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.
This unusually large kachina (katsina) doll depicts Palhik Mana, or water-drinking girl. The most distinctive feature here is the elaborate headdress, which is adorned with symbols of clouds and lightning. In this representation, Palhik Mana wears a traditional black dress, belt, mantle, and calf-high boots.
Adapted from
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Hopi Visions: Journey of the Human Spirit, Gallery text [Kachina (katsina)], 2018.
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Hopi Visions: Journey of the Human Spirit, Label text, 2018.
NOTES
- Hopi, probably 1920s (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 10/15/13, 04/10/17, 06/05/17, 06/19/17, and 07/27/17.
- Fun Facts: Carol Robbins, Object Summary, Curatorial Remarks (dated January 10, 1994, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File).
- The tihu presented here depicts Palhik’ Mana (Water Drinking Girl), a favorite subject and one of the most beautiful kachinas carved by the Hopi. The name does not refer to a kachina but to women who appear in the October festival called Mamzrau. Often called Butterfly Kachina Girl, she is sometimes confused with two other kachinas, Poli Mana and Shalako Mana. The Palhik’ Mana's most distinctive feature is an elaborate wood headdress consisting of a flat piece of wood, carved and painted with symbols of clouds and lightning. The Spanish word "tableta" (or tablita) is the generic term for this costume element, which is worn by Pueblo women along the Rio Grande during ceremonies. The checkered horizontal object above her forehead represents an ear of corn. She also wears the traditional black dress, narrow warp‑patterned belt, striped blanket or manta, and calf‑length boots or moccasins.
- Original description: Adapted from: Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Katsina (tihu) depicting Palhik' Mana (Water Drinking Girl) (1993.71)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 57; Carol Robbins, "Katsina (tihu) depicting Palhik' Mana (Water Drinking Girl) (1993.71)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 199; Carol Robbins, DMA Label Copy (1993.71), "All the World's a Stage: Celebrating Performance in the Visual Arts," 2009.
- 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. The katsina spirits are intermediaries between the Hopi and other supernaturals; they are also messengers of the gods and bringers of clouds and rain. This unusually large tihu depicts Palhik’ Mana (Water Drinking Girl), one of the most beautiful katsina images. Its most distinctive feature is an elaborate ceremonial wood headdress, carved and painted with symbols of clouds and lightning. This costume element, a tableta, is worn by Pueblo women along the Rio Grande during ceremonies. The tihu also wears a traditional black dress, a narrow warp‑patterned belt, a striped blanket, and calf‑length boots or moccasins.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Hopi: AAT: 300017763
Southwestern North American styles (Pre-Columbian): AAT: 300016920
Pueblo (Native American style): AAT: 300017746
Geography
Arizona (state): TGN: 7006451
Southwest (general region): TGN: 4010660
Process/materials
wood (plant material): AAT: 300011914
pigment: AAT: 300013109
paint (coating): AAT: 300015029
carving: AAT: 300053149
wool (textile): AAT: 300243430
wool (hair material): AAT: 300014074
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
sculpture: AAT: 300047090
ceremonial objects: AAT: 300234117
figurine: AAT: 300047455
kachina / katsina dolls (figurines): AAT: 300211323
effigies (funerary sculpture): AAT: 300047108
tihu (kachina / katsina dolls): DMA
educational functions: AAT: 300132460
figures: AAT: 300189808
black (color): AAT: 300130920
red (color): AAAT: 300126225
brown (color): AAT: 300127490
yellow (color): AAT: 300127794
white (color): AAT: 300129784
purple (color): AAT: 300130257
orange (color): AAT: 300126734
geometric motifs: AAT: 300009764
geometric patterns: AAT: 300165213
geometric shape: AAT: 300263819
lines (geometric concept): AAT: 300056279
triangles (polygons): AAT: 300009806
rectangles (parallelograms): AAT: 300055636
zigzags (geometric patterns): AAT: 300165028
step pattern: AAT: 300010229
linear forms: AAT: 300234452
seasons: AAT: 300133091
ceremonies: AAT: 300054754
spirit: AAT: 300379007
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
deities: AAT: 300343850
clouds: AAT: 300343840
rain (precipitation / water): AAT: 300055377
lightning: AAT: 300068795
headdress: AAT: 300046023
corn (zea mays species): AAT: 377375398
maize (plant/zea mays species): AAT: 300375398
belts (bandas / cinturones / costume accessories): AAT: 300210002
blankets (poncho / manga / q'uul (kul) / coverings): AAT: 300197367
dresses (garments): AAT: 300046159
moccasins (shoes): AAT: 300210037
boots (footwear): AAT: 300046057
mantles (lliclla / outerwear): AAT: 300212298
tableta (Hopi ceremonial headdress): DMA
Palhik’ Mana (Water Drinking Girl/Butterfly Kachina Girl/Hopi kachina/Mamzrau Initiation Dance): DMA
dance (discipline): AAT: 300054144
dancing: AAT: 300389779
infants (children): AAT: 300189561
women (female humans): AAT: 300025943
men (male humans): AAT: 300025928
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
costume: AAT: 300209261
ritual (events): AAT: 300065284
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1993: Shango Galleries (John A. Buxton), Dallas
From 1993: Dallas Museum of Art, given in memory of Congressman James M. Collins by his family, purchased from the above [1]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Memorandum from Carol Robbins, Dallas Museum of Art Curator of New World and Pacific Cultures, to Carmen Smith (dated October 13, 1993, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1993.71
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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.
This unusually large kachina (katsina) doll depicts Palhik Mana, or water-drinking girl. The most distinctive feature here is the elaborate headdress, which is adorned with symbols of clouds and lightning. In this representation, Palhik Mana wears a traditional black dress, belt, mantle, and calf-high boots.
Adapted from
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Hopi Visions: Journey of the Human Spirit, Gallery text [Kachina (katsina)], 2018.
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Hopi Visions: Journey of the Human Spirit, Label text, 2018.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Hopi, probably 1920s (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 10/15/13, 04/10/17, 06/05/17, 06/19/17, and 07/27/17.
- Fun Facts: Carol Robbins, Object Summary, Curatorial Remarks (dated January 10, 1994, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File).
- The tihu presented here depicts Palhik’ Mana (Water Drinking Girl), a favorite subject and one of the most beautiful kachinas carved by the Hopi. The name does not refer to a kachina but to women who appear in the October festival called Mamzrau. Often called Butterfly Kachina Girl, she is sometimes confused with two other kachinas, Poli Mana and Shalako Mana. The Palhik’ Mana's most distinctive feature is an elaborate wood headdress consisting of a flat piece of wood, carved and painted with symbols of clouds and lightning. The Spanish word "tableta" (or tablita) is the generic term for this costume element, which is worn by Pueblo women along the Rio Grande during ceremonies. The checkered horizontal object above her forehead represents an ear of corn. She also wears the traditional black dress, narrow warp‑patterned belt, striped blanket or manta, and calf‑length boots or moccasins.
- Original description: Adapted from: Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Katsina (tihu) depicting Palhik' Mana (Water Drinking Girl) (1993.71)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 57; Carol Robbins, "Katsina (tihu) depicting Palhik' Mana (Water Drinking Girl) (1993.71)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 199; Carol Robbins, DMA Label Copy (1993.71), "All the World's a Stage: Celebrating Performance in the Visual Arts," 2009.
- 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. The katsina spirits are intermediaries between the Hopi and other supernaturals; they are also messengers of the gods and bringers of clouds and rain. This unusually large tihu depicts Palhik’ Mana (Water Drinking Girl), one of the most beautiful katsina images. Its most distinctive feature is an elaborate ceremonial wood headdress, carved and painted with symbols of clouds and lightning. This costume element, a tableta, is worn by Pueblo women along the Rio Grande during ceremonies. The tihu also wears a traditional black dress, a narrow warp‑patterned belt, a striped blanket, and calf‑length boots or moccasins.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Hopi: AAT: 300017763
Southwestern North American styles (Pre-Columbian): AAT: 300016920
Pueblo (Native American style): AAT: 300017746
Geography
Arizona (state): TGN: 7006451
Southwest (general region): TGN: 4010660
Process/materials
wood (plant material): AAT: 300011914
pigment: AAT: 300013109
paint (coating): AAT: 300015029
carving: AAT: 300053149
wool (textile): AAT: 300243430
wool (hair material): AAT: 300014074
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
sculpture: AAT: 300047090
ceremonial objects: AAT: 300234117
figurine: AAT: 300047455
kachina / katsina dolls (figurines): AAT: 300211323
effigies (funerary sculpture): AAT: 300047108
tihu (kachina / katsina dolls): DMA
educational functions: AAT: 300132460
figures: AAT: 300189808
black (color): AAT: 300130920
red (color): AAAT: 300126225
brown (color): AAT: 300127490
yellow (color): AAT: 300127794
white (color): AAT: 300129784
purple (color): AAT: 300130257
orange (color): AAT: 300126734
geometric motifs: AAT: 300009764
geometric patterns: AAT: 300165213
geometric shape: AAT: 300263819
lines (geometric concept): AAT: 300056279
triangles (polygons): AAT: 300009806
rectangles (parallelograms): AAT: 300055636
zigzags (geometric patterns): AAT: 300165028
step pattern: AAT: 300010229
linear forms: AAT: 300234452
seasons: AAT: 300133091
ceremonies: AAT: 300054754
spirit: AAT: 300379007
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
deities: AAT: 300343850
clouds: AAT: 300343840
rain (precipitation / water): AAT: 300055377
lightning: AAT: 300068795
headdress: AAT: 300046023
corn (zea mays species): AAT: 377375398
maize (plant/zea mays species): AAT: 300375398
belts (bandas / cinturones / costume accessories): AAT: 300210002
blankets (poncho / manga / q'uul (kul) / coverings): AAT: 300197367
dresses (garments): AAT: 300046159
moccasins (shoes): AAT: 300210037
boots (footwear): AAT: 300046057
mantles (lliclla / outerwear): AAT: 300212298
tableta (Hopi ceremonial headdress): DMA
Palhik’ Mana (Water Drinking Girl/Butterfly Kachina Girl/Hopi kachina/Mamzrau Initiation Dance): DMA
dance (discipline): AAT: 300054144
dancing: AAT: 300389779
infants (children): AAT: 300189561
women (female humans): AAT: 300025943
men (male humans): AAT: 300025928
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
costume: AAT: 300209261
ritual (events): AAT: 300065284
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1993: Shango Galleries (John A. Buxton), Dallas
From 1993: Dallas Museum of Art, given in memory of Congressman James M. Collins by his family, purchased from the above [1]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Memorandum from Carol Robbins, Dallas Museum of Art Curator of New World and Pacific Cultures, to Carmen Smith (dated October 13, 1993, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
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