There are hundreds of Katsinam who are personifications of supernatural beings, important animals and ancestors. The Katsinam live in the San Francisco Peaks (north of Flagstaff, AZ) and come down to the villages in February. They stay in the villages until the end of July helping the Hopi people raise their crops, their children, and their spirits.
The Katsina dancers are men wearing masks--each of which represents a particular Katsina--and paint and feathered costumes. Everyone in the village aside from the children know that the Katsina dancers are actually men from the village, but Katsinam are still believed to have supernatural powers. Much of the value in these dances is found to be instruction of the young.
The Katina masks are clearly non-human, since Katsinam themselves are non-human. The shape, color, and appearance of the mask are important, and each Katsina has a unique mask. Dolls are made to repesent and honor the Katsinam and to help the children learn the differences between them.
We carry Native American pottery, kachinas, Indian artifacts, Indian jewelry, Hopi Old Style Katsinam, Hopi Full-Figure Katsinam, Navajo Kachinas, Horsehair Pottery, sand paintings, Native American original art, prints, and much more.
HOPI MINIATURE KATSINAM
Katsina dolls are an important and cherished part of the Hopi culture. These dolls are representations of one of the hundreds of Katsinam, or Hopi spirit guides who are believed to live primarily in the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona. They descend from the mountains as the winter season wanes to help villagers tend to the fields, care for the children, and tackle any other major task required to encourage the community and land to flourish. The Katsinam stay through late July when the planting and growing season has ended. At this time they take their leave of the Hopi tribes, and return to their home in the mountains of Arizona.
During the time that the Katsinam are visiting the Hopi villages, numerous dances are held to both celebrate a particular natural event, or to remind the people of the village of the significant presence of the Katsinam, and to help the children learn about these sacred beings and what each of them represents. During these dances, the Hopi men will don costumes that represent an individual Katsina, which is represented by a specific color pattern and physical characteristics.
Full-figure Katsinam are carved, generally by a Hopi child’s uncle, to represent a specific Katsina and to help the child become acquainted with that particular spirit. These full-figure carvings, referred to as dolls, are carefully carved from the strong, light root of the cottonwood tree, then painted with the particular colors of the specific Katsina the doll was meant to represent.
