Johnson, K. T. (Tuwaletstewa)

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K. T. Johnson was one of the early converts of the General Conference Mennonite (GCM) mission among the Hopi in Arizona. He later served as a paid worker ("native helper") with the mission. His conversion to Christianity meant, for him, rejection of all aspects of traditional Hopi religion.

Johnson had been head of the Bow Clan, which controlled the One-Horn and Two-Horn societies, which had important and exclusive roles to play in the seasonal cycle of Hopi religion. When Johnson became a Christian, he rejected attendance at the Hopi ceremonial dances as well as rejecting tobacco, white dances, and movies. In August 1922, Johnson consulted with other Hopi Christians in Oraibi and decided to burn the Bow Clan altar and other paraphernalia connected with it. Johnson, as head of the Bow Clan, had possession of the altar, which was used in one of the most secret Hopi ceremonies.

On the next Sunday afternoon, when many white tourists as well as Hopis were gathered to watch the Snake Dance, the Hopi Christians gathered in the center of New Oraibi for prayer and singing. Johnson set up the secret altar in the public square, spoke to the crowd about the evils of idol worship, poured gasoline over the altar, and set fire to it while the Christian group sang the hymn "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" in Hopi. "Thus passed away the most important Hopi religious ceremony," commented Otto Lomavitu, another Hopi Christian.

Bibliography

Suderman, John P. A Hopi Indian Finds Christ: The Experience of Mr. K T Johnson and His Judgment on Idolatry. Oraibi, AZ: the Author, n.d.

Waters, Frank. Book of the Hopi. New York: Ballentine Books 1962: 381-382.


Author(s) Lois Barrett
Date Published 1987

Cite This Article

MLA style

Barrett, Lois. "Johnson, K. T. (Tuwaletstewa)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Johnson,_K._T._(Tuwaletstewa)&oldid=122527.

APA style

Barrett, Lois. (1987). Johnson, K. T. (Tuwaletstewa). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Johnson,_K._T._(Tuwaletstewa)&oldid=122527.



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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 467. All rights reserved.


©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

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