[I have been asked several times recently to describe Hopi prophesy as it relates to the so-called end of this current Fourth World. There are many interpretations out there that are not particularly accurate, but the following transcript of the speech given to the UN by Thomas Banyaca is the real deal. So, for those of you who are interested in what the primordial culture in North America believes to be happening and why, here you go. The rest of you can move along--nothing to read here. ---chris]
Koyaanisqatsi:
translation: e.g., World Out of Balance, Crazy-Life, Life Disintegrating, A Way of Life
that Calls for Another Way of Living, People Working Against One Another
Presented to:
Chairman and members of the United Nations assembled
in Vancouver, B.C. Canada June 11, 1976
Gather with Us in Spiritual Unity to Ensure the Survival of Land and Life
INDEPENDENT NATION
Hopiland, Arizona
My name is [Thomas] Banyacya, of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote clan, and I am a member
of the Hopi Independent Nation. Since 1948 I have been appointed as an interpreter by
and for the hereditary Kikmongwis and traditional religious leaders of the Hopi people.
I am here to fulfill my clan duty by presenting to the United Nations and the world the
message of the hereditary Kikmongwis, traditional Hopi religious leaders, and other
Native Traditional Elders.
Today, I brought two Hopi initiated religious leaders who were authorized by
our Kikmongwis of Shungopavi and Oraibi Pueblos--the two oldest continually
inhabited villages in North America--to carry their sacred prayer feathers and
Message of Peace, and prophecies of warning for this day, as we were
instructed long ago by our ancestors.
Because we have seen world destruction before, we do not want to see it
happen again, when mankind put more emphasis on material rather than
spiritual things, when laws of nature were interfered with and ignored, and the
world was destroyed. A few humble people who adhered to the ways of the
Great Spirit were allowed to survive and became the ancestors who carried the
knowledge that is the Hopi spiritual Way. The word or name Hopi means peaceful
people. This means that any people who learn to live in peace with each other
and in harmony with nature are considered Hopi; the Hopi Way is universal.
The time has come to join in meaningful action. Once again, destruction of all
land and life is taking place and accelerating at a rapid pace. This year, 1976,
the U.S. Bicentennial is being celebrated. The question is, by whom? Our native
homeland continues to be torn apart and raped of its sacredness by the corporate
powers of the United States. We do have an alternative to this.
Mankind has a chance to change the suicidal direction of its path, do a
roundabout turn, and move in the direction of peace, harmony and respect for
land and life. The time is right now. Later will be too late. In order to do this the
Native People must return to the spiritual path in order to cure and heal our
Mother Earth. It is only through the heart, prayer, and ceremony that we can
bring this turbulence of evil everywhere to a halt.
According to many prophecies, the Day of Purification is near. This means
that human life has to be purified or punished by certain acts of the Great Spirit
due to the corruption, greed, and turning away from the Great Spirit's teachings.
The healing of this continent requires the Native Peoples, the First Inhabitants
of this land, those who were given the duty to safeguard the Great Spirit's
land and life and who want to follow His teachings and instructions.
In 1948, the Hopi Kikmongwis and religious Elders met for four days to
compare and remind each other of our ancient knowledge, most of which was kept
in their sacred kivas. These traditional Elders were 80, 90, and even 100 years old
and met in the circle, smoked their sacred pipes, and meditated. They then delivered
this ancient knowledge for the first time in public.
I feel strongly that they have a Message not only for the Hopi people and
other native brothers, but for the whole of humankind.
They told of the destruction of Tokpela, the First World, and the destruction of
the Second and Third. They talked of the present, Fourth World, from its creation;
how we came to this land, how we spread throughout the land, how to take care of it
and how the future will be if man again refuses to adhere to the spiritual balance in
harmony with nature. Everything in the prophecies has been fulfilled and I know the
Elders are speaking the truth.
I felt it is my sacred duty to relate this message at this time. Hopi and
other Native spiritual leaders are greatly concerned with the conditions of our
Mother Earth, and her children the native people who were the First People of
the western hemisphere. The traditional Elders have watched the white brothers
systematically destroy the Native people as they did the natural resources.
According to our beliefs and prophecies, if this destruction continues, man's
existence in this world will soon be ended. For this reason the First Peoples
of the Americas felt it necessary to hold a spiritual convention here in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in conjunction with the United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements. The great concern for the condition of the
world has brought us together to hold an Earth Healing Ceremony for Mother Earth,
June 10, 11 and 12 at early dawn 4:30 A.M. to dusk.
It is our hope that this Spiritual Unity conference and Healing Ceremony
brings together the First Peoples of the Americas as well as spiritual leaders of
all world faiths and religions. At our Healing Ceremonies we have been
discussing beliefs and prophecies of the First Peoples of North America to see how
they are similar and what these beliefs hold for the future of our planet.
The Hopi have one such tradition that explains the world's present situation.
The Hopi are an independent sovereign nation who have never signed a treaty
of any kind with the United States government. The Hopi people have been living
for thousands of years under their own form of self-government.
Through Hopi prophecy and belief, the religious leaders and rightful spokesmen
for the Hopi Independent Nations have been instructed by Massau'u the Great
Spirit to express this invitation to the world's peoples and all spiritual leaders
everywhere to meet with us here, now, and in Hopiland to discuss the welfare
of mankind so that Peace, Unity, and Brotherhood will become part of all men
everywhere.
We live a spiritual life in traditional Hopi form that was given to us long ago by
Massau'u. From Massau'u the Hopi and the other First Peoples of the Americas
were given special knowledge about the care of the sacred lands so as not to
disrupt the fragile harmony that holds man and nature and earth together. The
Hopi, caretakers of the earth in a spiritual way, have come to the United Nations
to help avert Global Disaster.
This is the Hopi Nation's third attempt to work through the United Nations to
notify the world of the crisis we are in. Our first attempt was after the Elders'
meeting in 1948 when we tried to present a statement to the General Assembly.
The Hopi were not allowed to talk on the floor of the Assembly, instead we were
told to submit a written statement. The elders of the Hopi Nation said no, that
according to Hopi instruction they must deliver a spontaneous spoken statement,
because to deliver a spontaneous talk is to give the words life and to speak from
the heart. It is ultimately the Hopi Way.
The Secretary-General's office of the United Nations refused this request to
hear the Hopi Elders in their own traditional way. So acting according to Hopi
beliefs, the Elders decided to wait four days to see if the people of the glass
house, the House of Mica, the United Nations, would change their position and
hear the Hopi speak. After four days of waiting the Hopis returned to the glass
house only to learn that the world organization still would not listen. As a
result the Hopi traveled to the capital of the Iroquois Nation at Onandaga where
they all met together. The first attempt to fulfill the sacred duty to inform
the world of the End-Time crisis it was in, had been blocked.
The second effort to contact the World's Peoples was once again through the
United Nations when the Temple of Understanding held a convention of the "five
great" religions of the world in New York City on October 20, 1975. This
organization invited the First Peoples of the United States to speak at the
session. During this conference the Hopi Nation presented a statement concerning
the role of western religions among the First Peoples.
The Hopis know that every nation and people have their own religion, and all
these religions are equally good. Hopi and all other Native First People in this
western hemisphere have their own spiritual beliefs and systems. Hopis believe
it is important for peoples to help other peoples but one must show respect
for other peoples and their religion and spiritual beliefs.
According to the Hopi it is absolutely necessary to turn the original idea of
missionizing around. For example, if a man is sick one should not just pray
for him or try to change his religion or belief system. The missionary should
help the sick man, take the ill man some water, feed him, clothe him, help the
man to live. He needs to be cured of his illness, not of his religion or spiritual
beliefs. Hopis are not against other religions or beliefs; they are opposed
to those who try to destroy a people or a nation in the name of a religion.
This was part of the message the Hopi Nation presented to the Temple of
Understanding conference. At the close of the conference the participants
prepared a statement to be presented to the United Nations. It did not recognize
the traditional religion of our people nor did it represent the view of the Hopi
Nation or of the other First Peoples of the United States. Instead, what the
statement of the Temple of Understanding did was to uphold and reaffirm their faith
in the political, economic, and social systems of the western world.
For example, the Temple of Understanding conference participants state that
"education," in the western tradition, breaks down false barriers by introducing
ideas from outside one's religious tradition. Education, to the participants,
allows for the development of ways to understand other religious traditions.
These ideas are ironic considering the fact that western education in the
Americas is not to liberate the First Peoples of this land but to oppress us and
force us to separate from our spiritual systems, cultures, and homelands.
This western educational system imposes different ideas, beliefs and ways of
doing things on the First Peoples of the Americas, supposedly to break down
barriers; to the contrary, it has constructed barriers. Because this final
statement in 1975 did not represent the views and beliefs of the First Peoples
and failed to recognize the spiritual religion of the Hopi and the other First
Nations, we withdrew our support of the statement and tried to present a
statement of our own to the United Nations.
Both the United Nations and the Temple of Understanding conference
refused to support the Hopi effort to gain recognition as a world spiritual
religion; the United Nations does not listen to the First Peoples of this land.
The second attempt to fulfill the sacred duty of warning the world through
the United Nations had failed as prophesied by the Hopi spiritual leaders.
This message today is our third and perhaps final attempt to inform the world
of the present dangerous status of man's existence on Mother Earth. We are not
asking the United Nations for help in a material way.
We are, according to Hopi prophecy, simply trying to inform the world of what
is going to happen if the destruction of Mother Earth and her Original Peoples
continues as is known by our religious Elders. We do not come before the
United Nations in order to join it. We come to fulfill our Hopi sacred mission and
ancient prophecy in order to find one, two or three nations who should
recognize their sacred duty to stop the destruction of the First Peoples' land
and life throughout the western hemisphere.
End of Part One
Koyaanisqatsi:
translation: e.g., World Out of Balance, Crazy-Life, Life Disintegrating, A Way of Life
that Calls for Another Way of Living, People Working Against One Another
Presented to:
Chairman and members of the United Nations assembled
in Vancouver, B.C. Canada June 11, 1976
Gather with Us in Spiritual Unity to Ensure the Survival of Land and Life
INDEPENDENT NATION
Hopiland, Arizona
My name is [Thomas] Banyacya, of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote clan, and I am a member
of the Hopi Independent Nation. Since 1948 I have been appointed as an interpreter by
and for the hereditary Kikmongwis and traditional religious leaders of the Hopi people.
I am here to fulfill my clan duty by presenting to the United Nations and the world the
message of the hereditary Kikmongwis, traditional Hopi religious leaders, and other
Native Traditional Elders.
Today, I brought two Hopi initiated religious leaders who were authorized by
our Kikmongwis of Shungopavi and Oraibi Pueblos--the two oldest continually
inhabited villages in North America--to carry their sacred prayer feathers and
Message of Peace, and prophecies of warning for this day, as we were
instructed long ago by our ancestors.
Because we have seen world destruction before, we do not want to see it
happen again, when mankind put more emphasis on material rather than
spiritual things, when laws of nature were interfered with and ignored, and the
world was destroyed. A few humble people who adhered to the ways of the
Great Spirit were allowed to survive and became the ancestors who carried the
knowledge that is the Hopi spiritual Way. The word or name Hopi means peaceful
people. This means that any people who learn to live in peace with each other
and in harmony with nature are considered Hopi; the Hopi Way is universal.
The time has come to join in meaningful action. Once again, destruction of all
land and life is taking place and accelerating at a rapid pace. This year, 1976,
the U.S. Bicentennial is being celebrated. The question is, by whom? Our native
homeland continues to be torn apart and raped of its sacredness by the corporate
powers of the United States. We do have an alternative to this.
Mankind has a chance to change the suicidal direction of its path, do a
roundabout turn, and move in the direction of peace, harmony and respect for
land and life. The time is right now. Later will be too late. In order to do this the
Native People must return to the spiritual path in order to cure and heal our
Mother Earth. It is only through the heart, prayer, and ceremony that we can
bring this turbulence of evil everywhere to a halt.
According to many prophecies, the Day of Purification is near. This means
that human life has to be purified or punished by certain acts of the Great Spirit
due to the corruption, greed, and turning away from the Great Spirit's teachings.
The healing of this continent requires the Native Peoples, the First Inhabitants
of this land, those who were given the duty to safeguard the Great Spirit's
land and life and who want to follow His teachings and instructions.
In 1948, the Hopi Kikmongwis and religious Elders met for four days to
compare and remind each other of our ancient knowledge, most of which was kept
in their sacred kivas. These traditional Elders were 80, 90, and even 100 years old
and met in the circle, smoked their sacred pipes, and meditated. They then delivered
this ancient knowledge for the first time in public.
I feel strongly that they have a Message not only for the Hopi people and
other native brothers, but for the whole of humankind.
They told of the destruction of Tokpela, the First World, and the destruction of
the Second and Third. They talked of the present, Fourth World, from its creation;
how we came to this land, how we spread throughout the land, how to take care of it
and how the future will be if man again refuses to adhere to the spiritual balance in
harmony with nature. Everything in the prophecies has been fulfilled and I know the
Elders are speaking the truth.
I felt it is my sacred duty to relate this message at this time. Hopi and
other Native spiritual leaders are greatly concerned with the conditions of our
Mother Earth, and her children the native people who were the First People of
the western hemisphere. The traditional Elders have watched the white brothers
systematically destroy the Native people as they did the natural resources.
According to our beliefs and prophecies, if this destruction continues, man's
existence in this world will soon be ended. For this reason the First Peoples
of the Americas felt it necessary to hold a spiritual convention here in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in conjunction with the United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements. The great concern for the condition of the
world has brought us together to hold an Earth Healing Ceremony for Mother Earth,
June 10, 11 and 12 at early dawn 4:30 A.M. to dusk.
It is our hope that this Spiritual Unity conference and Healing Ceremony
brings together the First Peoples of the Americas as well as spiritual leaders of
all world faiths and religions. At our Healing Ceremonies we have been
discussing beliefs and prophecies of the First Peoples of North America to see how
they are similar and what these beliefs hold for the future of our planet.
The Hopi have one such tradition that explains the world's present situation.
The Hopi are an independent sovereign nation who have never signed a treaty
of any kind with the United States government. The Hopi people have been living
for thousands of years under their own form of self-government.
Through Hopi prophecy and belief, the religious leaders and rightful spokesmen
for the Hopi Independent Nations have been instructed by Massau'u the Great
Spirit to express this invitation to the world's peoples and all spiritual leaders
everywhere to meet with us here, now, and in Hopiland to discuss the welfare
of mankind so that Peace, Unity, and Brotherhood will become part of all men
everywhere.
We live a spiritual life in traditional Hopi form that was given to us long ago by
Massau'u. From Massau'u the Hopi and the other First Peoples of the Americas
were given special knowledge about the care of the sacred lands so as not to
disrupt the fragile harmony that holds man and nature and earth together. The
Hopi, caretakers of the earth in a spiritual way, have come to the United Nations
to help avert Global Disaster.
This is the Hopi Nation's third attempt to work through the United Nations to
notify the world of the crisis we are in. Our first attempt was after the Elders'
meeting in 1948 when we tried to present a statement to the General Assembly.
The Hopi were not allowed to talk on the floor of the Assembly, instead we were
told to submit a written statement. The elders of the Hopi Nation said no, that
according to Hopi instruction they must deliver a spontaneous spoken statement,
because to deliver a spontaneous talk is to give the words life and to speak from
the heart. It is ultimately the Hopi Way.
The Secretary-General's office of the United Nations refused this request to
hear the Hopi Elders in their own traditional way. So acting according to Hopi
beliefs, the Elders decided to wait four days to see if the people of the glass
house, the House of Mica, the United Nations, would change their position and
hear the Hopi speak. After four days of waiting the Hopis returned to the glass
house only to learn that the world organization still would not listen. As a
result the Hopi traveled to the capital of the Iroquois Nation at Onandaga where
they all met together. The first attempt to fulfill the sacred duty to inform
the world of the End-Time crisis it was in, had been blocked.
The second effort to contact the World's Peoples was once again through the
United Nations when the Temple of Understanding held a convention of the "five
great" religions of the world in New York City on October 20, 1975. This
organization invited the First Peoples of the United States to speak at the
session. During this conference the Hopi Nation presented a statement concerning
the role of western religions among the First Peoples.
The Hopis know that every nation and people have their own religion, and all
these religions are equally good. Hopi and all other Native First People in this
western hemisphere have their own spiritual beliefs and systems. Hopis believe
it is important for peoples to help other peoples but one must show respect
for other peoples and their religion and spiritual beliefs.
According to the Hopi it is absolutely necessary to turn the original idea of
missionizing around. For example, if a man is sick one should not just pray
for him or try to change his religion or belief system. The missionary should
help the sick man, take the ill man some water, feed him, clothe him, help the
man to live. He needs to be cured of his illness, not of his religion or spiritual
beliefs. Hopis are not against other religions or beliefs; they are opposed
to those who try to destroy a people or a nation in the name of a religion.
This was part of the message the Hopi Nation presented to the Temple of
Understanding conference. At the close of the conference the participants
prepared a statement to be presented to the United Nations. It did not recognize
the traditional religion of our people nor did it represent the view of the Hopi
Nation or of the other First Peoples of the United States. Instead, what the
statement of the Temple of Understanding did was to uphold and reaffirm their faith
in the political, economic, and social systems of the western world.
For example, the Temple of Understanding conference participants state that
"education," in the western tradition, breaks down false barriers by introducing
ideas from outside one's religious tradition. Education, to the participants,
allows for the development of ways to understand other religious traditions.
These ideas are ironic considering the fact that western education in the
Americas is not to liberate the First Peoples of this land but to oppress us and
force us to separate from our spiritual systems, cultures, and homelands.
This western educational system imposes different ideas, beliefs and ways of
doing things on the First Peoples of the Americas, supposedly to break down
barriers; to the contrary, it has constructed barriers. Because this final
statement in 1975 did not represent the views and beliefs of the First Peoples
and failed to recognize the spiritual religion of the Hopi and the other First
Nations, we withdrew our support of the statement and tried to present a
statement of our own to the United Nations.
Both the United Nations and the Temple of Understanding conference
refused to support the Hopi effort to gain recognition as a world spiritual
religion; the United Nations does not listen to the First Peoples of this land.
The second attempt to fulfill the sacred duty of warning the world through
the United Nations had failed as prophesied by the Hopi spiritual leaders.
This message today is our third and perhaps final attempt to inform the world
of the present dangerous status of man's existence on Mother Earth. We are not
asking the United Nations for help in a material way.
We are, according to Hopi prophecy, simply trying to inform the world of what
is going to happen if the destruction of Mother Earth and her Original Peoples
continues as is known by our religious Elders. We do not come before the
United Nations in order to join it. We come to fulfill our Hopi sacred mission and
ancient prophecy in order to find one, two or three nations who should
recognize their sacred duty to stop the destruction of the First Peoples' land
and life throughout the western hemisphere.
End of Part One