Also Known As: Taawa, Taiowa, Sun Shield Kachina

In Hopi beliefs, Tawa is the Sun Spirit or Sun Kachina. In many of the Hopi creation stories, Tawa is featured in them.

Description

Tawa is often shown with a round headdress resembling the sun. This headdress is made using eagle feathers that represent strength and virility. The center of the mask will be colored blue with a face showing an expression of joy or bliss.

Depending on the stories or ceremonies, Tawa is said to hold a similar role to Nakiachop, the Silent Warrior Kachina or Talavai the Morning Kachina, standing to the side holding a spruce tree in his left hand and a bell in his right hand. During the Mixed Dance, Tawa is seen holding a flute in his left hand.

Hopi Cosmology

The Hopi believe that the world has been created four times. That Tawa created the First World from the endless space known as Tokpella.

First World – When Tawa created the First World, only insect-like creatures lived there. They were miserable living in their caves.

Second World – As the creatures of the First World were unhappy, Tawa sent the spirit known as Spider Grandmother to lead the creatures on a long journey to the Second World. In this new world, the creatures took on the appearances of bears and wolves.

Third World – Legends from the Orabi language tell that this world was destroyed by Tawa with a great flood as the people of that world were not living how Tawa said they should. Plus, the fact they still weren’t any happier than before. Spider Grandmother was sent once again to lead the creatures to the Fourth World and by the time they arrived, they had become people.

Fourth World – Hopi cosmology and beliefs say that the earth people live on is the Fourth World, also created by Tawa with help from Kokyangwuti. In the Fourth World, Spider Grandmother taught all the people pottery and weaving. A hummingbird is said to have brought them a fire drill.

Entrance To The Fourth World – In Mesa Verde National Park, there is an Ancestral Puebloan petroglyph that shows where the Ancient Puebloans emerged from the earth to the Fourth World. The petroglyph is a boxy, spiral shape. In the center is the “sipapu” where the ancient Puebloans exited from.

Hopi Creation Stories

There are two different stories among the Hopi about the sun and creator god Tawa.

First Story – Tawa is said to have created Sotuknang first, calling them his nephew. Tawa then sent Sotuknang to create the nine universes. Next, Tawa created Spider Woman who acted as a messenger between the creator and all of his creations.

In other versions of this story, Spider Woman is the creator of all life. Another version says the Hard Being Woman of the East and Hard Being Woman of the West created all life while Tawa, the sun stood by observing everything.

Arriving In The Fourth World – In this story, evil had broken out among the people of the Third World. With either the help of Spider Grandmother or Bird Spirits, a hollow bamboo reed grew in the opening of the Third World leading to the Fourth World. This opening is known as sipapu, a place traditionally seen as the Grand Canyon. Those people with good hearts or kindness made it to the Fourth World.

It is here in the Fourth World that people learned many lessons about how to live. How to worship Masauwu, the Spirit of Death and master of the Fourth World, to ensure that the dead return to the Underworld, Masauwu gave the people four tablets, in symbolic form, that outlined their journeys. Masauwu also told the people to be on the watch for Pahana, the Lost White Brother.

Oraibi Version – In this version, Tawa destroys the Third World with a great flood. Before this destruction, Spider Grandmother seals all the righteous people into hollow reeds that are then used as boats. Safe from the flood waters, the reed boats eventually come onto dry land and the people get out and at first, they see nothing but more water surrounding them. The people then plant a bamboo shoot and climb to the top. Spider Woman told the people to make more boats out of reeds and using the island of dry land as a series of steppingstones, they sailed east until finding the mountainous coast of the Fourth World.

Side Note – While there are several versions of the creation story, the scholar Harold Courlander comments that the in Oraibi, the oldest of the Hopi villages, young children are told the story of the sipapu and then the story of the ocean voyage when they’re older. The Hopi Water clan’s name of Patkinyamu even means “a dwelling-on-water” or “houseboat.” The story of the sipapu is generally accepted among the Hopi.

Kátsina

Also known as Kátchina, Kacina, Kásina, and the anglicized Kachina.

They are the spiritual beings and personification in Hopi beliefs or real-world things, the sun, stars, thunderstorms, rain, corn, insects, and other concepts. A Katsina may appear in a few different forms, the supernatural being themselves, the Katsina dancers, and Katsina dolls that would be taken care of by a wife, mother, or sister.

With Tawa, the Sun Katsina plays an important part in the Sun observances among the Hopi and their ceremonial rituals for bringing the rain so their crops may grow. The first important ceremony of the year, Powamu happens in February for the bean planting and the last ceremony, Niman is performed in July for the harvest. The Katsina are then believed to all return home on the San Francisco Peaks.

Sun & Creator

As stated above, Tawa is the Sun and Creator spirit or Kachina in Hopi beliefs. He is responsible for the creation of all life and everything in the Fourth World.

Even today, no Hopi ritual is complete without a tribute or offering made for Tawa. Hopi mothers seek out Tawa’s blessings for newborns.

Syno-Deities

Antu – The Mapuche sun god.

Apollo – A Greek god of the sun also worshiped by the Romans.

Arinna – A Hittite goddess of the sun and light.

Helios – An ancient Greek sun god.

Huitzilopochtli – The Aztec god of the sun.

Inti – Incan Sun god.

Kinich Ahau – The Mayan sun god.

Lugh – The Celtic sun god and fierce warrior.

Mithra – The Persian god of the sun.

Ra – A solar god worshiped among the ancient Egyptians.

Sol – The name of the Roman personification of the sun.

Sunna – Or Sol, one of the few sun goddesses and venerated by the Norse.

Surya – The Hindi god of the sun.