1. Usually a round room or chamber in a Pueblo Indian village which is underground or partly underground: "The kiva is used my men for council meetings or for religious ceremonies."

"While visiting an authentic Hopi Indian Village in the southwestern part of the United States, Thomas could go inside a kiva and see the fantastic murals on the walls."

"There was also a small hole in the floor called a sípapu and Thomas learned that it symbolized the place where the tribe originated."

2. Etymology: from the Hopi language, kiva