Kachina Dolls
Kachinas originate from the religious and spiritual beliefs of the Pueblo Indians, in particular the Hopi and the Zuni. Kachinas are spirits, often of animals, who carry the prayers of the people. During Kachina ceremonies and dances, the men who wear the masks and dress of these spirits are also called Kachinas because it is believed that they become the spirits of the Kachina. Kachina ceremonies take place during the first half of the Hopi religious calendar from winter solstice to mid-July. There are five major ceremonies, lasting nine days each. Most of these ceremonies and dances are held in the underground Kivas where only the initiated may see them.
In recent years many Native Americans, including the Navajo, have embraced the creation of Kachina figurines. There are more than 250 different kachinas, each with its own separate attributes, representing everything from animals to abstract concepts. Kachina Dolls are models of the Kachinas and represent their likeness and traits. The dolls are gifts given to children and families in hope of future abundance and health as well as tools for education. The Kachina dolls of today's art market are a bridge not only between the spiritual world and mortals but also between Hopis and non-Hopis. The Hopi were the original Kachina doll carvers, using a single piece of cottonwood root. Their traditions were not isolated and soon the Navajo began carving in their own creative way, adding leather, feathers, fur, beads, and turquoise. Each year Kachinas come, they walk upon the earth and they dance to bring life and renewal, distribute gifts to the children, and reinforce the connection between the spirit world and the people. When the Kachinas return to the spirit world at the end of the planting, they return with the prayers of the Hopi that we might all continue on this earth for another round in the circle of life.
To understand Hopi Kachina dolls, one must understand something of their purpose. The Kachina doll of the Hopi, which so many of us admire and collect, is the representation of a Hopi spirit or deity. Kachina dolls originally were, and still are, made to be given away as gifts to Hopi children so that they may learn the different Kachinas and the stories and religious significance attached to them. Kachinas are holy spirits that live upon the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona and other sacred mountains in the Southwest. During the period beginning with the Winter Solstice and extending to about mid-July, masked dancers initiated into the various clans of the Hopi Pueblos impersonate these spirits. Men portray both the male and female spirits and when an initiate wears the mask of his Kachina, he becomes that spirit personified. During the open dances, the Kachinas dance in the plaza or from Kiva to Kiva distributing the Kachina dolls, toy bows, rattles, fruit and sweets to the children between dances. Kachinas can be spirits of deities, animals, and even deceased members of the Pueblo known for special kindness or prowess. One such Kachina, He-e-wuhti, wears the black face of a warrior. She is powerful and terrible to behold. She holds a bow and her hair is tied up on one side onto the wooden form used to create the "Whorl" hair design of a Hopi maiden. Her hair is down and flowing on the other side, the aspect in which she was found as her mother was preparing her hair when an enemy attacked the Pueblo. The men were tending their fields and the young maiden jumped up to take her father's bow and lead the women in a valiant defense of the Pueblo until the men could join the battle and defeat the enemy. This Kachina is so powerful that Whipper Kachinas stay the spectators from her path to keep them from being harmed by her spirit. The Kachina impersonators give the spirits a form that can interact with the human and can be seen as intermediaries between the Hopi Pueblo and the spirits themselves. While the Kachinas are present, they are constantly offered prayers by spectators who sprinkle the dancers with corn pollen as they pass or are encountered. In this way the blessings between the Kachinas and the people can be exchanged before the Kachinas return to their mountain homes in the summer. Plaza dances were at one time open to all, but because of the ignorant and sometimes reprehensible behavior of increasingly large groups of tourists, all dances are now closed to the public.
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