The legend of Montezuma Well

Lomayesva, Fred

All they say is, "It happened a long time ago.... The Hopi have been an agricultural people for a long time. However, even though we have always grown our own food, life was still difficult. When our ancestors (who people now call Sinagua) found the Well, they realized life could be easier. So they stayed and made it their home. However, life became too easy and the people became complacent. It was as though they had forgotten who they were and how they should live. The village was in a state of shameless corruption. One day, the village began to shake and the houses caved in. Water gushed in and filled the hole where the village once stood. Suddenly, a great serpent rose up out of the water in anger at what the people had become. Upon seeing the serpent, everyone became very scared and ran away to the north and east, never to return.* (Copied verbatim from NPS Montezuma Well brochure at http://www.nps.gov/moca/planyourvisit/upload/MOWE-brochure_2007.pdf)