“August Rain”

Her elaborate headdress is worn at the Butterfly Dance which is a social dance of celebration done in August after the gathering of the harvest. This dance is performed by the young Hopi maidens who are thanking the rain which has resulted in an abundant harvest. On the back of her headdress are the ever important corn, clouds and rain. Corn is the lifeblood of the Hopi and the rain sustains the corn.

Corn is the heart of the Hopi diet and has provided the Hopi with life for nearly a millennium. The connection between the people and the corn is pervasive and deeply sacred. Corn and the maiden together are the most important to the Hopi culture, both are necessities for survival.

She has no face, which symbolizes the egalitarian society of the Hopi people. She represents a people, not an individual. The Hopi thought is: One Mind, one Body and one Spirit. The body is in the shape of a gourd, the oldest utilitarian vessel known to mankind. The gourd is used as storage, to carry water, to shape pottery and as a rattle in ceremonies.