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Description
Hopi, formerly called Moki or (Spanish) Moqui, the westernmost group of Pueblo Indians, situated in what is now northeastern Arizona, on the edge of the Painted Desert. They speak a Northern Uto-Aztecan language. The precise origin of the Hopi is unknown, although it is thought that they and other Pueblo peoples descended from the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi), whom the Hopi call Hisatsinom, “Ancient People.”

Archaeology has revealed that some abandoned pueblos, such as Sikyatki and Awatovi, were once occupied by Hopi people. Hopi origin traditions tell that their ancestors climbed upward through underground chambers called kivas and lived in many places before reaching their present settlements in this, the Fourth World.

Traditional Hopi culture emphasized monogamy and matrilineal descent. Hopi people also practiced matrilocal residence, in which a new husband becomes part of his mother-in-law’s household. A given pueblo, or town, might include two dozen or more matrilineal clans; these were grouped into several larger social units, or phratries.

Description
Hopi, formerly called Moki or (Spanish) Moqui, the westernmost group of Pueblo Indians, situated in what is now northeastern Arizona, on the edge of the Painted Desert. They speak a Northern Uto-Aztecan language. The precise origin of the Hopi is unknown, although it is thought that they and other Pueblo peoples descended from the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi), whom the Hopi call Hisatsinom, “Ancient People.”

Archaeology has revealed that some abandoned pueblos, such as Sikyatki and Awatovi, were once occupied by Hopi people. Hopi origin traditions tell that their ancestors climbed upward through underground chambers called kivas and lived in many places before reaching their present settlements in this, the Fourth World.

Traditional Hopi culture emphasized monogamy and matrilineal descent. Hopi people also practiced matrilocal residence, in which a new husband becomes part of his mother-in-law’s household. A given pueblo, or town, might include two dozen or more matrilineal clans; these were grouped into several larger social units, or phratries.