Moqui & The Kachina Doll

By Linda L. Rigsbee

Moqui is a 10-year-old Hopi Indian girl living in a pueblo in northwest Arizona during the 1700's, but in some ways the problems she faces are not much different from the problems girls face today.

Moqui wants to fit in with the other girls her age. She wants to do fun things, but her mother thinks she is too young. She is upset about all the boring chores she has been given and wants to be trusted with the care of the Kachina Dolls.

When a Zuni refugee family from another pueblo joins them, Moqui becomes friends with Hanovi, who is four years older. Hanovi is cheerful about her chores and finds ways to make them challenging and fun. Hanovi befriends Moqui and soon she is being included in more interesting chores.

At first it is fun, but soon Moqui realizes the fun includes responsibilities. Life becomes more complicated. She is so caught up with her own struggles that she doesn't realize how difficult life has been for Hanovi and her family.

At the peak of Moqui's achievement, the truth is unveiled and Moqui must decide if she wants to make a huge sacrifice to help Hanovi.

This chapter book novelette unfolds with history and authentic Hopi customs. It is a fast read for a suggested audience of ages 7 to 10.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HomeSpun Literature Publishing
• Release date: Oct 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215239063

Linda L. Rigsbee

Linda L. Rigsbee is an award-winning, multi-genre writer with over 60 books published since 1969. She writes cradle-to-rocking chair with one theme – keep it clean. No profanity, excess violence or explicit scenes. Rigsbee writes, draws, paints, sculpts, carves, sews and even cooks art. She illustrates her own children's books, sometimes using digital art created in MS Paint program using a regular wheel mouse. Learn more about this versatile artisan on her website.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Moqui knelt on the stone patio of their pueblo home. Beside her was a small basket of yellow corn kernels. In front of her was a stone metate and mano, used for grinding the corn into meal. Nothing had changed since her birthday last week - nothing but her hair. She now wore it in two buns above her ears, like the older girls. Gone were the braids, but to mother, she was still a child. She was ten summers old now, but she still had the same boring chores - plus some more. When she was a child, she had to shuck the corn and lay the yucca leaves out to dry. Now she had to grind the corn and carry water from the spring. When would mother let her make baskets and pottery like the other Hopi Indian girls her age?

She plunged a hand into the basket of corn. The dry yellow kernels oozed around her hand like sand. It felt cool. She cupped her hand and dipped grain from the basket. Lifting her hand high, she let the kernels trickle through her fingers. They fell, bouncing wildly around the worn center of the metate. Some of the kernels bounced out of the metate and rolled across the patio. She shrugged. The birds would eat them. She picked up the mano. The smooth gray stone was warm from the evening sun. Mother would be upset again because she was working too slowly.

She brought the stone down on the kernels with such force that they split, shooting small pieces of corn into the air. She ground at the corn as if she were crushing a stinging scorpion. Why was mother always telling her to work faster? She worked faster than some of the other girls. It wasn't fair.

She gave the corn a few more passes with the mano and stopped. She scooped the grain out of the metate with her hands, spilling a little on the patio. Let Shongo clean it up. She dumped the grain into a shallow white bowl with black designs. Some of the pieces of corn were a little too big, but who cared? If Mother didn't think it was done right, maybe she would get Shongo to do it.

Why did her brother get to do all the fun stuff? Even now, he was out learning to hunt with their uncle...and Shongo was only eight summers old. Most Hopi boys didn't get to go on a hunt until they were eleven summers old. Why did everyone like Shongo so much?