The Hopi were proud of their coffin-making culture, not their burial culture. Just like how African Americans were good at singing and dancing, Native Americans were skilled with their hands.
There were still many traditional Native American settlements throughout North America. For example, there were a few such tribes hidden in the Rocky Mountain Range.
The Hopi were also skilled with their hands. When their children went to school, the most important subjects were not geography, mathematics, English, or nature, but carving and handicrafts.
To them, carving was a skill that they could rely on to make a living. They would learn and study from a young age, so their skills were naturally superb.
The Hopi's coffins were not restricted to one style. They were a way to reflect the owner's hobbies and actions.
Seeing that they were interested, the security chief brought them to the coffin workshop to visit.
The workshop was in a large shed. Dozens of men and women were busy working inside.
There were many steps to making a coffin. Some steps needed to be done in the open. The shed was supported by tree trunks and had good ventilation.
"This is to ensure the stability and corrosion resistance of the coffin. When we make it, we need to paint layers of tree lacquer and tung oil. We have to rely on the sun and wind to speed up the drying process," the security chief explained.
There was a warehouse next to the workshop. There were many coffins in it.
This place was like a morgue. It should be gloomy and scary.
However, when Li Du went over to take a look, he realized that it did not look like a place to store coffins. It looked more like an art warehouse. There were no coffins like the ones he knew. There were all different styles and colorful handicrafts.
The security chief continued, "Look at these coffins and you will know who the owner is."
The outermost one was a big fish. It looked like a big tuna, but it was ten times bigger.
Pointing at the wooden fish, he said, "Look at this. This is the coffin of Brother Vanniel Nanpeiyao. He loved fishing. Every time he went to the Colorado River, he would come back with a lot of fish."
"There are tuna in the Colorado River?" Li Du asked.
Although he was not familiar with fishing, he knew that tuna was a precious fish. It was impossible to find them in freshwater.
The security chief explained, "No, there isn't. Brother Vanniel once caught a bluefin tuna in the ocean outside Los Angeles. It was featured in the newspapers and on TV. He brought glory to our tribe."
Apart from the tuna, there was also a coffin in the shape of a gray wolf lying on the ground.
"This is the coffin that Brother Kakuaptewa prepared for himself. His nickname was the Wolf Hunter. He once hunted six wolves in one hunting mission. This was his proudest achievement."
"Can you tell what this coffin is? It's a domino, and its owner is a wizard who can communicate with the gods through the domino … "
"You may not have seen this projector before. Our tribe used this to show movies in the earliest days. Its owner was the film projectionist of our tribe. He was a good man …"
Just like that, the security chief introduced the coffin, and the two of them got to know the owner of the coffin.
At the end of the tour, Hans asked, "Buddy, what do you think? Are their coffins very special?"
Li Du was impressed. "Yes, it's great, but we can't get our hands on it. As you can see, they are all custom-made. There are no extras."
"Besides, even if there are extras, it won't be easy to sell them. We have to find someone who likes the style of a particular coffin before we can sell it," he added.
Hans said dejectedly, "Yeah, it would be great if we could get a chance to work with the Hopi. We could take orders and let them make custom coffins."
This was a way to get rich, but it was not going to work.
Hans hinted at it, but the security chief shook his head and refused. "Our ancestors left a rule. We can only make coffins for people in our tribe. We can't make coffins for other people. Otherwise, we will anger the god of the dead, and our tribe will not have peace."
When it came to the tribe's rules and theology, there was no room for discussion. Unless they could convince the whole tribe to change their culture and beliefs, which was impossible.
Seeing their regretful expressions, the security chief smiled slyly and said, "If you can convince your two big men to stay in our tribe, I can think of a way to get you the coffins."
This time it was Li Du's turn to refuse. "No, no, sorry, chief, we can't do that. They already have families. They won't stay here."
The security chief said regretfully, "Alright, I really like those two guys. If they are willing to stay, I can let my two daughters marry them."
Hans was even more regretful than him. This was a good opportunity to make money. If he could get the rights to make coffins for the Hopi, he could make a lot of money.
The security chief had a lot of sculptures, woven goods, and other handicrafts in his house. He placed them messily and threw them everywhere.
He had nothing to do in the afternoon, so he let the two of them look at the things in his house to see if there was anything they were interested in.
Li Du released the little bug. Once the little bug was released, it circled around his hand habitually and immediately flew to a table and went into a drawer.
Through the little bug's vision, Li Du saw something that attracted it. It was a glove-like item with green rust stains on it. It was randomly thrown among a few bronze sculptures.
He opened the drawer and looked at it. The glove should be made of copper. The green rust on the surface was copper rust. It looked like it had been around for a long time and was full of age.
Seeing that the little bug was so interested in the copper glove, Li Du was even more interested in it. He didn't know what era it was from, but it should be worth buying.
Considering the security chief's shrewdness, he had to use a roundabout strategy. He picked up the copper coin next to the copper glove and asked, "How much do you want to trade this?"
Sure enough, the security chief was excited and said, "Oh, kid, you have good taste. You've picked a treasure. Do you know what it is? It's a prophecy stone! "
"What is it prophesying?" Li Du asked.
The security chief's face was solemn. "Only the gods know the specific content. But according to the witches and leaders of our tribe, we have some understanding of the content …"
Then, the old man's expression became mysterious. "This is an ancient prophecy that has a history of tens of thousands of years. It records the origin, history, and future of mankind. This is our tribe's treasure, so …"
"So don't lie to my brother," Hans said, rolling his eyes. "The real prophecy stone is in the wilderness outside. It's a big stone tablet. The content has long been announced to the public."
The old man argued, "Yes, but you can't take it away! My copper coin is a replica made according to the scale. In fact, I don't want anyone to take it away because it's a treasure! "
Li Du didn't want to listen to their nonsense. He asked directly, "If I want to take it away, what do I need in exchange?"
The security chief said, "A mobile phone!"
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