Nexus - 0224 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page 38 of 85

Page 38 of 85
Nexus - 0224 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Prophecy Countdown 2000 — The Hopi Elders — | Prophecy ( — The Countdown 2000 Elders — Hopi THE STORY OF THE OLD INDIAN Na blistering hot summer day in 1' ving along a highway that stretche New Mexico. Toward noon, he : gravel shoulder, and knowing hi stopped and asked him if he would like a rid« The North For several minutes the Indian said nothi Feather, a Hopi of the ancient Bear Clan. ] Elders correctly land, seeking my brothers, and learning fror H lowed the sacred paths to my people, who ir foretold white the land of ice and long nights in the north, t lo 8 ° the west, and the place of holy altars of stone man s invasion of south. Froin all these I have heard the stories their lands ina American Hopi iia Today, many of the prophecies have tured longer, and the future grows shorter. * "And now White Feather is dying. His so series of too shall be with them. But there is no one orate wisdom to. My people have tired of the old predictions. origins, of our emergence into the Fourth Wo even this has been foretold. The tigre grows : The old Indian fell silent again, but after a Pahana, the lost white brother, as do all our The truth of their white men we know now, who are cruel and ° ° ago. But still we await Pahana. final Fifth World "He will bring with him the symbols, and kept by the elders, given to him when he left prophecy could it whole. This shall identify him as our true v Turning to Young, he said: "You are muc soon be revealed, You stopped to give an old man a ride, to lig He will come soon, for the prophecies are nez Resting a moment, the Indian found his bre shall end soon, and the Fifth World will beg Signs over many years have been fulfilled, an "This is the First Sign: We were told of th but not living like Pahana—men who took | 1a blistering hot summer day in 1958, a minister named David Young was dri- ving along a highway that stretched through desert country, not far from Taos, New Mexico. Toward noon, he saw an elderly Indian walking on the road's gravel shoulder, and knowing he must be suffering from the heat, Young stopped and asked him if he would like a ride to the next town. The old man nodded. and got in. For several minutes the Indian said nothing, but then he finally spoke: "I am White Feather, a Hopi of the ancient Bear Clan. In my long life I have travelled through this land, seeking my brothers, and learning from them many things of wisdom. I have fol- lowed the sacred paths to my people, who inhabit the forests and many lakes in the cast, the land of ice and long nights in the north, the mountains and streams of jumping fish in the west, and the place of holy altars of stone built long ago by my brothers’ fathers in the south. Froin all these I have heard the stories of the past, and the prophecies of the future. Today, many of the prophecies have tumed to stories, and few are left: the past grows longer, and the future grows shorter. "And now White Feather is dying. His sons have all joined his ancestors, and soon he too shall be with them. But there is no one left, no one to recite and pass on the ancient wisdom to. My people have tired of the old ways: the great ceremonies which tell of our origins, of our emergence into the Fourth World, are almost all abandoned, forgotten. Yet even this has been foretold. The tigae grows short." The old Indian fell silent again, but after a minute spoke once more: "My people await Pahana, the lost white brother, as do all our brothers in the land. He will not be like the white men we know now, who are cruel and greedy. We were told of their coming long ago. But still we await Pahana. "He will bring with him the symbols, and the missing piece of that sacred tablet now kept by the elders, given to him when he left, that shall be restored to the tablet and make it whole, This shall identify him as our true white brother." Turning to Young, he said: "You are much like Pahana, and not like other white men. You stopped to give an old man a ride, to lighten his burden. That is the way of Pahana. He will come soon, for the prophecies are nearly done." Resting a moment, the Indian found his breath, and then continued: “The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left. "This is the First Sign: We were told of the coming of white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana—men who took the land that was not theirs. And men who struck their enemies with thunder." Young later realised this is how the Indian prophets would have described gunpowder. "This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels of wood filled with voices. In his youth, my father saw this prophecy come true with his eyes—the white men bringing their families in wagons across the prairies. "This is the Third Sign: A strange beast, like a buffalo, but with great long horns will overrun the land in large numbers. These White Feather himself saw with his eyes—the coming of the white man's cattle. "This is the Fourth Sign: The prairie will be crossed by snakes of iron....". At that moment, Young slowed his car to drive over a railroad crossing—and this time it was his own eyes, looking down miles of winding track, that saw how the prophecy had been ful- filled. Extracted from the book ROLLING THUNDER: The Coming Earth Changes by J. R. Jochmans Published in 1980 by Sun Publishing Company PO Box 5588 Santa Fe, NM 87502, USA Extracted from the book ROLLING THUNDER: The Coming Earth Changes by J. R. Jochmans NEXUS ¢ 37 FEBRUARY - MARCH 1995