The Hopi Candles

Materials- candle ( 2cm diameter), matchbook, 2 toothpicks, Limewater solution, string, aluminum foil, Cobalt Chloride paper

Blending old with new, traditional and modern Western medicine and treatment give the Navajo the best of both worlds culturally. Medicine from the Navajo perspective is about healing people by restoring balance and harmony to the spirit. Prayer as well as balance healing rituals like “Walking in Beauty” (O’Brien,

The Hopi Indians are Native Americans who lived on 1.5 million acres of reservation in Northeastern Arizona. In the beginning, the Hopi Indians were a hunting and gathering group divided into small groups that lived in pit houses. (A pit-house is a building that is partly dug into the ground and covered by a roof.) Around 700 A.D. the Hopi Indians became an agricultural tribe by growing blue ears of corn by using runoff from the mesas.(A mesa is an isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides.). In the late 1200’s a ginormous drought forced 36 of the 47 villages on the Hopi mesas to be abandoned. Following the massive drought, the 11 remaining villages increased in size where then three new villages were established in Northeastern Arizona.

The Hopi tribe were villagers and farmers. Their villages were located in the lofty plateaus of northern Arizona. The Hopi tribe have kept their culture intact due to living

Did you know that the Hopi Tribe in located in Northeastern Arizona? The reservation is almost 2.5 million acres in size and and located in Arizona near the four corners area. The Hopi's where expert farming people. They planted corn,beans,squash,as well as cotton and tobacco,and raised turkeys for their meat. Hopi men also hunted deer,antelope,and small game,while women gathered nuts,fruits,and herbs. Todaythe 7,360 Hopi's live in mesas.

The candle maker’s job helped the rich and poor. Since, some peasants couldn’t afford beeswax candles they bought tallow candles which were made out of animal fat. The animal fat burned faster than the beeswax candles, and had a smokier flame than beeswax candles. Which is why the tallow candles were cheaper. Rich people usually bought beeswax candles because they lasted longer and were nicer than the tallow candles. Also, tallow candles gave off a foul stench.

There are three parts to the way that traditional Navajos view sickness and healing. There is ceremonial healing, church healing and biomedical healing. The ceremonial healing traditionally been the main avenue for health care on Navajo lands. This involves ritual healing performed by a Shaman. Native american church healing involves work with the church and involves faith and a priest. Biomedical healing is relatively new on the reservation (Csordas 2000). The implementation of Indian Health Services has really opened the door for the Navajo reservations. They are able to receive modern health care when they had to go hundreds of miles before.

Many Alaskan Natives and Native Indians, also known as American Indians, share the same or similar views on health and medicine. Their definition of “traditional medicine” incorporates medicine and religion, various chants and rituals, and being one with Earth (Broome, B., Broome, R., 2007). “In the United States we are challenged to think about health care from our tradition as a cultural melting pot. Therefore, we must address the large range of individual health care needs from populations living the inner-city and suburbia to those in rural environments.” (O 'Brien, Anslow, Begay, Pereira, & Sullivan, 2002). It is important for healthcare workers to understand the views of American Indians in order to integrate their traditional medicine as well as western medicine. Examining areas such as common health conditions, treatments, and attitudes towards health, natural and alternative health will lead to a better capability of providing culturally competent care.

In spite of the Navajo reservation, which includes northeastern Arizona and part of the south-east Utah from the part northwestern New Mexico, home to about 300,000 people, the people trained to be doctors to heal tribal preparing the fingers. Therefore, the development of the elders of the tribe in 2002, a special program for training its goal to recruit more young people to teach them the Navajo rituals and ceremonies practiced by doctors Almdawon.

This article focuses on the Revolutionary period of Colonial Williamsburg when candles were a primary light source in homes. At this time in history there were four primary substances used in making candles, spermaceti, tallow, beeswax, and myrtle or bayberry wax. The three latter substances were produced in Virginia. Methods of making these candles and how they were shaped are described in the article.

The United States is home to five hundred and seventy-eight federally recognized indigenous tribes and twenty-one of those tribes reside in Arizona. In fact, Arizona State Tempe campus is located on the ancestral homelands of the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) people. Native American healing is a unique system that varies from tribe to tribe but most share similar characteristics of treatment. Native American healing goes back thousands of years before the European settlers migrated to North America. The indigenous people at the time were familiar with plants, herbs, smoke, prayers, and chants to treat illnesses. It is believed that the indigenous population may have known more about the plants and herbs than today which kept illness and disease away. Native Americans believe in being in harmony with oneself, mother earth, and father sky. Native American healing takes a holistic approach which focuses on the body, mind, emotion and spirit during treatment. According to National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), “Native American (NA) traditional healing is identified as a whole medical system that encompasses a range of holistic treatments used by indigenous healers for a multitude of acute and chronic conditions or to promote health and wellbeing.”2 When the Europeans migrated to North America they brought new diseases such as smallpox which devastated the indigenous population. Millions of the indigenous

In the Southwestern portion of the United States, there are several Native American tribal communities including the Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo, and Zuni. After researching all of these tribes, the Hopi tribal community showed to have numerous dance rituals for different purposes. Their ritual dances include the Buffalo Dance, Bean Dance, Butterfly Dance, Snake Dance, and many others. With all of these dances in place, the Hopi have a strong history behind them. The Hopi tribe has mostly lived in Arizona since 500-700 CE. They are known as one of the oldest tribes and have continued to stay strong even after their contact with the Europeans in the 1500s. The Hopis are also known for their agriculture and dry farming which is necessary because of the lack of water their area received. One dance that they do is centered on praying for rain and that is the Snake Dance. The Snake Dance came from the earliest forms in the Hopi tribe and they believe that their ancestors came from an underworld and their spirits rest in the waters. Snakes are very abundant in the rivers and beds of water so the Hopi people call the

Millhouse Candles has an article on their website with a timeline of candle history. “A Short History of Candles” outlines this history from 3000 BC to present. This outline is broken up into four periods, 3000 to 1 BC, 1 BC to 1500 AD, 1500 AD to 1799 AD, and 1800 AD to present. Each of these time periods contain facts about the cultures that were making candles, the materials used for the candles within the periods and a technological advancement for that time.

This candle holder is a bottle neck pillar candle holder offered by Pier 1 Imports. The candle accessory is decorated in abstract design in neutral colors.  Pier 1 Imports searches out artisans throughout the world to help them find and develop and develop fashion trends designed specifically for their customers.

At one time, scented candles were a rare luxury to be enjoyed only by the rich while the rest of us made do with the ordinary white candles during power cuts and at Christmas time. However, that has all changed, and an endless variety of fragrances are filling our homes and relaxing us. Candles are just one of these sources of wonderful smells, but they are also a very popular source, partially because of the number of different forms in which they are available but also because they look so good with their burning flame.