kiva, large, underground ceremonial chamber, peculiar to the ancient and modern Pueblo. The modern kiva probably evolved from the slab houses (i.e., storage pits and dwellings that were partly underground and lined with stone slabs set on edge) of their cultural ancestors, the Basket Makers. A modern kiva is either a rectangular or a circular structure, with a timbered roof. It is entered through a hatchway by means of a ladder. The floor is made of smooth sandstone slabs, and the walls of fine masonry. There is a dais at one end, a fire pit in the center, and an opening in the floor at the other end. This orifice represents the entrance to the lower world and the place of emergence through which life came to this world. The walls also have a symbolic significance and are decorated with mythological figures. Women are traditionally restricted from entering a kiva. Men use the kiva for secret ceremonies, as a lounging place, and as a workshop where weaving is done.

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 men's rituals and ceremonies, it is also used for political meetings or casual gatherings. Women perform their rituals and ceremonies in other parts of the pueblo and generally avoid entering the kiva. The traditional round form of the 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 descend.

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