Native American Navajo Carved Hopi Butterfly Dancer Kachina Doll (Katsina Doll)

Description

Native American Navajo Carved Butterfly Dancer Katsina Doll by Alexander Youvella Sr.

The Politaka is the male form of the Butterfly Katsina. He seems to appear solely on Third Mesa and may actually have developed there. The dance he performs is much like the common Butterfly Dance, a traditional social dance of the Hopi 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. This Katsina is portrayed with the payaiyokyasi, or moisture tablets (the wings). This is an unusual carving for Alex and we are happy to have it.