Spanish designation "estufa" to designate a ceremonial room of the
Pueblos, is derived from the Hopi language. The designation is archaic,
the element ki being both Pima and Hopi for "house." It has been sought
to connect this word with a part of the human body, and esoterically the
kiva represents one of the underworlds or womb of the earth from which
the races of man were born. It is highly appropriate that ancient
ceremonies should take place in a kiva, the symbolic representation of
an underworld, for many of the ceremonies are said to have been
practiced while man still lived within the Earth Mother. The word _kiva_
is restricted to subterranean chambers, rectangular or circular, in
which secret ceremonies are or were held, and the term _kihu_ is
suggested for ceremonial rooms above ground. The five kivas at Walpi are
examples of the true kiva, while the Flute chamber may be called a
_kihu_.]
[Footnote 44: The so-called "warrior room" in Spruce-tree House belongs
to the second type.]
The majority of the kivas are situated in front of the secular
buildings, but several are in the rear of the cave, with high rooms in
front of them. The largest cluster of kivas on the cave floor lies in
the so-called plaza quarter, which takes its name from the open space
occupied by the kivas in that section. The rooms on the terraces,
especially those near the southern end of the ruin, were covered with
fallen rocks and other débris when the excavation and repair work began.
The walls of most of the kivas, whether in front or in the rear, were
greatly dilapidated and in all instances it was necessary to rebuild
them to the level of the plazas in which the kivas are situated.
Following comparisons with modern pueblos, there is every reason to
suppose that the kivas preserve the oldest types of buildings of the
cliff-dweller culture, and it is believed that the form of these archaic
structures is a survival of antecedent conditions. They belonged to the
men of different clans, as in a measure is the case among the Hopi at
the present day, with whom every kiva is spoken of as that of a certain
man who is a clan chief. The male and female members of every Hopi clan
have affiliation with certain kivas (a survival of archaic conditions),
and in certain clan gatherings, as the dramatic exhibition which occurs
in March, the celebration takes place in their respective kivas.
[Illustration: PLATE 21
STONE HATCHETS]
As the kiva is the men's room, and as religious exercises are largely
controlled by men, such ceremonies occur in kivas, which are practically
the ceremonial rooms.[45]
[Footnote 45: In certain ceremonies of Hopi women's societies the kiva
has also come to be a meeting place for these sororities and where they
erect their altars.]
KIVAS OF THE FIRST TYPE
All kivas of the first type are constructed on the same general plan,
the different parts being somewhat modified by surrounding conditions.
While their general form is circular or cylindrical, some are square
with rounded angles, others oblong, and others more or less
heart-shaped. Their diameter and height vary according to circumstances,
but this type is always subterranean when possible, even though
excavation in the rock may be necessary.
The walls of the kivas are sometimes double, and the masonry is
generally well constructed. The walls show evidences of plastering,
which is decorated in some instances with paintings or incised figures.
The number of pilasters is commonly 6, but 4 and 8 are also evident;
rarely, as in kiva M (the subtype), all are missing. Between these
pilasters are the so-called banquettes, one of which is usually larger
than the others. The banquettes are generally built 3 or 4 feet in
height, consequently they could scarcely have been intended for seats.
The pilasters are commonly rectangular, sometimes square, the size being
about uniform from base upward. In rare instances a pilaster has a
cubby-hole[46] in one side. Where circumstances require the ventilator
penetrates the rear portion of the pilaster, but the flue never enters
the side of the kiva under a pilaster.
[Footnote 46: These small holes, generally square, are usually found in
the wall below the banquette.]
The pilasters, which are almost universal in kivas of the first type, as
has been shown in the description and illustrations of the eight kivas
of Spruce-tree House, served as supports for the roof beams. These
rafters of pine rested upon and served to support other logs laid one
over another, so that finally the roof opening was covered. Across the
middle of the walls, at the top, two long parallel logs were placed, in
order to add stability to the roof structure. These beams were set far
enough apart to allow a hatch midway between their ends, which served
the purpose of an entrance and also permitted the escape of smoke from
the fire directly below.
Over the framework of logs were laid small sticks, filling the
interstices, and above these was spread a layer of cedar bark; the whole
was then covered with clay, thus bringing the upper surface of the roof
to the level of the adjacent plaza. Whether the kiva walls projected
above the plaza and roof level is unknown, but possibly they did, and
there may have been a slight elevation of the hatchway, as in the Hopi
kivas. It is commonly believed that the kiva roof was level with the
surrounding plaza and that the entrance was through a hatchway, but no
depression or other sign of a ladder or of its resting place on the kiva
floor has yet been found in any of the Mesa Verde ruins.
The floors of the kivas are commonly of hardened adobe; unlike those of
the Hopi kivas they are never paved with stones, but the natural rock
often serves for that purpose. It is not rare to find the surface of
solid rock that forms the kiva floor cut down a few feet to a lower
level. Although generally smooth, when the floor is the natural rock
there are sometimes found in it small, cup-like, artificial depressions
similar to those in the horizontal surfaces of the cliff or in slabs of
detached rock.
The fire-pit, which is found in all kivas of the first type,[47] is a
circular depression situated slightly to one side of the middle of the
room. While generally lined with adobe, slabs of stone sometimes form
its border, and it is also to be noted that one or two of these small
stones sometimes project above the floor level. The fire-hole is
sometimes deep, and is generally filled with wood ashes, indicating long
use.
[Footnote 47: The fire in these rooms was more for light than for heat,
for when roofed a large fire would have produced so much smoke and heat
that the occupants would be driven out. The character of the ashes
indicates that logs were not used as firewood, but that the prescribed
kiva fuel was, as at Walpi, small twigs or brush. No evidence of lamps
has been found in cliff-dwellings, the lamp-shaped pottery objects
having been used for purposes other than illumination.]
Every kiva of the first type has a lateral passageway for the admission
of air, opening into the chamber on the floor level, generally under the
large banquette. This passage, or tunnel, here designated a flue,
communicates either directly with the outside or turns upward at a right
angle and forms a small vertical ventilator which opens at the level of
the plaza. Between the entrance into the flue from the kiva and the
fire-hole there rises from the floor a device called the deflector
(sometimes called an altar), the object of which was to prevent flames
and smoke being drawn into the ventilator, or to evenly circulate the
inflowing fresh air in the chamber. This deflector may be (1) a low
stone wall, free on both ends; (2) a curved wall connected with the kiva
wall on each side with orifices to allow the passage of air; (3) a stone
slab in the kiva floor; (4) a bank, free at each end, supported by
upright stakes between which are woven twigs, the whole being plastered
with clay.[48]
[Footnote 48: Cosmos Mindeleff quotes from Nordenskiöld a description of
a Mesa Verde kiva, the deflector of which was made in the same way.]
The supposed functions of the flue, the vertical passage, and the
ventilator have been discussed by several archeologists. The uses to
which the flue has been ascribed are as follows: (1) a chimney, (2) a
ceremonial opening, (3) an entrance, (4) a ventilator. There is no sign
of smoke on the interior of the vertical passage, which, being too small
to admit a person, would seem to prove the first and third theories
untenable. In the Navaho National Monument, where there are square
rooms, or _kihus_, with banks similar to the deflectors of the circular
kivas, a door takes the place of the flue and the vertical passage, and
affords the only means for admitting fresh air to the room. Although it
may have originated as a simple entrance to the room, it became so
modified that it could no longer have served that purpose, ceremonially
or otherwise.
[Illustration: PLATE 22
STONE OBJECTS
_a_ Pounding stone
_b_ Projectile point
_c_ Cover for vase
_d_ Flat stone slab]
The position of the entrance to the Cliff Palace kiva is yet to be
definitely determined. Analogy, together with the structure of the roof,
would indicate that it was by means of a hatchway, but no remains of a
ladder were found, and no indication in the floor where a ladder
formerly rested is visible. It may be that the large banquette indicates
the position of the hatchway.[49]
[Footnote 49: On this supposition the large banquette may have been the
forerunner of the spectator's section in the modern rectangular Hopi
kivas, of which it is a modification.]
The subterranean passageway under the flue and beneath the floor of kiva
V should not be overlooked in a study of the origin and function of the
ventilator. This structure is without apparent connection with the
ventilator, and yet it is so carefully constructed under it that it may
have had some relation, a knowledge of which will eventually enlighten
us regarding the meaning of both structures.
The kivas of the Mesa Verde are much smaller than those of Walpi and
other Hopi pueblos, one of them being barely 9 feet in diameter and the
largest measuring not more than 19 feet, whereas the chief kiva at Walpi
is 25 feet long by 15 feet wide. Evidently kivas of such diminutive size
as those found at Cliff Palace could accommodate only a few at a time,
and it is probable that they were not occupied by fraternities of
priests but by a few chiefs; indeed, the religious fraternity, as we
understand its composition in modern pueblos, had in all probability not
yet been developed. Nevertheless the smallest kiva in Cliff Palace is as
large as the room in Walpi in which the Sun priests, mainly of one clan,
celebrate their rites.
KIVA A
Kiva A (pl. 17) is the most southerly kiva of Cliff Palace, the first of
the series excavated in the talus, its roof having been on the level of
the cave floor, or the fourth terrace. The walls of this kiva required
little repair. Its height from the floor to the top of the walls is 8
feet 6 inches, and from the floor to the top of the pilasters 7 feet;
the height of the banquette is 3 feet 6 inches. The interior diameter is
11 feet. There are six pilasters, with an average breadth of 20 inches;
the distance between them averages 4 feet 6 inches.
The opening into the ventilator is situated in the southwestern wall;
its height is 2 feet 4 inches, the breadth, at the base, 14 inches,
contracted to 11 inches at the top. The deflector, which is broken, is a
thin slab of stone. The distance from the flue opening to the deflector
is 2 feet 6 inches, and from the deflector to the round fire-hole 8
inches. The diameter of the fire-hole is 1 foot 8 inches, its depth 2
feet. Its western side is lined with small stones set on edge.
There were possibly 4 niches in the side wall of the banquette, 3 of
them on the east, measuring respectively 16 by 20 by 12 inches, 9 by 9
by 12 inches, and 3 by 3 by 5 inches, and the remaining one situated
north by east from the middle of the kiva and measuring 6 by 4 by 8
inches.[50]
[Footnote 50: The measurements of the kivas here given were determined
by Mr. R. G. Fuller, who served as voluntary assistant during the
summer.]
There is a subterranean passageway (pl. 17, _b_), 6 feet 6 inches long,
from this kiva into room 1, and also a tunnel (pl. 17, _a_), 6 feet in
length, between kivas A and B. The former has stone steps and rises
above the banquette; its width averages 18 inches.
KIVA B
Kiva B adjoins kiva A, and is the second of the terraced rooms, its roof
being originally on the same level as the former. It is circular in
shape, and the height from the floor to the top of the room is 9 feet 6
inches. The height of the top of the pilasters from the floor is 7 feet,
and that of the banquette 3 feet 6 inches.
The inner diameter of the kiva is 13 feet 6 inches. There are 6
pilasters, averaging 2 feet in width. The position of the ventilator
opening is south by west; its depth 4 feet, and height 2 feet 6 inches.
The breadth of this opening at the top (it narrows somewhat at the base)
is 18 inches.
The deflector[51] is a slab of stone about 3 feet 10 inches wide. The
distance from the deflector to the kiva wall is 2 feet 6 inches, and
from the deflector to the fire-hole 14 inches. The diameter of the
fire-hole measures 2 feet, and its depth 9 inches. The distance from the
ceremonial opening, or sipapû, to the fire-hole is 4 feet. The diameter
of the sipapû is 4 inches and its depth the same. There are 5 niches in
the kiva wall.
[Footnote 51: With the exception of that in kiva Q there has not been
found in any deflector a large stone ("fire stone") forming the cap or
top. In deflectors formed of a slab of stone such a "fire stone" on top
would be impossible.]
The masonry of this kiva is fairly good, its western wall naturally
being the most destroyed. The banquette over the tunnel into kiva A is
broader than any of the others. On the eastern side the kiva walls are
apparently double.
[Illustration: PLATE 23
VARIOUS OBJECTS FROM CLIFF PALACE
_a_ Pottery fragment with bird-claw decoration in relief
_b_, _d_ Food bowls
_c_ Incised stone
_e_ Decorated fragment of earthenware
_f_ Cover for vase]
KIVA C
This kiva is circular; it measures 13 feet in diameter, and 5 feet 6
inches from the floor to the top of the pilasters. The height of the
banquette is 3 feet. The number of pilasters is 6; their average breadth
is 2 feet.
The deflector is a stone wall laid in mortar; its width is 3 feet 6
inches; the thickness, 8 inches. From the flue to the deflector is 2
feet 4 inches, and from the same to the fire-hole, 8 inches. The
diameter of the fire-hole is 2 feet, its depth 1 foot. The sipapû is 2
feet from the fire-hole; it is 6 inches deep and 4 inches in diameter.
The masonry of this kiva was in very poor condition, most of the upper
part being wholly broken down. There are 4 niches in the walls. The
surface is thickly plastered and shows a deposit of smoke. The pilasters
are of uniform size. The deep banquette is situated above the flue back
of the deflector.
KIVA D
Kiva D is square, with rounded corners; it is 13 feet in diameter; its
walls are 10 feet high and measure 7 feet from the floor to the top of
the pilasters. The height of the banquette is 4 feet. The number of
pilasters is 6; their average distance apart is 4 feet 6 inches, and
their width 2 feet. The eastern wall of this kiva is the side of the
cave, and the whole was inclosed by high walls. On the southern side of
the kiva is a passageway. The walls of the kiva and the cave roof above
it are blackened with smoke. There are two deep banquettes.
The flue opens in the western wall of the kiva; its height is 2 feet,
and its width at the top is 13 inches. The distance from the flue to the
deflector is 2 feet 6 inches; from the deflector to the fire-hole, 13
inches. The diameter of the fire-hole is 2 feet and its depth 1 foot.
The distance from the fire-hole to the sipapû is 2 feet 2 inches; the
diameter of the latter is 3 inches. This kiva has 5 finely made
rectangular niches in the walls. The walls are well plastered and were
painted yellow. Wherever the masonry is visible it is found inferior to
none except possibly that of kiva Q.[52]
[Footnote 52: This kiva, which is one of the best in Cliff Palace, is
illustrated by Nordenskiöld.]
KIVA E
Kiva E is square, with rounded corners; it measures 11 feet 6 inches in
diameter, and is 9 feet 10 inches high. The elevation of the banquette
is 4 feet, and of the pilasters 7 feet. The number of pilasters is 6.
The flue opens on the western side.
The deflector consists of a wall of stone, 2 feet high; its width is 3
feet 6 inches, the thickness 9 inches. The distance from the deflector
to the flue is 1 foot 10 inches, and from the fire-hole 3 inches. There
are 4 mural niches. As the projecting rock on the eastern side
interfered with the symmetry of this kiva, when constructed it was
necessary to peck the rock away 8 inches deep over an area 10 feet
square, thus exhibiting, next to the floor of kiva V, the most extensive
piece of kiva stone-cutting in Cliff Palace. Although this kiva was
generally in a fair state of preservation, it was necessary to rebuild
much of the eastern wall.
The fire-hole of this kiva is lined with a rude jar set with adobe
mortar. No sipapû was discovered in the floor. Kiva E is one of the few
kivas in Cliff Palace surrounded by the walls of rooms. As it is
situated in the rear of the cave, projecting walls of the cliff were
necessarily cut away to a considerable extent in order to obtain the
form of room desired on the eastern side. This side of the kiva is
blackened by smoke antedating the construction of the room. There is
abundant evidence in this portion of the ruin of secondary construction
of buildings on the same site. Several walls built upon others show that
some rooms may have been abandoned and new ones added, an indication
that this portion of the ruin is very old, perhaps having the oldest
walls still standing.
KIVA F
Kiva F, situated on a lower terrace than the kivas already described, is
square, with rounded corners, and is 9 feet high. The height of the
pilasters is 6 feet 10 inches, and the top of the banquette is 4 feet 1
inch above the floor. The diameter of the kiva is 13 feet. There are 6
pilasters; the distance between them averages 5 feet; their average
width is 2 feet 4 inches. The deflector, a wall of masonry, is 3 feet
wide and averages 9 inches in thickness.
The deflector is 2 feet from the flue and 18 inches from the fire-hole,
which is 2 feet in diameter and the same in depth. The distance from the
fire-hole to the sipapû is 2 feet 4 inches. The diameter of the sipapû
is 2½ inches, and its depth 5 inches.
There are 3 mural niches, similar to those previously described. The
roof of this kiva was of the same level as the floors of rooms 16 and
24, the roofs of which overlooked the kiva situated in the terrace
below.
The walls of this kiva are black with smoke. The room is surrounded by a
second wall, the interval between which and that of the kiva is filled
with rubble.
KIVA G
This kiva may be called "heartshaped." Its height from the floor to the
top of the roof is 9 feet, and it measures 6 feet from the floor to the
top of the pilasters. The banquette is 4 feet high, and the interior
diameter of the kiva is 12 feet. The numbers of pilasters is 6; their
average breadth is a little more than 2 feet, and the intervals between
them averages 3 feet 6 inches.
[Illustration: PLATE 24
FOOD BOWLS]
The deflector is a stone slab 3 feet wide and 2 feet high. The distance
from the flue to the deflector is 2 feet; from the deflector to the
fire-hole 11 inches. The diameter of the fire-hole is 2 feet, its depth
18 inches. The sipapû is 2 feet 8 inches from the fire-hole; its
diameter is 2 inches, and its depth 4 inches. There are 4 mural niches.
This kiva is situated in the terrace below that last mentioned, that is,
in the second terrace, and was wholly buried when excavations began. The
roofs of rooms 30 and 31 overlooked this kiva, their floors being on the
same level as the kiva roof.
KIVA H
Kiva H (pl. 18) measures 8 feet from the floor to the top of the wall,
and 6 feet from the floor to the top of the pilasters. The height of the
banquette is 4 feet 6 inches. The diameter of the kiva is 11 feet 6
inches.
The deflector is a curved stone wall joining the kiva wall on each side
of the flue.[53] It is built of stone, 7 feet 6 inches high, 10 inches
wide, and 20 inches high. The deflector is 1 foot 6 inches from the flue
and 15 inches from the fire-hole. The diameter of the fire-hole is 2
feet and its depth 1 foot.
[Footnote 53: A similar deflector is recorded by Mr. Morley as existing
in the Cannonball ruin, and is figured by Nordenskiöld from the Mesa
Verde.]
The sipapû is situated 2 feet from the fire-hole; it is 3 inches in
diameter and 4 inches deep.
There are 2 mural niches. Exceptional features of this kiva are the
curved deflector and the opening into a small room at the northwestern
corner. Instead of extending straight from the kiva to the vertical
ventilator, the flue turns at a right angle midway in its course. The
ventilator is built at one corner of the kiva wall. As this kiva lies
deep below the base of the round tower, a fine view of these several
characteristics may be obtained from that point.
KIVA I
When work began there was no indication of the walls of this kiva,
except a fragment of one which at first was supposed to belong to a
small secular room. The kiva had been filled with débris by those who
had dug into the upper rooms, and a large hole[54] was broken through
the high western wall of kiva L, through which to throw débris. The
removal of this accumulation was a work of considerable magnitude, and
the repair of the kiva wall was very difficult, as it was necessary to
reconstruct the foundations that had been blasted away to make the
opening above mentioned.
[Footnote 54: This entrance in the wall appears in all photographs of
this portion of Cliff Palace.]
When this débris was removed and the floor of the kiva was reached, it
was found that its walls were much disintegrated, the component stones
having practically turned into sand, necessitating the construction of
buttresses to support them. The dimensions of kiva I are as follows: The
height of the top of the wall from the floor is 8 feet, and that of the
pilasters 6 feet 8 inches. The banquette rises 3 feet 8 inches above the
floor. The interior diameter of the kiva is 10 feet 10 inches. The
number of pedestals is 4, averaging 4 feet in height.
The flue is situated at the southwestern side. The distance from the
flue to the deflector is 21 inches; from the deflector to the fire-hole,
2 inches. There are two mural niches, one at the northeast measuring 13
by 11 by 8 inches, and one at the southeast measuring 13 by 11 by 7
inches. A dado, painted red, surrounded the kiva, the color being most
conspicuous, because best protected, in the mural niches, half of which
are above, half below the upper margin of the dado. On this margin are
traceable triangular figures like those on the painted wall of room 11.
On the level of what was formerly the roof of this kiva was set into the
roof a vase covered with a flat stone and containing desiccated bodies
of lizards.[55]
[Footnote 55: For a note on a similar vase and its use, see remarks on
kiva S. It is probable that these dried lizards were regarded by the
Cliff Palace priests as very potent "medicine."]
KIVA J
Kiva J is round; it is 14 feet in diameter and measures 8 feet 4 inches
from the floor to the top of the wall. The height from the floor to the
top of one of the pilasters is 5 feet 10 inches. The banquette is 3 feet
2 inches high. The deep banquette, as is usually the case, is above the
flue, which opens in the southwestern wall. The number of pedestals is
6; their average breadth is 2 feet. The deflector consists of a stone
wall rising 20 inches above the kiva floor. There are 7 mural niches.
The kiva walls were thickly plastered with adobe, and show the action of
smoke.[56]
[Footnote 56: From all appearances the kivas were plastered from time to
time after the walls had become blackened.]
The open space east of the kiva, formerly continuous with its roof, is
somewhat larger than is usually the case, making this the largest plaza
in Cliff Palace, except that of the plaza quarter. There are remnants of
rooms southwest of the kiva.
[Illustration: PLATE 25
_a_
_b_
_c_
_d_
_c'_
_d'_
VASES AND FOOD BOWLS]
KIVA K