n.
Underground chamber of the Pueblo Indian villages of the southwestern U.S., notable for the murals that decorate its walls.
A small hole in its floor, the sípapu , serves as the symbolic place of origin of the tribe. Though the kiva's primary purpose is for ritual ceremonies, men also use it for political meetings or casual gatherings. Women are almost always excluded from the kiva. The traditional round slope of the earliest kiva, in contrast to the otherwise square or rectangular Pueblo architecture, recalls the circular pit houses of the prehistoric basket-weaving culture from which these tribes, primarily Hopi and Zuni , descend.