Native American Hopi Carved Sheep Herder Katsina Doll by Brian Honyouti
Ths Sheep Herder (La lai Aya) dances during the mountain sheep dance and functions like a shepherd of those mountain sheep. He appears at First Mesa where he functions as a guard. On Second Mesa he is a side dancer, on Third Mesa he is a caretaker or owner of the animals. He carries a blue rattle. On Third Mesa this Katsina is usually danced by a boy. The story goes like this: A boy was thrown out of his house and grew up with the wild animals. He came back as a Katsina to visit his mother. If his mother recognized him he would return to her as a boy. She did not recognize him and he remained a Katsina.
We talked to Brian about this piece and these are his words: "I'd begun this piece for an aunt (my dad's sister's daughter) whose father used to own sheep. She helped out a lot at their ranch. She used to do quite a bit of the herding for him. On the base I'd planned to carve in bas relief a profile of her walking behind several sheep. Their corral was built onto an escarpment, which is shown on the front. The figure and sheep could be seen as either having just left the corral or returning to it. The height of the base lacked enough space to do the scene justice, so I did the figure. She has turned into a he and looks like a Navajo lad. He's lost his sheep and doesn't know where to find them. Hence, 'Little Bo Begay'." Click on numbered boxes below image for additional views.
