Kim Obrzut
Morning Song
by Kim Obrzut
Size: 28"H x 12.5"W x 11"DMedium: Bronze
Edition Size: 75
As the days grow shorter...
and the weather gets cooler, the Hopi people await a morning song from the village crier. The village crier has announced through song that a Butterfly Dance will take place in four weeks.
The Butterfly Dance is a two day ceremony for the young, unmarried girls. Butterflies represent many things; they represent renewal and spring. The delicate being represents beauty, fertility, balance, freedom and nature.
Days before the dance, the young maiden will be guided by her Mother, Grandmother and Aunts to help her understand her role in the ceremony and the meanings behind it. They also learn what it means to be a Hopi woman with purpose and meaning within the Hopi culture. The maidens will learn thirty-two songs prior to the ceremony and all the dances to go in harmony with them.
After the village crier, after the four weeks, after the preparations and after the Maiden has learned all that she needs from her relatives, the day will finally come. She is adorned in her manta, her headdress, her bangs that covers her eyes, representing falling rain, and beautiful jewelry. Her headdress is colored with beautiful bright designs representing her clan symbols.