Kachina Dolls

There are three types of Kachinas in the Hopi religion.

1. Supernatural Beings:
These Kachinas live in or around Flagstaff, Arizona. According to Dorothy Washburn author of the article
"Hopi Kachina: Spirit of Life," these supernatural Kachinas unknowingly dispense "spiritual and physical favors to deserving Hopi" (Washburn, 1980).

2. Human Personification:
During Hopi ceremonies the men of the tribe wear costumes and masks that represent the Kachina spirit that is being honored; thus becoming the human personification of the spirits.

3. Dolls or Tihus:
From about one-year old until they are ten, Hopi girls receive two dolls each year. They are presented to them during ceremonies called the Bean Dance and the Home Dance. The dolls are only given to the women because the women of the tribe do not possess the same degree of contact with the supernatural as the men of the tribe do. Therefore, the men who dance and impersonate the different Kachinas carve small wooden replicas of themselves and present them to infants and girls (Wright, 1977).

Another purpose of the dolls is to familiarize the children with the different Kachina spirits. They also help to "keep kids in line," as is represented in the Ogre Woman Kachina. This Kachina goes door to door before the bean dance demanding food. She leaves the Hopi girls a couple grains of corn and says that she will be back, and if she isn't given food she will take the children. When she comes back she asks the children if they have been bad. Sometimes she will begin to pull the children by their feet to give them the idea that she is going to eat them. Before she can take them away a relative appeases the Ogre by telling her that the child has learned her lesson, and that it will never happen again. The moral of the story is that children learn that they must work hard and do all they can to contribute to the food supply (Negri, 1993).

References

Negri, Sam. "Kachina Carving Artistry in Wood." Arizona Highways May 1993:15-17.

Washburn, Dorothy. "Hopi Kachina: Spirit of Life." American Indian Art magazine Summer 1980: 48-52.

Wright, Barton. Kachinas Flagstaff, Az. Northland Press, 1977.

Corn is essential to Hopi subsistence and religion. "For traditional Hopis, corn is the central bond. Its essence, physically, spiritually, and symbolically, pervades their existence. For the people of the mesas corn is sustenance, ceremonial object, prayer offering, symbol, and sentient being unto itself. Corn is the Mother in the truest sense that people take in the corn and the corn becomes their flesh, as mother milk becomes the flesh of the child" (Wall & Masayesva, 2004).

Corn Maiden's presence is a prayer for corn. Photo of Corn Maiden kachina from Voodoo Mama's private collection.

Reference

Dennis Wall and Virgil Masayesva, "People of the Corn: Teachings in Hopi Traditional Agriculture, Spirituality, and Sustainability", American Indian Quarterly, Summer/Fall 2004, pages 435-453

To the Hopi, kachinas are supernatural beings who represent and have charge over various aspects of the natural world. They might be thought of as analogous to Greco-Roman demi-gods or Catholic saints. There are literally hundreds of different Kachinas, which may represent anything from rain to watermelon, various animals, stars, and even other Indian tribes. The kachinas are also thought to be the spirits of dead ancestors, and they may come to the Hopi mesas in the form of rain clouds.

The Mudheads are not very bright. Long ago they didn't know many things, even very simple, everyday actions. So a man tried to instruct them.

He tried to teach them how to go up a ladder. He showed them how to do it, and they tried to copy him, but they couldn't. One tried to go up the ladder with his feet upmost, standing on his head. Another tried to climb the back of the ladder. A third kept falling through the rungs, while a fourth got tangled in the rungs.

They just couldn't do it.

The man tried to teach them how to build a house. He showed them the right way to do it, and they tried to imitate his actions. But one started with the roof and made the others hold up the ceiling while he tried to build downward from it. Another put together a house with no doors and windows. He built it from the inside, and when he wanted to go out, he found he had walled himself in. The others had to break down the walls to let him out. Still another made the mud bricks out of sand. When it rained, his house collapsed into a sandpile.

Try as they would, the Mudheads just couldn't do it right.

Then the man tried to show them a really simple thing - how to sit on a chair. They watched and tried to do as he did. One sat on top of the chair back and tumbled over. Another sat underneath the chair. Another sat on the chair with his back to the front. A fourth tried to sit upside down with his head where his rump ought to have been.

They just couldn't get the point.

"Well," said their instructor, "I'll try one thing more. I'm going to show you how to copulate." There was a fat old woman who hadn't had a man in her for a long time. "They can all practice on me," she said, "I don't mind." So she lifted up her manta and bent over, and the instructor copulated with her in the simplest way - from the back as dogs do.

The Mudheads watched closely, and then they all wanted to try. But none of them could find the right opening. One did it in the anus, another in the knee bend, another in the arm bend, another in the armpit, another in the navel, another in the ear.

They tried and tried. They really wanted to do it right, but they couldn't. "I give up on you," said the instructor. The fat old woman just laughed.

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Teaching-The-Mudheads-How-To-Copulate-Zuni.html

Koyemsi, or Mudhead Kachina, is a multi-faceted clown borrowed from Zuni. These kachinas appear in almost every Hopi dance.

From Voodoo Mama's private collection.

Each kiva is home to a secret society which (generally) reveres a single Kachina. Members of the kiva take on the identity of the Kachina spirit they revere. Upon reaching puberty, young men in the Pueblo are inducted into a kiva, where they learn the secrets associated with that Kachina. Women are not members of kivas, although they are taught the mythology and religious practices in a more general way.

The Hemis Kachina, or Jemez Kachina, is borrowed from other pueblos because of special attributes they possess. The Hemis Kachina is the first kachina to bring mature corn to the people, indicating that the corn crop is assured. From Voodoo Mama's private collection.

Whipper Kachina keeps order at ceremonies.
Photo of Whipper Kachina from Voodoo Mama's private collection.

The Zuni believe that the Kachinas live in the Lake of the Dead, a mythical lake which is reached through Listening Spring Lake located at the junction of the Zuni River and the Little Colorado River.

Within Hopi mythology, the Kachinas are said to live on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona.