What does a Kachina doll stand for?
What Do Kachina Dolls Symbolize? The word “kachina” comes from the Hopi word “kachi,” which means “spirit.” Kachina dolls symbolize Ketsinam, or spirits of nature. Tribes of the Southwest believed that aspects of nature could be personified by Ketsinam. These include rain, crops, animals, ancestors, and more.
How many kachina dolls are there?
250 different Kachinas
There are more than 250 different Kachinas, each with its own separate attributes, representing everything from animals to abstract concepts. The Hopi were the original Kachina Doll carvers, using a single piece of cottonwood root.
What are the different types of kachina dolls?
The Animal kachinas include:
- Antelope (Chop/Sowi-ing)
- Fox Dancer.
- Great Horned Owl (Mongwu)
- White Bear (Hon)
- Turkey (Koyona)
- Deer Dancer (Sowi-ingwa)
- Badger.
What Native American tribe made kachina dolls?
Native American Hopi artists carve kachina dolls, representing spirits of ancestors. Children learn about the kachina spirits while they play with the dolls. Chöp, the antelope kachina, wood, pigment, yarn, and feathers, Native American, Hopi Pueblo, 20th century; in the Brooklyn Museum, New York.
What Indian tribes have kachinas?
In these Pueblo cultures, the Hopi, Zuni, Hopi-Tewa and the Keresan Tribes located in New Mexico still practice kachina ceremonial rituals today. “Kachina” refers both to ceremonial dances in which these impersonators appear and to carved and painted wooden dolls with masked symbolism.
Who are the kachinas and why are they important?
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.
What do kachinas do?
Although not worshipped, each kachina is viewed as a powerful being who inspires only respect and honor and, if given that respect, can use their powers for human good: to bring rainfall, healing, protection and fertility. Hopi kachina dolls are neither idols to be worshipped nor icons to pray to.
What Indian tribe makes kachina dolls?
Native American Hopi artists carve kachina dolls, representing spirits of ancestors.