Native American Hopi Carved Butterfly Maiden Dancer Katsina Dolls

Description

Native American Hopi Carved Butterfly Maiden Dancer Katsina Dolls by Eloy Talahytewa

Palhik Mana is a Butterfly Maid, not a Katsina, but a woman dancer. Though at the dances the Butterfly Maid is not masked or hooded, she generally appears this way when carved as a doll. She generally appears in August, as that is when the butterflies appear. The Butterfly Dance, a traditional social dance of the Hopi, is held in August after the gathering of the harvest and presentation of the Snake Dance. It is a thanksgiving dance for the harvest, chiefly for the corn crop and features dancing by young Hopi maidens wearing elaborate headdresses. This beautiful piece by Eloy shows the Butterfly Maiden in the middle of working on the hair of the Butterfly Girl in front of her. These two maidens are standing on a base that shows the pueblo, including a kiva with a ladder extending out. The other side of the base shows the springs that are so important for the fresh water for the people of the Pueblo.