Hopi Kachina Dolls

Kachina Dolls

Ever since J. Walter Fewkes, of the Smithsonian Institution, wrote his first illustrated report on Hopi kachinas, in 1894, a growing number of people have become interested in the Hopi Indians and their delightful carved and painted kachina dolls. For years collectors have treasured these small representations of Hopi supernatural beings without being able to learn much about them.

In the northern parts of the states of New Mexico and Arizona are a number of compact Indian villages with flat-roofed houses built of stone or adobe. Because these Indians lived in villages, the Spanish word for which is pueblo, they are called Pueblo Indians. They are known to be the descendants of the prehistoric people who lived in northern Arizona and New Mexico fifteen hundred years ago. Since that time they have developed a rich culture which, in certain aspects, because of their innate conservatism, has withstood the white man's efforts to supplant it with his own. Although most of the Pueblo Indians live in the Rio Grande Valley, near Albuquerque and Santa Fe, a chain of villages extends to the westward across the high plateaus and ends with the Hopi Indians who live on three mesas in northeastern Arizona.

Many of these Pueblo Indians, particularly the Hopi and Zuñi, have ceremonies in which masked men, called kachinas, play an important role, and it is of these masked characters of the Hopi that we are going to speak.

And so you will say, "Ah, yes, a kachina is a masked character, but who is he, what is he, and what is his significance?" A Hopi Indian will tell you that a kachina is a supernatural being who is impersonated by a man wearing a mask, and he will add that the kachinas live on the San Francisco Peaks, near Flagstaff, Arizona, and other high mountains.

A kachina has three aspects: the supernatural being, as he exists in the minds of the Hopis; the masked impersonator of the supernatural being, who appears in the kivas and plazas; and the small dolls carved in the same likeness. The first two aspects are termed kachinas and the latter, kachina dolls.

The yearly calendar of Hopi religious ceremonies is divided into two parts, from winter solstice to mid-July marking the first half, and from mid-July to winter solstice the second half. The first half, which extends perhaps a month past the summer solstice, is marked by kachina ceremonies. A group of about thirty "official" kachinas, called Mong Kachinas, take part in five major ceremonies held during this period: Soyalang-eu (Winter Solstice Ceremony) in December, Pamuya in January, when the sun appears to move north again, Powamuya

(Bean Ceremony or Bean Dance) in February, Palolokonti (Water Serpent Ceremony) in February or March, and the Niman Kachina (Home Dance Ceremony) in July, when the sun appears to move south. These major ceremonies last nine days, and mostly are held in the kivas, where only the initiated may witness them. Some, like Bean Dance, Niman Kachina, etc., have parts which are witnessed by the Hopi public, either in the kivas or in the plazas.

During this first half of the Hopi year, there are also held one-day ceremonies, called ordinary or regular kachina dances in which the kachinas dance in the village plazas. In these ceremonies a group of twenty to thirty kachinas, all identically masked and dressed, may take part, or it may be a "Mixed Kachina Dance," where each mask and costume is different. Any ceremony, whether of nine days or one day duration, is a social occasion for the village, for friends and relatives come from the neighboring towns to see the "dance" and partake of the feasts that are always prepared.

During the second half of the year from July, when the Niman Kachina takes place, until the following December, no ceremonies are held in which masked impersonators take part. There are a number of ceremonies like the famous Snake Dance but the participants do not wear masks. The Niman Kachina is called the Home Dance, because it is the last appearance of the kachinas before they return to their homes on the San Francisco Peaks.

Regular or ordinary kachina dances take two forms. In one form, which we can call the Hopi pattern, the kachina dancers, in single file, walk rapidly into the plaza and form a line on one side. Keeping time with their feet, the tortoise shell rattles fastened to their legs, and the rattles in their hands, they sing one verse of the kachina song. Then the line moves to an adjacent side of the plaza, repeating the same verse of the song, and then to a third side where the verse is sung at least once more. With the completion of the song, kachinas distribute presents to the children and retire. After a rest of one-half hour, they return to the plaza and sing a new verse, repeating the performance as before. This routine they will maintain from about noon until nearly sunset, singing about six to eight verses of the song.

In the second form of kachina dances, built on a pattern borrowed from the Rio Grande Pueblos, a chorus of old men, accompanied by a drummer, supplies the music and songs for the line of dancers, who do not sing. The dancers form a line on one side of the plaza, and progress around it in the same manner as described above.

In the intervals when the kachinas are resting, with their masks removed, somewhere below the mesa rim, clowns enter the plaza and afford comic relief to the spectators. They mimic certain spectators and act out little skits, sometimes, we must admit, not in the best taste, according to our way of thinking, which after all, is quite different from the Hopi way.

When a Hopi man places a mask upon his head and wears the appropriate costume and body paint, he believes that he has lost his personal identity and has received the spirit of the kachina he is supposed to represent. Men, never women, take the part of male and female kachinas. As far as we can determine, the Hopis believe that, through a priest, usually an old man not in costume, the prayers of the people are given to the kachinas to carry to the gods. Therefore the kachinas play a role somewhat similar to the saints of the Christian religion, and some, like saints, are supposed to be the spirits of very good men. However, not all kachinas are good spirits; some are demons or ogres.

In addition to the kachinas, the Hopis recognize about thirty-two major supernatural be-ings who might be called deities. The most important of these are Sotuqnang-u, the god of the sky, sometimes called “the heavenly god”; Masao, the god of the earth; Kwanitaga, the one-horned god who guards the gate of the Underworld (he might be compared to St. Peter, for the Underworld is the Hopi Heaven); and Alosaka, the two-horned god of reproduction of man, animals, and plants, sometimes called “the germ god.” Although a few of the deities may be impersonated as kachinas or represented by figurines, the majority are never impersonated or represented by dolls.

ings who might be called deities. The most important of these are Sotuqnang-u, the god of the sky, sometimes called “the heavenly god”; Masao, the god of the earth; Kwanitaga, the one-horned god who guards the gate of the Underworld (he might be compared to St. Peter, for the Underworld is the Hopi Heaven); and Alosaka, the two-horned god of reproduction of man, animals, and plants, sometimes called “the germ god.” Although a few of the deities may be impersonated as kachinas or represented by figurines, the majority are never impersonated or represented by dolls.

Hopi children believe in kachinas just as our children believe in Santa Claus. In a kachina ceremony, the children are not supposed to recognize their fathers, uncles, or parents’ friends who are disguised by masks and elaborate costumes. As Santa Claus comes at a certain season, bearing gifts to the children, so certain kachinas bring to the children kachina dolls, miniature bows and arrows, sweets, fruits, and other food. Hopi children enjoy a whole series of Christmas de-lights during the period from late December to July.

Kachina dolls are given to the children not as toys, but as objects to be treasured and studied so that the young Hopis may become familiar with the appearance of the kachinas as part of their religious training. Prior to a kachina ceremony. the fathers and uncles of the village children are busily occupied in making dolls in the likeness of the kachinas that will take part in the ceremony. On this great day, the kachinas give to each child, standing in solemn awe, the dolls made especially for him by his relatives. The dolls are taken home, where the parents hang them up on the walls or from the rafters of the house, so that they may be constantly seen by the children of the family and their playmates. In this way Hopi children learn to know what the different kachinas look like. Thus we see that Hopi kachina dolls are neither idols to be worshipped or ikons to be prayed to, but only objects for use in the education of the child.

The Hopi recognize over two hundred kachinas and fre-quently invent new characters. One Hopi we consulted believed that, except for the kachinas that officiate at the major ceremonies in the annual cycle of religious observances, a large number were invented in the last half of the nineteenth century. Certain kachinas are believed to be the spirits of departed Hopis. Thus the Cross-Legged Kachina is thought to be the spirit of a very kind Mishongnovi man who died about seventy years ago.

quently invent new characters. One Hopi we consulted believed that, except for the kachinas that officiate at the major ceremonies in the annual cycle of religious observances, a large number were invented in the last half of the nineteenth century. Certain kachinas are believed to be the spirits of departed Hopis. Thus the Cross-Legged Kachina is thought to be the spirit of a very kind Mishongnovi man who died about seventy years ago.

The names by which the kachinas are known may be descriptive and such names can be translated into English, as Left-Handed Kachina and Long-Haired Kachina. The Hopi name for the Crow Mother, a dour creature with wings on the side of her head like a Valkyrie, is translated "Man with a Crow Wing Tied To." Many kachinas are named for birds and mammals, like the Rooster, Eagle, Bear, and Badger Kachinas, while others take their names from the peculiar calls that the kachina utters. Other kachinas have names which have no relation to description or call.