Kiva are the traditional places of worship for the Pueblo people. They are traditionally constructed underground, but because the hard Acoma mesa discourages excavation, the people built the kiva above ground and made the only entrance from the roof to appear as if they were built with the traditional kiva construction. This is why the only part of a kiva that a visitor will see is a ladder climbing up a relatively blank facade. What makes the kiva even more mysterious is the fact that no visitors are allowed inside, and no one is allowed to talk about what goes on inside. Even the tour guides are not allowed to reveal the events that take place inside.
A rare photograph of the interior of an Acoma kiva
