Old Style Hopi Carved Corn Maiden Traditional Kachina Doll (Katsina Doll)

Description

Old Style Hopi Carved Corn Maiden Traditional Katsina Doll by the Katsinam

Of all the women who appear with other Katsinam, the Katsina Maiden, or Katsinmana, is the most prevalent. If she is carrying blue corn, she is known as the Blue Corn Maiden, similarly yellow corn, etc. She appears at Soyal ceremony and marks the beginning of the Katsina season by marking the openings to the Kivas with cornmeal. She often appears in regular Katsina dances with household goods, accompanied by Longhair Katsinam. Her presence is a prayer for corn. She also honors Mother Earth and her continuing ability to feed her children. Placing this Katsina in your home, particularly on an altar, shows respect for the many gifts we receive each day from Mother Earth. This gentle maiden reminds us always to be thankful. A Katsina Maiden often will change her name to that of the Katsina with whom she is dancing, although her appearance does not change. , she is one of the very few Katsinam that is an actual woman under the mask. She dances at Niman or the Home Going Dance for the harvest at the end of the Katsina season.

"Yellow Corn Maiden appears with a variety of Katsinam; Angak'china, Ma'alo, Pawik and others. She may sometimes be seen with the Kocha Mana. They dance in a line separate from the other Katsinam but following the same pattern of dance, turning as the others do, gesturing as they do. Their only deviation is when they kneel and place large gourds on the ground to rasp."

This Corn Maiden is a rasper. She has a rasping stick that she places over the gourd and a shoulder blade that she runs up and down the stick to mimic the sounds of frogs. This is to bring the much-needed rains to the desert. This Katsina is unsigned because it was given to a young girl at a dance by a Katsina dancer. As a young woman with children she was forced to ask the Katsinam to help her one more time. She had to sell the gifts she received to feed herself and her family. These are some of the most difficult purchases we make, and it is important for the Hopi women to help them survive.