Hopi “ant pot” by Daisy Hooee Nampeyo (born 1906); painted by her granddaughter Cheryl Naha Nampeyo. According to Daisy (as told to JR Bloom, full account on file), ants infested Hano while “Old Lady” Nampeyo was alive. Using an older Sikyatki ant pot as a model, Nampeyo made ant pots like this one that were then filled with honey. When the infesting ants clustered around the honey, they were scooped up and placed far from Hano. Thus, the village was rid of the infestation and the ants were respected, as befits animals who had sheltered and led the Hopi people on their migration to this Fourth World. Daisy related this same story to Barbara Kramer, see pot 2015-07 or Kramer (1996:97).
Daisy fell and broke her hip a couple of years ago and has been mostly bed-ridden since the fall. One suspects that these small pots are the last in her long production of pottery. For comments by Daisy, her picture and a similar 1985 ant pot, see Dillingham (1994:41). For other pots in the collection by Daisy Hooee Nampeyo, see the Artist List.
