GENERAL DESCRIPTION
For the Hopi, the word kachina (katsina) refers to three distinct but related entities: the invisible spirits who are an essential part of Hopi life, the personification of those spirits in ceremonial dances, and the carved and decorated dolls that the kachinas give to infants and women. Kachinas serve as intermediaries between the supernatural and human realms. They are generally bringers of clouds, rain, and all good things.
Kachinas (katsinam) present themselves in our world for the annual period falling just after the winter solstice and concluding after the summer solstice. For the remainder of the year, these ancestral spirits occupy an underworld accessed through the sipapu, or vertical entranceway.
Adapted from
Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Hopi Visions: Journey of the Human Spirit, Gallery text [Kachina (katsina)], 2018.
NOTES
- NOTE: Please use image in DMA collections. (See rules)
- Original description -- Adapted from: Carol Robbins, Label Text, "All the World's a Stage: Celebrating Performance in the Visual Arts," 2009 (recorded in TMS, Notes / Label Text); Carol Robbins, Object Summary, Curatorial Remarks (dated January 10, 1994, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File)
- For the Hopi, the word katsina (kachina) refers to three distinct but related entities: the invisible spirits who are an essential part of Hopi life, the personification of those spirits by Hopi men wearing masks and costumes in ceremonial dances, and the carved wood figures called tihu (small person or child) that Hopi men give to infants and to women of all ages.
- Although the word "doll" is commonly applied to the figures, the Hopi call them "tihu"; they are not playthings, but small effigies of individual spirits to be hung from a beam or wall in the Hopi house. Tihu are often described as teaching devices for Hopi children, the means by which they learn the identities of the various katsinas. Hopi scholar Burton Wright has suggested that the tihu tradition serves to increase women's contact with the spiritual world, for it is Hopi men who impersonate the katsinas in the plaza dances and thereby benefit from that close association with the supernatural. A man carves a figure in the likeness of the spirit he impersonated and gives it most often to a female relative, especially a girl approaching marriageable age.
- The katsina spirits are intermediaries between the Hopi and other supernaturals; they are also messengers of the gods and bringers of clouds and rain. The Hopi man who portrays a kachina spirit gives visual form to the invisible and becomes one with the spirit he represents. The tihu is a remembrance both of a dancer's portrayal and of the bond that exists between human beings and the supernatural.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Museum of Anthropology, Columbia, MO~Read about Hopi Katsinas and their various types.
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University~View an online exhibition about Hopi Katsinas, "Rainmakers From the Gods."
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
SET OPERATOR AS OR
Apply to objects where number equals 1993.71
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Apply to objects where number equals 1990.243
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Apply to objects where number equals DS.1990.42
Apply to objects where number equals DS.1990.43
Apply to objects where number equals DS.1990.44
Category
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General Description
For the Hopi, the word kachina (katsina) refers to three distinct but related entities: the invisible spirits who are an essential part of Hopi life, the personification of those spirits in ceremonial dances, and the carved and decorated dolls that the kachinas give to infants and women. Kachinas serve as intermediaries between the supernatural and human realms. They are generally bringers of clouds, rain, and all good things.
Kachinas (katsinam) present themselves in our world for the annual period falling just after the winter solstice and concluding after the summer solstice. For the remainder of the year, these ancestral spirits occupy an underworld accessed through the sipapu, or vertical entranceway.
Adapted from
Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Hopi Visions: Journey of the Human Spirit, Gallery text [Kachina (katsina)], 2018.
Fun Facts
TEACHING IDEAS
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Museum of Anthropology, Columbia, MO~Read about Hopi Katsinas and their various types.
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University~View an online exhibition about Hopi Katsinas, "Rainmakers From the Gods."
Notes
- NOTE: Please use image in DMA collections. (See rules)
- Original description -- Adapted from: Carol Robbins, Label Text, "All the World's a Stage: Celebrating Performance in the Visual Arts," 2009 (recorded in TMS, Notes / Label Text); Carol Robbins, Object Summary, Curatorial Remarks (dated January 10, 1994, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File)
- For the Hopi, the word katsina (kachina) refers to three distinct but related entities: the invisible spirits who are an essential part of Hopi life, the personification of those spirits by Hopi men wearing masks and costumes in ceremonial dances, and the carved wood figures called tihu (small person or child) that Hopi men give to infants and to women of all ages.
- Although the word "doll" is commonly applied to the figures, the Hopi call them "tihu"; they are not playthings, but small effigies of individual spirits to be hung from a beam or wall in the Hopi house. Tihu are often described as teaching devices for Hopi children, the means by which they learn the identities of the various katsinas. Hopi scholar Burton Wright has suggested that the tihu tradition serves to increase women's contact with the spiritual world, for it is Hopi men who impersonate the katsinas in the plaza dances and thereby benefit from that close association with the supernatural. A man carves a figure in the likeness of the spirit he impersonated and gives it most often to a female relative, especially a girl approaching marriageable age.
- The katsina spirits are intermediaries between the Hopi and other supernaturals; they are also messengers of the gods and bringers of clouds and rain. The Hopi man who portrays a kachina spirit gives visual form to the invisible and becomes one with the spirit he represents. The tihu is a remembrance both of a dancer's portrayal and of the bond that exists between human beings and the supernatural.
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
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1993.71
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1982.95
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1990.243
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Objects
number
Equals
1990.244
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number
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DS.1990.41
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number
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DS.1990.42
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DS.1990.43
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source file
peoples_and_societies-0038.xml.nores