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Kiva

Kiva: Encyclopedia - Kiva

This article is about the Native American sacred structure. For the cartoon character, see Megas XLR. A kiva is a room used by modern Puebloans for religious rituals. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, kivas are now square-walled and above-ground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies. Similar subterranean rooms among the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of the Pueblo I Era and following, designated by the Pecos Classification system developed by archaeologists, were usually round, and generally believed to have been used ...

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Kiva - Reference

Kiva, Kiva - Reference

Kiva: Encyclopedia - Kiva

Kiva

This article is about the Native American sacred structure. For the cartoon character, see Megas XLR.

A kiva is a room used by modern Puebloans for religious rituals. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, kivas are now square-walled and above-ground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies.

Similar subterranean rooms among the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of the Pueblo I Era and following, designated by the Pecos Classification system developed by archaeologists, were usually round, and generally believed to have been used for religious and other communal purposes.

Kivas are entered through a hole in the roof. A stone bench for sitting lines the inside wall, sometimes interrupted by support columns for the roof. There is usually a hole or indentation in the floor, now called a sipapu. Pueblo belief systems state the the sipapu symbolizes the connection from birth with Mother Earth. It may also represent the spot from which the original inhabitants emerged from the lower world. Near the center of the kiva is a fire pit. A ventilation shaft on one side supplies floor-level air for the fire.

As cultural changes occured, particularly during the Pueblo III period between 1150 and 1300, some kivas were also built above ground. Kiva architecture became more elaborate, with tower kivas and great kivas incorporating specialized floor features. For example, kivas found in Mesa Verde were generally keyhole shaped. In most larger communities, it was normal to find one kiva for each five or six rooms used as residences. However, after 1325 or 1350, except in the Hopi region, the ratio changed to 60 to 90 rooms for each kiva. This may indicate an organizational change within the society, perhaps affecting the status and number of clans among the Pueblo people.