What you see below is a most delicious treat provided by Megan!
What you may not know about this specially-designed cake is that
it is much more than a mouth-watering cake: it's also a kiva!
This week we have been studying the customs and traditions of American Indians
in the different cultural regions: Eastern Woodlands, Pacific Northwest, Desert Southwest, and Great Plains.
Megan went above and beyond in constructing a special project to go along with the assignment sheet that all students were expected to complete. A few other students also brought in extra projects they wanted to share about kachina dolls, totem poles, and potlatches.
A kiva is a room used by modern Puebloans of the Desert Southwest for religious rituals, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, kivas are square-walled and underground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies.
In the summer of 2006 I was on a baseball tour from Castro Valley to Houston, Texas. Along the way, my three friends and I visited many national parks and other places of interest. One of the most memorable stops was at Mesa Verde National Park in Arizona. We were mesmerized by the cities built into the sides of mountains and cliffs. They seemed so unbelievable!
It was an even bigger privilege to explore these cities and I was reminded this week, during this project, of an opportunity I had to go into a kiva myself. (If only I could have climbed down into that delicious cake!)
We had a great time and felt, as I mentioned, very privileged to be entering such a sacred place where many ceremonies and rituals undoubtedly took place through the years.
Thank you again, Megan! Great idea.
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