Anyone know of a Hopi tradition of smashing a pot ( in reverence to elders) before moving from land to land?

Question

I have some friends who are very into American Indian traditions, artwork, customs, that are moving at the end of August from Texas to New Mexico. They are leaving a home they have lived in for more than 20 years. I want to celebrate the time they enjoyed at the home, (as a going away gift, and to honor the move), with a Hopi tradition I read about somewhere. If I remember correctly, the tradition says to smash a small pot, on the land, as a sign of reverence to the elders. This leaves a mark on that the land you are leaving; leaving a sign (the smashed pot) as a symbol that you were once of that land, before moving on to a new land. I am trying to make sure I understand best how to honor this tradition, thus my question. I want to know as much as I can about this traditon when I present my friends with a small Hopi pot for smashing, so I can explain my intentions, and my actions.

Answer 1

I grew up near the Hopi reservations and have not heard that tradition before. Which is not to say it may not be true. However, it seems a little odd for it to be a Hopi tradition since they are not nomadic and have lived on the same mesa-top villages for hundreds of years (Old Oraibi is one of the longest inhabited places in the US).

They might have had a tradition of doing something like this when moving into a new home or moving from one village to another (due to marriage, etc), but it seems odd that they would have strong traditions about leaving the land, since they are one of the 'least moving' of the Native American cultures.

It is true that their ancestors (the Ancestral Puebloan, AKA Anasazi) would often bury pots with their dead where the pot or bowl would have a small hole chipped through the bottom (refered to as a 'killed pot') which symbolically represented the freeing of the spirit.

Answer 2

It's my understanding that when they bury the pot, they are returning what they took from the Earth to the Earth. This is what happens when the pot is not usable anymore, ie. it has a crack in it. I'm not sure it has anything to do with ancestor stuff. But this doesn't mean that what you're saying doesn't exist. It's just I don't know any more than what I told you.

Answer 3

It also released the spirits within the pot.