Allison Burbach (11/22): Koyaanisqatsi and the Hopi People

 In the film Koyaanisqatsi, endless imagery of an industrialized world is presented one after another with no dialogue, just a repetitive sound that seemed to speed up throughout the course of the film as the imagery did the same. The word koyaanisqatsi is derived from the Hopi language and is interpreted as ‘life out of balance.’ After watching this film, I became interested in the Hopi people and their language. 

The Hopi language is a part of the Uto-Aztecan language family, more specifically the Northern group as the Hopi people are located in Arizona. In the Hopi language, the prefix koyaanis means “corrupted” or “chaotic” and the work qatsi means “life or “existence.” Thus, the direct translation is “chaotic life.” It is interesting they had such a word and it makes me wonder what chaos looked like for the Hopi people. It could have been related to the environment since they have lived in a very arid region, which is certainly challenging. It also could be connected to religious spirits that the Hopi may attribute to chaos. My only other idea relates to conflict with other native tribes. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jaidan Brass -- Cheryl Strayed's Wild (12/04)

    Wild is a memoir of Cheryl Strayed during her time on the Pacific Crest Trail, also known as the PCT. the PCT is a trail that goes along the pacific coast from the bottom of California to the top of Washington. One of the things I admired most about Strayed was her courage during her months on the trail. Cheryl Strayed needed to hike the trail alone to help find herself after feeling like she lost herself after her mother’s death. In one chapter Strayed states, “Being near Tom and Doug at night kept me from having to say to myself I am not afraid whenever I heard a branch snap in the dark or the wind shook so fiercely it seemed something bad was bound to happen. But I wasn’t out here to keep myself from having to say I am not afraid” ( p. 122). One of the reasons she did the trails was to prove that she was brave enough and determined enough to this by herself. Though she did meet friends and have help along the way, she spend a majority of her time on the trail by h...
Read more

Emily Anstett 11/20 Religion and Climate Change Article Reflection

  https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27062022/religion-climate-change/ This article describes how some Rabbis are beginning to advocate for climate action and bring the problem of climate change to their congregation’s attention.  They are trying to “bridge the gap” between faith and climate.  I am interested in how western religions can adapt to incorporate more ecologically conscious views and practices.  I also think it is important to reconsider how religions dictate interactions with the environment.  For instance, the way that people interpret God giving dominion over the earth can have important implications.  For instance, does that mean that people are free to exploit and do whatever they see fit with God’s dominion? Or should humans work to cultivate this? I think this may be a point of contention that has significant ramifications on human-nature interactions.  For instance, if humans view themselves as a part of the dominion God created, ...
Read more

Jaidan Brass - Ecology of Eden Ch. 13 & 14 (12/04)

      In these two chapter, Eisenberg talks about the ranges seen between the mountain and the tower--or between wilderness and civilization. These are in examples like pastoralism, suburbia, and arcadia. They are the middle ground of the two extremes with mountains having no civilization at all and towers having no wilderness. While middle grounds tend to start out alright, they usually start failing after awhile. It's  possibly because the lifestyle was not sustainable. Pastoralism is starts degrading the soils once it gets to populated or gets overgrazed. The mountain part of suburbs can easily be lost into ideals where the community loses the reasons on why suburban areas were made. The middle ground is a delicate balance, but one many want to live in to enjoy the benefits of both the wilderness and civilization. 
Read more