
RED HAT -- Any of various
Tibetan
monastic orders established prior to the15th century when the GELUGPA order
was founded. The three largest Red Hat sects, in order of membership, are: NYINGMAPA,
KAGYUPA, and Sakyapa.
The Tibetan term corresponding
to Red Hat (_Zhvamar_) refers only to the followers of the Sharmapa, a
TULKU of the
Karma
Kagyupa sub-order.
Hopi
elder Thomas Banyacya has written, "Our true white brother, when he comes, will
be all powerful and he will wear a red cap and cloak. He will be large
in population and belong to no other religion than his very own. He will bring
with him the sacred stone tablets. Great will be his coming. None will be able
to stand against him." Although it is unclear whether Pahana will hold the stone
tablets in a literal or a symbolic sense, this passage indicates that he is
not a single person, but large in population. Because Tibetan rinpoches and
lamas wear red, and because Tibetan Buddhism has rituals similar to Hopi ones,
especially the making of sand paintings as a healing and a tool for meditation,
many wonder whether Pahana could be represented, in part, by the arrival of
the Tibetan spiritual community. And traditional Hopi, in recent years, have
initiated meetings with Tibetan holy men to explore this possibility.