Kikmongwi
Encyclopedia
Kikmongwi are traditional village chiefs
on the Hopi Reservation
in Northeastern Arizona
.
, an Indian Tribe
, effectively have two parallel systems of local government. One is a Western-style tribal government established under authority of the Hopi Tribal Constitution, with elected or appointed members who serve on a reservation-wide Tribal Council
, and an elected tribal chairman. The other is a traditional system of civil and spiritual leadership that traces back at least 1,000 years and is organized by village
s and clan
s within each village. Some villages that have maintained more traditional structures, are often secret and opaque to outsiders.
Kikmongwi are, in one sense, merely the Tribal chief
s of each among the villages that follows a traditional governance structure. They are hereditary leaders based on a complex system of lineage and kinship
. Each clan on each village has a Mongwi, or leader, responsible for the social and religious duties of the clan, and the Kikmongwi is the male head of the dominant clan. However, Hopi is unusual among tribes in that there is a recognized interface between the two systems of government. Namely, the Constitution and the Courts delegate certain tribe-wide duties such as the police force, schools, lawmaking, and administration of the courts to the tribe as a whole, but leave many civil matters such as land use, child custody, and inheritance to the villages to decide as they wish (meaning, the Tribe asserts no authority over these aspects of traditional governance). Further, the Kikmongwi appoints the delegates from these villages to the Tribal Council.
Kikmongwi have religious duties and significance as well. Inasmuch as Hopi do not make a firm distinction between secular and religious matters with respect to issues such as agriculture, land and water use, and family relationships, the position can be considered an inherently religious one as well. Mongwi, for instance, are often depicted as Kachinas.
It is also unusual for outsiders (no family/marriage ties) to have knowledge of or participate in any religious ceremonies at any or all villages therefore, making it difficult to accurately report of the actual functions of such a system.
Village head
The village headman or village chief is a central government post. The village headman is the person appointed to administer an area that is often a single village.The headman has several official duties in the village...
on the Hopi Reservation
Hopi Reservation
The Hopi Reservation, or simply Hopi, is a Native American reservation for the Hopi and Arizona Tewa people, surrounded entirely by the Navajo Nation, in Navajo and Coconino counties of Arizona, USA. The site in north-eastern Arizona has a land area of 2,531.773 sq mi and as of the 2000 census had...
in Northeastern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Background
The HopiHopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
, an Indian Tribe
Indian tribe
In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...
, effectively have two parallel systems of local government. One is a Western-style tribal government established under authority of the Hopi Tribal Constitution, with elected or appointed members who serve on a reservation-wide Tribal Council
Tribal Council
A Tribal Council is either: an association of Native American bands in the United States or First Nations governments in Canada, or the governing body for certain tribes within the United States or elsewhere...
, and an elected tribal chairman. The other is a traditional system of civil and spiritual leadership that traces back at least 1,000 years and is organized by village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s and clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
s within each village. Some villages that have maintained more traditional structures, are often secret and opaque to outsiders.
Kikmongwi are, in one sense, merely the Tribal chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
s of each among the villages that follows a traditional governance structure. They are hereditary leaders based on a complex system of lineage and kinship
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
. Each clan on each village has a Mongwi, or leader, responsible for the social and religious duties of the clan, and the Kikmongwi is the male head of the dominant clan. However, Hopi is unusual among tribes in that there is a recognized interface between the two systems of government. Namely, the Constitution and the Courts delegate certain tribe-wide duties such as the police force, schools, lawmaking, and administration of the courts to the tribe as a whole, but leave many civil matters such as land use, child custody, and inheritance to the villages to decide as they wish (meaning, the Tribe asserts no authority over these aspects of traditional governance). Further, the Kikmongwi appoints the delegates from these villages to the Tribal Council.
Kikmongwi have religious duties and significance as well. Inasmuch as Hopi do not make a firm distinction between secular and religious matters with respect to issues such as agriculture, land and water use, and family relationships, the position can be considered an inherently religious one as well. Mongwi, for instance, are often depicted as Kachinas.
It is also unusual for outsiders (no family/marriage ties) to have knowledge of or participate in any religious ceremonies at any or all villages therefore, making it difficult to accurately report of the actual functions of such a system.