruction to come unless they change their ways. Last year, in the middle of winter the plants began to blossom."

How much suffering and destruction will accompany the time of the purification, and what will be its end result? Martin Gasheseoma foretells judgment in front of a big mirror and death to those who are evil and wicked, with only a handful of people surviving in every nation overseas who will then come to this continent, "which we call heaven."

"All the suffering going on in this country with the tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes is carried on the breath of Mother Earth because she is in pain," says Roberta Blackgoat, an elder of the Independent Dineh (Navajo) Nation at Big Mountain. She explains that the Four Corners area is particularly sacred because it literally holds Mother Earth's internal organs -- coal and uranium which the Bureau of Indian Affairs has allowed the Peabody Coal Mine to mine. "They are trying to take her precious guts out for money," says Blackgoat. "My grandfather told me that coal is like the liver, and uranium is both the heart and lungs of Mother Earth." Hopi and Navajo traditionalists are fighting the mining.

These life and death matters will be determined when Pahana returns, and theories abound as to Pahana's identity. Since Pahana has also been called the White Brother, and since he is to return from the east, Hopi of past centuries wondered whether he could have been a Spaniard or an Anglo and devised tests for determining the true Pahana, including knowledge of the greeting of brotherhood, similarities of religious beliefs, and possession of the missing piece of the stone tablet. Many were tested, including Catholics, Baptists, and Mormons, but none passed to the satisfaction of traditional Hopi.

Prophecies to be Fulfilled -- Dan Evehema, Hopi Elder

[From various sources -- chiefly The Hopi Survival Kit by Thomas E. Mails]

"The time will come when from the earth will arise a mystic fog which will dilute the minds and hearts of all people. Their guidelines of wisdom and knowledge will falter, the Great Laws of our Creator will dissolve in the minds of people. Children will be out of control and will no longer obey the leaders, immorality and the competitive war of greed will flourish.

"When the end is near, we will see a halo of mist around the heavenly bodies. Four times it will appear around the sun as a warning that we must reform, telling us that people of all color must unite and arise for survival, and that we must uncover the causes of our dilemmas. Unless man-made weapons are used to strike first, peace will then come.

"So the time will come when we will experience late springs and early frosts, this will be the sign of the returning Ice Age.

"We believe militarism is born out of injustice, poverty and ignorance where absolute governments refuse to hear the grievances of minorities. So the people resort to violence, demonstrations and even terrorism when they see no other way to be heard. What can we do when our world leaders and the people are acting like fools in attempts to solve the problems confronting us? Once again we will quote the prophecy of our Elders. We hope it will interest you so that you will be more aware of it because it has been happening for some time.

"According to prophecy, the day will come when people in high places will be hunted. This will get out of control. The hunting will gather strength and spread. This situation might even erupt on our land. Finally, this will lead us to the Biblical version of Armageddon (the Hopi version is closely related). A final decisive battle between good and evil. This will occur under one God or Chief. The prophets say we will speak one language and that this will happen in Hopiland, in the village of Oraibi , where the new life plan will be drawn, in the pattern and cycle of religion. Here also a final decision will be made for the wicked. They will be beheaded and speak no more. If this does not materialize there will be a total destruction through the acts of man or nature. Then new life will begin from a girl and a boy. This is a frightening prophecy and will not be supported by many.

"It is in the prophecies of the Hopi that in a case like this the Navajo may help our cause. Also the Bahannas or the Paiute Tribe may help. We doubt that the U.S. Government will easily concede our sovereignty.

"There are two water serpents, one at each pole with a warrior sitting on his head and tail. These command nature to warn us by her activities that time is getting short, and we must correct ourselves. If we refuse to heed these warnings, the warriors will let go of the serpents; they will rise up, and all will perish.

"We are much concerned about the climate. No one seems to be able to predict the weather accurately from day to day. However, we know according to our time markers that it is past due for certain seeds to be planted at their proper time. In recent springs, we were reluctant to plant due to the late snow and cold weather. Once more maybe our ancient prophecy is right, that one day we will plant wearing finger sacks (gloves) clearing away snow with our feet before planting. The summers will become shorter for maturing the corn for harvest. The result is anybody's guess.

"The question is, will this occur the world over? This would depend on the geographical areas. In the regions with different climates, things will happen in different ways. For instance, tropical land could become a land of ice, and the Arctic region could become tropical. This may occur during a pole shift according to Bahanna's concept. But this need not happen if we, the people, get our leaders to do something about the harmful things being done to the environment.

"It is said that, if the future generations find out that we did nothing to preserve the good ways, they might throw us from our houses into the streets. This suffering will be of our own making. The lack of peace in our own spiritual being could trigger the revolution. Our True White Brother might come and find we have forsaken the sacred instructions. Then he will whip us without mercy.

"Let us take a look into the future through the eyes of our prophets. Hopi were instructed to tell of the Great Purification just ahead of a time when Humankind would once again become highly civilized, tending to become careless and leading us to self-destruction. They said that, along the way, the industrialized world will have certain problems. People will be uncomfortable because of the changing times, and they will have to make adjustments to find new life styles.

"Industrialized nations will become careless in getting more the resources out of the earth. Believing all these things will last forever, soon natural resources will be depleted. Fuel shortages will occur; industrial machinery will come to a standstill. The machinery used for planting, harvesting and transport will become useless. Supermarket shelves will become empty of farm produce. The farmers and those who grow their own food will not sell their produce. Money will become worthless. The white man (Bahanna) with all his intelligence and technology will not be able to repair the damage. We will see extraordinary events in Nature and Earth, including humans: Modern man looks upon old wisdom and knowledge as dead, useless and no longer respected.

"Modern man depends on the money system and no longer on Mother Earth for food. According to prophecy when this happens Mother Earth will hide her nourishment because of the view that ancient food is poor man's food. When all food disappears, modern man will try to correct his mistake, the conditions he caused upon the earth through his inventions. He will try to achieve some kind of method to heal the wound, but this will not be possible when we reach the point of no return.

"The Hopi play a key role in the survival of the human race through their vital communion with the unseen forces that hold nature in balance and carry a heavy responsibility. The pattern is simple. "The whole world will shake and turn red and turn against those who are hindering the Hopi."

"This prophecy is related to the Biblical version of that which may yet come to pass. It goes on to say that common people will become concerned and frustrated because of their hectic world. They will be particularly against the bloodthirsty policies and the deceitfulness of the world leaders. The common people the world over will band together to fight for world peace. They will realize that their leaders have failed. People in high places will be hunted down like animals, perhaps through terrorism. In turn leaders will retaliate and begin hunting each other. This condition will gather strength and spread far and wide. It will get out of control the world over. Revolution could erupt on our land.

"The liberators will come in from the west with great force. They will drop down from the sky like rain. They will have no mercy. We must not get on the house tops to watch. They will shake us by our ears, like children who have been bad. This will be the final decisive battle between good and evil. This battle will cleanse the heart of people and restore our Mother Earth from illness, and the wicked will be gotten rid of.

"If this fails to materialize, our Great Creator through nature will do the task according to their [sic] plans. It could be total destruction in any form. Only brother and sister will survive to begin a new way of life. This prophecy is frightening and doubtful. Perhaps it is of no value to most people.

"Eventually a gourd full of ashes would be invented, which, if dropped from the sky, would boil the oceans and burn the land causing nothing to grow for many years. This would be the sign for a certain Hopi to bring out the teachings in order to warn the world that the third and final event would happen soon and could bring an end to all life unless people correct themselves and their leaders in time.

"The final stage, called The Great Day of Purification, has been described as a Mystery Egg in which the forces of the Swastika and the Sun plus a third force symbolized by the color red culminate either in total rebirth or total annihilation; we don't know which. But the choice is yours; war and natural catastrophe may be involved. The degree of violence will be determined by the degree of inequity caused among the peoples of the world and in the balance of nature. In this crisis rich and poor will be forced to struggle as equals in order to survive.

"The reality that it will be very violent is now almost taken for granted among Traditional Hopi, but man still may lessen the violence by correcting his treatment of nature and fellow man. Ancient, spiritually based communities, such as the Hopi, must especially be preserved and not forced to abandon their wise way of life and the natural resources they have vowed to protect.

"The man-made system now destroying the Hopi is deeply involved in similar violations throughout the world. The devastating reversal predicted in the prophecies is part of the natural order. If those who thrive from that system, its money and its laws, can manage to stop destroying the Hopi then many may be able to survive the Day of Purification and enter a new age of peace. But if no one is left to continue the Hopi way, the hope for such an age is in vain.

"Since mankind has lost peace with one another through conflict due to the new ways, the Great Spirit, the Great Creator, has punished the people in many ways. Through all of this there was always a small group who survived to keep the original ways of life alive. This small group is comprised of those who adhere to the laws of the Creator, who keep the spiritual path open, out from the circle of evil. According to our knowledge we are not quite out of the circle.

"Now we enter the time of testing that only the Great Creator can confirm. The alignment of the planets, we were so kindly informed of by the star watchers has been awaited by the Hopi. As the time nears, the predicted behavior of the people accurately describes the behavior of people in the 1990's. When the end is near, we will see a halo of mist around the heavenly bodies. Four times it will appear around the sun as a warning that we MUST reform.