Etched equilateral cross petroglyph seen at Inscription Canyon near Prescott,
Arizona. (Source)

In “Kásskara: Sunken Land of the Hopi Ancestors” (18th March 2020), Hopi elder Oswald “White Bear” Fredericks (1905-1996) described the Hopis’ epic migration story as it unfolded through aeons and on several continents, a couple of them now on the ocean floor. Their mythology, which I explain more fully in the first article, essentially envisions a series of “worlds” through which the human being, personally and collectively, must pass, these worlds corresponding generally to vast periods of time and changing configurations of global geology.

White Bear described a succession of cycles through which human societies develop and then self-destruct because they have fallen out of harmony with the intelligent universal force from which all life springs.

According to Hopi mythology, the First World, Tokpela, was destroyed by fire. The Second World, Tokpa, was destroyed by ice. Both conditions may have come about through disturbances in the Earth’s orbit and polar shifts. In the previous article I mentioned that Plato, recounting in Critias his uncle’s Egyptian sojourn, said a temple priest at Sais had told Solon that “a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals…” caused the sinking of Atlantis, a notion consonant with the Hopi world view. Kásskara (Lemuria) was coeval with Talawaitichqua (Atlantis) and was destroyed by water, White Bear said, in the following manner:

“The kickmonguity, or Queen of Atlantis, had been threatening Kásskara with destruction from weapons that could be fired from space. Our people had knowledge comparable with the people of Atlantis, but we used it only for good and useful ends. As I already mentioned, we studied the secrets of nature, the power of the Creator in living things,” White Bear said, explaining that his ancestors did not seek revenge and avoided killing even to defend themselves. The Hopi culturally embody Jesus’ admonition not to resist evil: “Turn the other cheek”.

The Shield of Protection

“My people did not defend themselves when [Kásskara was] attacked. And it was right! If that seems strange to you, look at what the Hopi do today. The government of the United States gave us a reservation. Can you imagine? And then they kept coming to cut pieces out of it. They reduced our country more and more. Each time the government does that we say, ‘It is not right’, as we were instructed [to do] by the Creator,” White Bear said, noting that even if his ancestors had not defended themselves actively, they still had their “shield of protection.” He said he could not scientifically explain what this shield was and how it worked, but he described it this way:

“If there is lightning, it reaches our shield, and there it explodes. It does not cross the shield. I remember well how my grandmother showed me the way in which the shield acts. One day when I was still a child, she took a basin and turned it over, saying, ‘Now you are under the basin. If something falls on it, it will not hurt you’. Perhaps I should tell you that she wanted me to repeat all the stories that she told me,” White Bear said. “When I made a mistake she stopped me, and I had to start all over again. It’s why I know by heart all of what my grandmother told me.”

We might, in our modern sophistication, feel tempted to disregard or trivialise White Bear’s grandmother as a credible source of information, but consider that the matrilineal Hopi respect and value wisdom passed down by their elders. His grandmother would not intentionally lie to him, and her insistence that he repeat minor details he hadn’t easily recalled suggests that she took seriously the transmission of this knowledge to her grandson. This transmission is the basis of all oral traditions. The Hopi in their annual cycle of ceremonies re-enact these stories because they consider them too important to be forgotten.

“All the bombs, or whatever they were, exploded far above our heads, and the shield protected all people who were to be saved and had been gathered in a certain area. Cities were attacked and many people perished. Only we were saved. And then—as my grandmother said—somebody pushed the ‘bad button’ and the two continents sank,” White Bear explained. “However, the destruction was not universal. The entire Earth was not destroyed, and not all men were killed. But Atlantis disappeared very quickly into the ocean and our Third World, Kásskara, disappeared very slowly.”

The Laws of the Creator

One interesting feature of the Hopi religious mindset is its similarity to that of certain Eastern religions. The Hopi embrace the idea of reincarnation. They acknowledge “Kundalini energy” and the vortices of psychic vitality called “chakras, and they also recognise the universal law of karma, the spiritual equivalent of Newton’s third law of motion: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The law of karma is also expressed eloquently in the biblical admonition, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” White Bear explained the Hopi view of karma:

“Let us suppose that I want to kill somebody and that I have an accomplice. We agree to do it. Even if it is me that kills, the accomplice does it in thought. But he is not as guilty as me,” White Bear said. “It is the reason for the fast destruction of Atlantis; they attacked. We, or some of our people, were only collaborators at the time Atlantis attacked Kásskara. This is why the fault on our side was minor and our group had a new chance. If we had been as guilty as the people from Atlantis, we also would have been quickly destroyed,” he added.

“The power external to the human capacity did not allow that the People of Peace be destroyed completely. These people were reincarnations of men who had lived in the Second World, Tokpa, and who had followed the laws of the Creator. It was His will to give to those who were to be saved the means of succeeding.

“We were saved and we came here because since the First World, Tokpela, we have always obeyed the Divine Laws! We will see now what occurred then and what role the Kachinas played in bringing us to this continent in the Fourth World,” White Bear said.

Kachinas: Emissaries from Space

Since their emergence in the First World, the Hopi and their ancestors remained in a close relationship with Kachinas, who White Bear defined as “initiated, highly ranked, esteemed beings.” They were originally called Kyákyapichina, the plural form of Kyápchina, the term also incorporating the word “chinakane”, which means “growth” as in the growth of a plant, although in this context the word also indicates the spiritual growth that the Kachinas inspire. The language evolved over time, and now these entities are simply called Kachinas.

Pahlikmana, Hopi kachina doll, c. late 19th century, held in the Brooklyn Museum. (PD0)

Kachinas can manifest visibly or invisibly, but White Bear made it clear that these beings come from locations vastly distant from Earth.

“The Kachinas come from space. They do not come from our solar system but from very distant planets. It would require several generations for our astronauts to get there,” White Bear said. “The Hopi name for these planets is Tóónatakha, which means ‘close to each other’, in a spiritual sense rather than a material one because all their inhabitants share the same responsibilities and work closely together. For this reason, the Hopi translate “Tóónatakha” as “Confederation of Planets”; and because we know there are 12 such worlds, we also refer to the “Confederation of Twelve Planets”, he explained, adding: “While I pronounce this sentence, they can traverse vast distances. Their vessels fly with magnetic force even when they circle the Earth.”

In 1978, White Bear accompanied my anthropology teacher, Henry Denny, and me to Inscription Canyon near Prescott, Arizona, an area noted for its ancient petroglyphs. He pointed out an equilateral cross on a rock slab, its deeply etched outline suggesting an amniotic enclosure. The glyph pre-dates the birth of Christ, he told us, saying that it anticipated this future divine incarnation. White Bear also showed us a glyph of the aforementioned Confederation of Planets, indicating those inhabited worlds that communicate with each other.

In ancient times it was known among certain people that intelligent beings had come from space and helped cultivate mankind out of its primitive state, but this knowledge was nearly lost when the Earth suffered global and semi-global cataclysms. Some of this knowledge survived in the mythologies of aboriginal people, and even in the West some of this information remained concealed by various powerful institutions, often with contradictory interests, such as Freemasonry and the Roman Catholic Church.

White Bear explained that Kachinas have varying ranks depending upon their capacities. While they’re all called Kachinas‚ some are also called Wuyas, which means “divinity” and denotes an exceptionally wise person.

“Comparing Kachinas and Wuyas with Christian entities, we might say Angels for Kachinas and Archangels for Wuyas. They are all Angels‚ but the highest in rank you would call Archangels. The divinities are positioned above the Kachinas, and above all there is the Creator,” White Bear said. “Only Kachinas are in contact with the human beings‚ not the divinities who only give instructions to the Kachinas.”

The Hopi refer only to Kachinas when familiarising children with the initiated beings. “It would be too difficult to explain the difference to them, and this is where the Kachina puppets serve their role: they accustom children to these beings’ physical appearance so they do not fear seeing the dancers,” White Bear explained, adding that even tourists who buy these puppets call them Kachinas, but it doesn’t really matter if they are unaware of the deeper meanings.

“We do the same thing with the San Francisco mountains [a sacred range southwest of Hopiland]. When children see those high peaks, they understand when we tell them that this is where the Kachinas go when they leave us,” White Bear said, saying that it’s easier for children to understand a high mountain than a distant planet. “Think about what you tell your children about Santa Claus and the child Jesus. But when the children are accepted among the adults‚ the difference is explained. The Kachinas come from a very distant planet, and when they leave us they return there. The men who carry out the dances represent these learned beings who came to us a long time ago,” he said.

The San Francisco Peaks, a volcanic mountain range in north-central Arizona, sacred to the Hopi. (PD0)

White Bear described three kinds of Kachinas. The first involves survival and the continuity of life. In the Hopi dances, these Kachinas appear in mid-winter when in nature all life sleeps.

“They offer the certainty to us that life will return and continue; and as reincarnation belongs to the continuity of life‚ it means that we will take birth again and have the possibility to improve,” White Bear said.

The second group consists of the teachers. “We learn from them who we are and where we are‚ what transformations we can undergo and what we must do,” he noted.

The third group represents the guardians of the law. “They are the ones who warn us. They explain to us patiently what not to do,” White Bear said, “but in time they stop informing us and start punishing us for any evil we do.”

White Bear reported that children have been born following a “mystical relation” between Hopi women and Kachinas. “There was a physical proximity between our people and Kachinas. We could touch them. But even if that seems strange‚ they never had sexual relations. The children were conceived in a mystical way,” he said, apparently referring to the phenomenon called “virgin birth” in Christian doctrine.

“Such children‚ when grown, possessed great knowledge and wisdom and sometimes even supernatural capacities, which they had received from their spiritual father,” White Bear explained. “They were splendid, powerful men who were always ready to help but never to destroy.”

Flying Shields and Magnetic Fields

White Bear made it clear that Kachinas have physical bodies. “That’s why they need vessels to travel in our skies and return to their planets,” he said, adding that the spaceships have various sizes and names. “One name is Patoowa, ‘the object which can fly above water’. Pahu means ‘water’ in our language, and Toowata is ‘an object with a curved surface’. Because of this form, we also call it a ‘flying shield’. I will tell you what it resembles: if you cut a calabash [gourd] in two‚ a form is obtained with the aspect of a saucer. You may assemble two of these and approximate the shape of the vessel which they used formerly to go to these planets. A pilot sitting inside can move the craft in all the directions and does not lose balance regardless of speed. Because of this form, we call it Inioma,” he said.

I haven’t been able to locate a definition for Inioma beyond White Bear’s description that suggests the occupants were unaffected by the ship’s velocity. It’s also clear that White Bear believed that the spaceships flew by somehow utilizing magnetic or gravitational fields.

The Hopi know that some of their ancestors flew in these spaceships, which had also been used in other countries. In India, for example, they were called Vimanas. “People from Atlantis came to us in these vessels. Near Oraibi there is a petroglyph representing a woman in a flying shield. The arrow signifies high speed,” he said. “You can see that she carries the hair of a married woman.”

Describing these spaceships, White Bear said the two halves are held together by a “support” which the pilots must actuate. When they turn a lever to the right‚ the ship goes up. When they turn it to the left‚ it goes down.

“The vessels do not have engines like aeroplanes and do not use fuel. They fly in a magnetic field. Pilots must only know the adequate height. If they want to move towards the east‚ they choose a certain height. If they want to go north‚ they choose another height. It is enough to go up to the height corresponding to the selected direction and the vessel flies in the desired direction. This way, they can reach any place inside our atmosphere and can also leave the Earth,” White Bear said. “It is very simple!”

Toowakachi, The Fourth World

It’s clear that the Hopi embrace a world view which is more expansive, timeless and wondrous than our own. Members of our “modern culture” are slowly abandoning the anthropocentric view that humanity represents a pinnacle of Creation. Life must exist elsewhere in the Universe and permeate it. 

It took our clever culture of reason and science hundreds of years to apprehend knowledge that the Hopis have embodied all along—awareness that malicious human activity, including large-scale warfare and wilful environmental destruction, disturbs a delicate balance that directly harms all life on the planet. The Hopi say they know what’s coming because their ancestors have seen this inevitable cycle play out before.

After a great war between Kásskara and Talawaitichqua—the land we call Atlantis—Kásskara had begun slowly sinking, while Atlantis submerged quickly. A long time before Kásskara and Atlantis had been “absorbed into the earth” as White Bear described it, the Kachinas had noticed a continent to the east emerging from the water. “It was the same country as that we had lived on in our Second World, Tokpa, but its appearance was different, so now we called it ‘Toowakachi’— the Fourth World,” he said, referring to the continent we today call South America.

The Kachinas had been monitoring this emerging land mass, and when a sufficient portion was above the water, they began preparing for great migrations to this new continent, White Bear explained. These migrations spanned centuries. The Creator had decided to save these people and directed the Kachinas to help them reach this new homeland.

The initial groups, consisting of those essential to the development of infrastructure such as planners and engineers, arrived on various types of flying craft. The largest groups of immigrants were transported using reed boats via a chain of islands, Easter Island being the only one still above water. The next instalment in this series, “The Mysterious Past of the Hopi: From Kásskara to the Americas”, details these migrations and describes the development of this new civilisation at Tiwanaku. ∞

A version of this article has also been published by NEXUS magazine, August-September, 2016

Shawn Hamilton is a teacher and reporter in California. He began his teaching career in Taiwan in 1989 when large rallies were supporting the protesters at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. He returned to the relative calm of the United States and took a teaching position in Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles, in time for the rioting that occurred there, sparked by an unpopular court decision.
Hamilton moved to Sacramento where he taught college classes part-time and covered the capitol as a reporter for Pacifica Radio’s KPFA in Berkeley. He received a Project Censored award in 2011.
As a teenager, Hamilton was introduced to Oswald “White Bear” Fredericks by his high school anthropology teacher, and he became intrigued by native cultures. The experience led to his traveling to Meta Tantay, the camp of Shoshone healer John “Rolling Thunder” Pope in Nevada. While attending Humboldt State University in the California redwoods a few years later, Hamilton took classes in Native American Studies and began participating in ritual sweat lodge ceremonies on the Eel River. He said these experiences changed his life.
Shawn Hamilton can be reached at [email protected]
For more information, visit his website: http://theswillbucket.com/

13 thoughts on “Earth Cataclysms And The Hopi Kachinas, Saviours From Space”

  1. KRF says:

    “The Kachinas come from space. That is a great story. Love to here more.

  2. Shawn Hamilton says:

    It gets weirder! Perhaps I should remind readers that I am reporting in this series, not inventing! Good hearing from you, KRF!

  3. Shawn Hamilton says:

    Henry J. Denny, the teacher through whom I met White Bear, died at his home on Friday, April 24th in Chino Valley, Arizona. He was 79.

    In the late 1970s Henry was my high school history and anthropology teacher at Loara High School in Anaheim California. I was not conforming well to the social pressures of high school, and Henry made life much easier for me—by talking to my other teachers and even starting a class specifically for me and a few other students that used Edgar Cayce’s book on Atlantis as its textbook.

    Henry recognised certain skills or talents in me that I didn’t know I possessed, allowing me to give talks to all of his classes on such unconventional topics as the social commentaries of comedian-activist, Dick Gregory. Those experiences contributed to my having become reasonably comfortable and proficient as a public speaker.

    As an anthropology teacher, Henry escorted some of my classmates and me to Silverado Canyon, where we dug marine fossils out of cliffs. That really drove home the fact that this part of southern California had once been under water. Henry’s classes were fun—and more genuinely educational the most of my other classes. He provided a model of the “ideal teacher” that I have tried to live up to in my own teaching career.

    This was the context in which Henry introduced me to White Bear during the summers of 1977 and 1978. What I’m calling the “Kásskara” series on the Hopi is a direct result of Henry’s influence. Henry is proof that one well-intended teacher can make a major difference in the life of a student.

    Henry also served as a surrogate grandfather to my son, John, whose biological grandfathers had died before his birth. He always remembered John on his birthdays and sent him gifts for Christmas.

    I really appreciate what Henry did for me and others over the decades, and I’m so happy he was able to see the “Kásskara” series published before his transition!

    I sure will miss him!

    Shawn Hamilton
    Sacramento, CA

    theswillbucket.com

  4. Jane Davis says:

    I taught with Hank at Loara. I was an English teacher who shared many of his interests in other worlds and Native Americans. We became fast friends, and my family travelled to visit him at the Denny Compound in Chino Valley, Arizona. I regret that we never met White Bear. What a fun and exhilarating friend Hank was. He must be with all of his dear Hopis now.

  5. Shawn Rock Heysham says:

    I loved Mr. Denny’s Anthropology class. He was very kind to everyone. I learned so much in his class which opened a door for me to learn about my family name and the origin. I’ve grown to love genealogy/ancestry since that class. Although my favorite topic at the time was anything Egyptian. Thank you Mr. Denny for being such a great teacher.

  6. Shawn Hamilton says:

    I must admit that when I posted my announcement about Henry’s passing on a Loara High School website, I wasn’t sure anyone would even remember him. Not only do many remember him; they obviously appreciate him as much as I do! On Facebook there were over 80 responses in one day! I am so heartened by the outpouring of love and respect! And thank you, Jane and Shawn, for bringing some of that good energy to this web site!

  7. Nick says:

    Might be that the vehicles are meteors like in every other myth and legend..a celestial horror story spliced with the human story of hope and love.
    Rebirth is return.. comets.

  8. Derek says:

    The children of the Kachinas and women are called “nephilim” in the Bible. Genesis 6:1-4.

  9. Shawn Hamilton says:

    I’ve noticed those similarities too, Derek. It’s a relevant comparison and I’m happy you mentioned it! According to White Bear, the Hawaiian term “Kahuna” also refers to these beings.

  10. Michael says:

    I have similar images from Bella Coola, British Columbia. Stories of the Star People are well known in these places. I’d love to share photos.

  11. Shawn Hamilton says:

    “Stories of the Star People are well known in these places.”

    I find it intriguing and encouraging that “such stories of the star people” appear so commonly around the world, and often in remarkably similar terms.

    I’d love to see your photos! My email address is [email protected] Also, I have a website devoted to such things called “The Swill Bucket” (high-minded site with lowbrow name) where we can post them. I appreciate your interest!

  12. Don Baker says:

    I love the information given by Oswald “White Bear” Fredericks. From my own studies I feel it adds some clarity to what I’ve read, though dates are always problematic – for example when Lemuria sank, and which Atlantean cataclysm is being referred to. Have you read any of the Laurency materials? Laurency has produced a translation of Pythagoras hylozoics, which is a description of reality that includes, along with the purpose of life, how Atlantis and Lemuria fit into human history. Apparently there are 7 paths taken for consciousness development – one being the human path of development. I imagine the others would involve katchinas and other life forms, but we are only told of one other line – that of the deva kingdom. Laurency.com.

  13. Shawn Hamilton says:

    Don, I agree that the dates are vague, but White Bear did once state that the first migrations from the Third World began about 80 “soomody” ago or 80 thousand years.

    I am not currently familiar with the Laurency material, but I’ll change that soon enough! It sounds fascinating! The paths you mention that include humans and devas reminds me of the “six realms” in Buddhism — enshrined in the chant: ॐ मणिपद्मे हूँ (Om Ma Ne Bei Mi Hong), whose syllables correspond to the six states of duality-driven existence -— Devas (Gods); Demigods (Asuras or Titans); Humans; Animals; Preta (hungry ghosts) and Hell Beings. The seventh realm is beyond those six transitory states and might be described as Ultimate Reality or Oneness with the Creator. White Bear once mentioned that Tibetan Buddhist belief most closely approximates Hopi understanding.

    The Hopi conduct a ceremonial foot race whose course can be measured in miles/kilometers, and the various stations along the route correspond to the vortices of psychic energy in humans called “chakras”. These facts suggest to me the Hopi’s origin in the Far East as White Bear claims. Also, the website you mention refers to a “fifth kingdom of nature” which sounds suspiciously like the “Fifth World” of the Hopi.

    Interesting post! I appreciate your writing!

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