Antique Native American Hopi Carved Crow Mother Katsina Doll by Unknown Hopi Carver
Crow Mother(Angwusnasomtaka) is the Mother of the Whipper Katsinam and considered by many Hopi to be the Mother of all Katsinam. She is Crow Bride (Angwushahai-i) on Third Mesa with the "bride" proably because she talks or sings, and comes dressed entirely in white. On the other Mesas she is Crow Mother. She appears during the Bean Dance (Powamuya) on all three Mesas. During the Powamuya, she supervises the initiation of the children into the Katsina Society and carries the yucca whips with which they are struck by the Hu Katsina. Later in the same ceremony, she leads other Katsinam into the village bearing in her arms a basket of corn kernels and bean sprouts to symbolically start the new growing season. This wonderful Crow Mother was carved by an unknown Hopi carver in the 1960s. Other than the few feathers atop her head and the ties on the bundle of whips she is completely carved. This Crow Mother carries wooden whips (which were carried by the katinasm from old Oraibi). Click on numbered boxes below image for additional views.
