The use of katsina dolls (also known as katchina, katcina, or kachina) is of spiritual significance. These were traditionally given by Hopi fathers to their daughters and nieces to be hung on the wall or the beam inside the home. This is also of education importance which teaches the child about the mask, body painting, and the outfit used in the katsina. The katsina refers to the dancers in a pueblo village who wear masks in impersonating the spirits. This ceremonial dance is observed in western pueblos located in southwestern United States. The pueblo tribes are the Hopi, Zuni, Acomna Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, and the Tewa Village.
The katsina dolls are wooden dolls that represent the natural spirits and elements around such as the stars, moon, sun, wind, thunderstorms, and other elemental objects. However, these dolls are not items of worship or religious objects. Some of the dolls are made of natural materials such as cottonwood roots, natural pigments, leather, and feathers. The theme in these dolls is the life force that is present in every object in the universe and that humans have to interact with them in order to survive and live abundantly.
The original katsinam are made by Hopi craftsmen or artists and only a few of them have dedicated their lives into this art. The ritual dance with the use of katsinam (plural of katsina) was observed two hundred years ago even before the Spaniards came. The katsinam can be categorized into 5 types: the guards, spiritual beings, ogres, racers, and clowns. Each has its role during the dance wherein the clowns keep the humor during the dances while the ogres keep a positive energy in children. The spirit beings represent the cosmos while the guards protect the participants from inappropriate behavior. The racers on the other hand symbolize the Hopi's communication pathways from one village to another.
The details spent on each katsina are amazing. However during the time when most of the Hopis were handcrafting these dolls for profit, the dolls' designs became fancier and were drifting from the traditional form. In the 1970s, Manfred Susunkewa who was a famous katsina carver realized the need to go back to the original purpose of the dolls and started to lead his colleagues back to the creation of traditionally designed dolls. Some famous vintage carvers of the katsina are Wilson Tawaquaptewa, Jimmy Kootshongsie, Otto Pentewa, and Jimmie Kewanwytewa. So those who are planning to collect these dolls, better check the works of these Hopis who make traditional katsinam.
View the original article here
No comments:
Post a Comment