The Olmec/Jaredite History and Hopi Ceremonies

Hopi Katchinas performing during a ceremony

This post has been put together to share what may be possible ties of the Hopi Pueblo tribe to that of the Jaredites.  I have shared multiple blog posts that show correlations between the Hopi and the Nephite and Lamanite civilizations but this time I will be sharing a short insight shared by Helen Sekaquaptewa in her book "Me and Mine" that shows knowledge of past times of the confounding of languages at the tower of Babel.  This is where the Jaredite civilization began.  If we read in the Book of Mormon in the Book of Ether 1:33 we read,

"Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered". 

It was this group of Jared and his brother (Mahonri Moriancumr) and their friends and families that were lead to a promised land where they grew to be a great civilization that ultimately due to pride and greed destroyed the majority of its population divided through war.  It is believed that this civilization is the Olmec civilization found in central America also known as the father civilization to the Maya. The time frame of the Olmec and the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon fit nicely together (around 2500 BC to 500 BC). 

If the Hopi traditional stories and sacred ceremonies tell the truth about their past than many of the clans that make up the Hopi once resided in Mesoamerica or the land southward.  They state that the Maya were Hopi that didn't complete following there wanderings and as I stated in a previous post this may be a case of the tale wagging the dog but either way their past involved their ancestors at one point in time residing in Mesoamerica.  It may very well be that they are descendants of not only of the Maya but of their predecessors the Olmec.  

Olmec Alter

In speaking of the traditional ceremonies that tell the stories of their past Helen Sekaquaptewa shared the following. "One Hopi ceremony re-enacts the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel.  We were in Hotevilla two times during this performance.  It is done during the night.  Those men not eligible to participate, and the women and children of the village were not allowed to stay in their own homes if they lived close to certain kivas, but had to go to the other end of the village and spend the night with relatives or friends.  I was curious and didn't go to sleep .  I could hear the tinkle of tiny bells, then big bells, and then the tramping of many feet as the performers came together in the middle of the night.  You never heard anything more confusing; all talking at the top of their voices; none speaking their own tongue, but rather making a babble of sound, yelling loudly.  Certainly a dramatic reproduction of the Tower of Babel. 

If indeed the above shared traditional ceremony is done in remembrance of the ancestors who took part in the confounding of tongues this would make the placement of the Jaredites and Hopi and the correlation between their history in the right locations as well.  This would also add authenticity to the history of the Book of Mormon.  Although we only have traditional stories this is something that future research may be able to add more too.