The Mormons and the Hopi: a Study of Prophecy
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The Mormons and The Hopi: A Study of Prophecy Daniel Eggertsson Submitted: April 20, 2005 Religious Studies RST490 Independent Study Graduation Expected: Spring 2005 Word Count: 14947 Introduction This project addresses the concept of prophecy and the role it plays in how the “other” is fit into the religious and cultural framework of a specific group. Not only do the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and Hopi have independently rich prophetic traditions, their prophecies and histories intersect in a variety of revealing ways. The goal of this analysis is to get as specific as possible to the prophetic issues pertaining to both the Mormons and Hopi and relate them to the larger context of how the conception of the “other” fits into a group’s culture and religion. This paper starts with an overview of the general histories of both the Hopi and the Mormons in the United States. Where did these groups come from, where do they live, how long have they been there, and what makes them unique? Answering these questions provides a good background to how these groups came in contact with one another. Next, the paper will address the specific historical interactions of Mormon and Hopi. Finally, it will analyze the specific prophecies of both groups, exploring how they relate to each other and how they relate to the relevant historical, political, economic and religious forces that have acted upon them. The final goal is to present an interpretation of prophecy and show that one of its functions has been to enable the “other,” who is at first a dangerous, or, minimally, unknown category, to be fit safely into the cosmic order of a group so that there is a definite hope for future cultural preservation. Prophecy also functions by placing the “other” into a neutral/shared category or, more extremely, it can act negatively as a religious critique of the group itself and/or the “other.” This paper will show that Mormon/Hopi relations began long before the two groups first met in the mid 19th century as both groups had previously encountered in 1 some form or another groups similar to the other and these previous interactions brought forth strong ideological weight. These relations will form a theme that will repeat itself in this paper: both the Hopi and Mormons are minority groups whom are isolated and vulnerable. Therefore, religious ideology is a critical tool that must not only maintain group identity, but promote practical relationships with the “other” in the present. The desired future is one of prosperity and a return to the “traditional.” The religious pragmatics of the present are significantly based upon ideological idealizations of the past that shape what the desired and prosperous future will be for the group. This paper uses the terms “religion,” “culture,” and “politics” extensively, therefore it is beneficial to the reader and the arguments of this paper to establish some sort of working definitions for them. The reader should consider their necessity, but understand that they are not the ultimate goal of the paper and continue to understand my larger and more important arguments. Background on Prophecy This paper builds upon the premise that the prophecies of the Hopi and Mormons are affected by the cultural, political, economic and historical forces that surround them. Further, prophecies act as a vehicle that may direct the “other” away from being a potentially threatening group into an integral part of a desired future and they can also push the “other” entirely out of the future. Whichever direction prophecy take the “other,” it is always incorporating them somehow or another into their own cosmology. Further, prophecy can be used as an authoritative religious critique of the “other.” Prophecy speaks loudly about the state of the culture of the people and how they choose to identify themselves. As Armin Geertz argues, “…myth is used by the Hopis not only 2 as a strategy to define themselves but also to define themselves in relation to other peoples.”1 Prophecy speaks specifically to how people want to define themselves. Prophecy emphasizes an ideal reflection of a group’s past, what makes the group unique in the present, and shapes the desirable structure for the future. Prophecy solely represents the point of view of the person(s), or group(s) that create and emphasize it. This paper will follow what Armin Geertz argues is necessary to a comprehensive analysis of prophecy: Prophecy clearly fulfills deep-seated needs, and it plays a pivotal role in social and political strategies. It is therefore useful for our analysis to characterize the ways in which prophecies are used, to identify interest groups that manipulate the cosmological mythology, and to identify the themes that are meaningful to these groups.2 My interpretations of the relevant Hopi and Mormon prophecies will follow Geertz’s analytical suggestions. A variety of lines divide the Hopi, like they do to all groups. Each sub-group invokes Hopi “tradition” to its own end. Overall, most Hopi feel that they face a cultural survival today that is aimed at preserving them as an independent and sovereign tribal nation with a unique language, history and religious life. In most cases, the ultimate goal is autonomy from the dominant culture. Mormon prophecies are also divided along a number lines, but they also follow a larger pattern that contains essential elements that most members of the group identify with. Historically, many Mormons believe that whites are the true rulers and that in order for there to be peace and for God to reign, the rest of the world must become “civilized” or “converted” into white culture and religion. Anglo-Saxon and Western European culture, founded upon “proper” Christian morals is what I would refer to as, “white 1 Geertz, Armin W. The Invention of Prophesy: Continuity and Meaning in Hopi Indian Religion (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994), 59. 2 Armin W. Geertz, The Invention of Prophesy, 58. 3 culture and religion” in this case. This includes a tenacious desire for land and wealth accumulation, as well as political power and always being in the position of ruler and never in a position of vulnerability. Bruce Lincoln deals in depth with myths in various religious traditions and, in his analysis, “prophecy” may be regarded as a sub-set of “myth.” When he writes about myths that are set in the future, or deal with the future, he is also addressing prophecy: Yet there are other myths, and extremely important ones, that are set not in the past but in the future, a mythic future that–like the mythic past–enters discourse in the present always and only for the reasons of the present. What is more, such myths may well be (and have often been) contested territory as competing segments of society seek to appropriate them and turn them to their own interests, be those interests the preservation of the status quo or the reconstruction of society in some radically new form.3 Myths or “prophecy” is therefore something that expresses the discourse or ideology of the group in the present as a result of the situation(s) that the group faces in the present. Lincoln argues that prophecy is highly politicized and this study will support his position. Segments of both Mormon and Hopi society compete for power and their individual interests through the use of prophecy, even though they do the best job they can to make it seem like they have the best interests of the larger group in mind. Lincoln uses an example from Iranian religion to illustrate a point that will later come up in this study: prophecy can take the present in a variety of directions in the future. First, prophecy can have a “positive” ending in which the future will bring a merging with the “other” and other groups into a society of equality and mutual sharing: “Here, social classes may be viewed as the result of demonic assault, with the corollary expectation that the estates merge into an egalitarian social body congruent to the single, 3 Lincoln, Bruce. Discourse and the Construction of Society: Comparative Studies of Myth, Ritual and Classification (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 38. 4 physical body from which they all came.”4 Importantly, prophecy creates the “other” not as something that is wholly different, but only something that is different in the present state of things, but all groups came from the same place in the past and will return to this primordial beginning in the future. Likewise or oppositely, prophecy can promote separation from the “other” and link the mixing of the groups in the present as the cause of the group’s current problems: “The evils of the final age are characterized by nothing so much as by intermixture, that is the state in which categories fall together that ought (according to traditional norms and the text’s viewpoint) be held apart.”5 Prophecy acts negatively towards the “other” through group politics that constructs boundaries according to their own interest that shut out the “other” for a variety of reasons. The specifics of prophecies are worked out according to the social, economic and religious affiliations of the individuals who promote, espouse them.6 Prophecy is a strategy to project one’s preferred social order into the present or often a critique of the present social order by forecasting the future doom it will lead to. These kinds of prophecies can, and have been powerful tools of the upper and ruling classes in justifying or mystifying the inequalities of the present.