Vital Spirit: The Hopi Katsina Doll

Exhibit Dates: October 8, 2005 until March 26, 2006

Description:
The Hopi are a Pueblo people living on a group of mesas in northeastern Arizona. They are strongly bound together and to their environment by their religion. One aspect of that religion is the Katsina Cult. The cult is based on the dualism of mass and energy. Katsinam are the spirit essence of everything in the real world. They represent both objects and forces. Katsinam are not worshiped but treated as partners interested in Hopi welfare.

Hopi katsina dolls or tithu (singular: tihu) are wooden effigies of the katsinam (plural), or benevolent spirit beings who visit the Hopi for about half of every year. Traditionally carved by Hopi men from cottonwood root, they are tangible evidence of the katsinam's power and wisdom.

According to Hopi tradition, the katsinam once visited in person, but now come in varying natural forms like clouds down from the mountains or mist up from the earth. They begin arriving in late December during Soyalwimi, and appear in greater number during the Powamuya ceremonial season in February. It is not possible to interact with katsinam directly. Instead masked and costumed Hopi men assume their powers and prestige in ceremonies and dances held until the katsinam depart in July and return to their spirit world after the Niman ceremony. Though only men can be katsinam, women and children play important roles as their audience.

The Hopi recognize several hundred katsinam. Some originated at other pueblos. Many came from Zuni without their original legends and other religious connotations, and have since come to look much more like Hopi katsinam.

Hopi katsinam take on numerous representations including plants, animals, insects, human qualities, clouds, and the sun. Some are demons who frighten children into behaving properly; most are clan ancestors and kind beings. They are messengers who accept Hopi gifts and prayers for health, fertility, and rain and carry them back to the gods. Their role as rainmakers is particularly important to the Hopi, whose agriculture in the high, arid desert is precarious.

Consequently, Hopi people do not perceive the katsina dolls simply as carved figurines or brightly decorated objects. They have important meaning to them. In the words of the Hopi people, We believe they are personifications of the katsina spirits, originally created by the katsinam in their physical embodiment. They are presented to females by the spirits as personalized gifts to award virtuous behavior and to publicly recognize special persons, such as brides, who are presented at the Niman ceremony.

Butterfly Maiden 1930-40, Artist Unknown -Wood, Paint, Feathers, Leather -Gift of H. Barry Levine This figure represents a female dancer wearing a tableta or headdress, and is not an actual katsina spirit, but rather a woman's dance personage.

Hemis Katsina 1960, Artist Unknown -Wood, Twine, Feathers, Paint -Gift of H. Barry Levine In the Niman ceremony the handsome Nimankatsinam, also known as the Hemikatsinam, accompanied by their pretty katsina maidens, bring such traditional gifts as stalks of corn, melons, katsina dolls, and bows and arrows, and dance and provide special blessings throughout the day. Their gifts represent a bounty of harvest, and great virtues of life for all mankind.

Snake Dancer 1960, Luther Honeyste, USA -Wood, Feathers, Leather, Shells, Paint -Gift of H. Barry Levine Chusona, or Snake Dancer, is mistakenly taken for a katsina. It is, rather, a society personage - one of great popularity. The Snake Dance has always possessed an intense fascination for the non-Hopi, and consequently figures of this personage have been carved for many years.

Mud Head 1980, Roger Jackson -Wood, Paint, Leather -Gift of H. Barry Levine Koyemsi, or Mudhead Katsina, is a multi-faceted clown introduced from Zuni, appearing in almost every Hopi dance.