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Kachina doll
Arizona
Umtoinaqa Katsina – Making Thunder Kachina doll
Hopi
Circa 1930s or 1940s
Carved wood (cottonwood root) and pigments
Height: 22.5 cm – 8 ¾ in.
Provenance
Ex collection Adobe Gallery, Santa Fe, USA
Ex collection Brian Paccione, Santa Fe, USA
Sold
Kachina 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 pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
Mona Katsina (the Thunder or River Kachina) appears in ritual dances on the Third Mesa. This kachina spirit is said to ensure that abundant water will come to the Hopi land. He is a prayer for rain and a steady flow of the rivers.
Mona Katsina (the Thunder or River Kachina) appears in ritual dances on the Third Mesa. This kachina spirit is said to ensure that abundant water will come to the Hopi land. He is a prayer for rain and a steady flow of the rivers.
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