Soyal
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
Today I want to share with you about my most treasured period of the year, Soyal.
Soyal is a 16 day ceremonial period, practiced by the Hopi Indians, the oldest group of Native Americans. Soyal starts on Solstice, the shortest day of the year and is a call to the spirits to keep the sun from disappearing. It is a time when the spirits, known as Kachinas come down from the mountains to live with the people to call and honor the power of the sun.
Soyal is a period of 16 days that establish the mood for the coming year. I feel very connected to it because I was once doing a training at Hopi in Decemeber and learned directly the reverence the people have for this time. I always thought it was intriguing that Soyal ends just at the same as Epiphany in the Christian tradition. It feels like a quiet time of formation, and at the end of it
the *light* be it the sun or the son will be presented to the world.
I love the principles and want to share them with you.
Soyal begins with an expression of assurance that the ceremony will accomplish its purpose, and end with a feast of celebration and a public Kachina dance. The intention is set at the beginning and then celebrated 16 days later with the knowing that it will happen.I think the addition of the great conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter adds to the potential power of Soyal. My intention is for
reconciliation and healing.
Elders teach that Soyal time is a time to teach respect for others so there is to be no disturbing behavior. Hopis believe that loud behavior is self centered, it interrupts others and disturbs the spirits who are setting the intention of abundance for the year to come.
I love the idea that we might create our own Soyal and concentrate on our own attitudes and feelings that will bring us closer to our people and quiet the turmoil in the world.
Soyal creates inner peace. Our problems will quiet. We fret less because we trust that things will be all right. If we trust in the balance of the universe, we build an inner strength that will shield us as the balancing works its way. Following the Soyal instructions will give us freedom.
Here are the instructions. As you read, reflect on what this might mean in your life and think about your connection to the people who were here before any of our American ancestors were. And remember that these traditions and intentions stretch back hundreds and hundreds of years.
1. Use wholesome words when you talk to or describe people. Uplift, and do not hurt others.
2. Ask the Spirits to listen to you and to bring the rain of loving care down upon the whole world.
3. Guard against disturbing or loud behavior.
4. Teach children to respect others, and tell them why they should do this.
5. Think of the earth as Mother Earth or Earth Mother, a Spirit person who is a living organism who feels and responds.
6. During these sixteen days, do not dig in the earth, since Mother Earth is joining you in this Soyal period of peace and preparation.
7. Talk with those who are close to you of the past, the present, and the future. Discuss what is going on in the world, and try to determine where it is heading. Do not postpone the strengthening of your bonds with family members. As Maasaw knew it would, this has become a neglected area in our way of life here in the United States, and it is something we need to correct.
8. Review with yourself and these same close ones the Divine laws. These laws will vary with different cultures and religions. But we all know, or at one time did know, our own, and we know the Hopi laws now. Talking about them will refresh our minds about what we were taught to do, and will expose how far we have strayed from these mandates. If we do not do well at this discussion, we will know
that we need to return to our Sources so that we can do better next year.
9. Review your own conduct during the past year, and the conduct and attitudes of people as a whole.
10. Make an honest self-examination, and see where you can make improvements. This is a touchy topic, and one that can easily be ignored. If we hope to do better than we have, we must take a good look at ourselves and be honest about what we find.
11. Make plans for the forthcoming year. Prepare in advance the known and the unknown. This will include a review of the prophecies. Keep an eye on what is happening at Hotevilla, as well as around the world. What do YOU need to do to get ready for the Great Purification? It is wise to think this over.
12. Remember that the Creator, Earth Mother, Father Sun, and the other Helper Spirits, the controllers of movement here and in the universe, are making their own plans, based upon the course the Great Play is following. Try to determine what this course might be, and prepare accordingly.
