Uncategorized | New Mexico
Katsina doll
New Mexico
Hilili Katsina
Zuni
Circa 1910
Carved wood, pigments, fabric, horsehair
Height: 30.5 cm – 12 in.
Provenance
Collection George Everett Shaw, USA
Collection Hugh and Gay Eaton, USA, acquired from the above
Sotheby’s New York “Important American Indian Art and Western Paintings from the Collection of Hugh and Gay Eaton”, May 21st 2015, lot 39
Private collection, acquired at the above auction
Publication
“Art of the Ancestors: Antique North American Indian Art”, Aspen Museum of Art, Colorado, 2004, p. 139
Hilili Zuni Katsina doll 30.5 cm / Galerie Flak
Price: on request
Katsina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a teaching tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
Barton Wright notes in “Kachinas of the Zuni” (1985, Northland Press/Southwest Museum, pages 110-112) that the Hilili Dance, named for the Katsina's cry, originated from Acoma or Laguna. Introduced to the Zuni in the 1880s and later to the Hopi between 1910 and 1912, the dance is performed at Zuni after the Winter Solstice Ceremonies. It features Hilili dancers and their female counterparts, Hilili Okya, accompanied by a chorus of singers and side dancers representing eagles. The Hilili dancers are known for their bird-like movements and sharp cries. The performance is notable for its warlike symbols, evident in Hilili dancer’s attire, which includes a bandoleer with cartridges or arrow points, a wildcat skin across the shoulders, and snakes painted on the face. The ceremony concludes with a ritual involving the sprinkling of cornmeal on the Katsina dancers, giving it the name Yakokanna (or Hilili Kohanna), with "kohanna" being a Laguna word for corn.
Barton Wright notes in “Kachinas of the Zuni” (1985, Northland Press/Southwest Museum, pages 110-112) that the Hilili Dance, named for the Katsina's cry, originated from Acoma or Laguna. Introduced to the Zuni in the 1880s and later to the Hopi between 1910 and 1912, the dance is performed at Zuni after the Winter Solstice Ceremonies. It features Hilili dancers and their female counterparts, Hilili Okya, accompanied by a chorus of singers and side dancers representing eagles. The Hilili dancers are known for their bird-like movements and sharp cries. The performance is notable for its warlike symbols, evident in Hilili dancer’s attire, which includes a bandoleer with cartridges or arrow points, a wildcat skin across the shoulders, and snakes painted on the face. The ceremony concludes with a ritual involving the sprinkling of cornmeal on the Katsina dancers, giving it the name Yakokanna (or Hilili Kohanna), with "kohanna" being a Laguna word for corn.
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